What States Offer the Most Ideal Lifestyle?

If families wanted to find the places with the most affordable housing, safest neighborhoods, most affordable child care, best job security, highest income, and the best education opportunities, where would they go?

Analysis from GoBankingRates of all 50 states plus the District of Columbia ranked each one according to 12 factors in order to determine where families can enjoy the best lifestyle. The factors spanned the categories of jobs and income (median household income and state’s unemployment rate), housing (median home listing price and state property tax), lifestyle (state sales tax, child care cost, cost of groceries, and school district grades), healthcare (average cost of healthcare premium and how much the employer contributes to employee health insurance), and safety (violent crime and property crime rates).

The study found that New Hampshire topped the list of best places to live due to its low crime rates, highly rated schools, low child care costs, and zero sales tax. North Dakota, Delaware, Montana, and Wyoming rounded out the top five.

Source: GOBankingRates

Washington, D.C., ranked last on the list because of its high unemployment rate (fourth in the nation), high median home price ($549,900, second in the nation), high child care costs ($40,000 a year, more than double the national average), high cost of groceries, and high crime rate.

“There really is no ‘one size fits all’ formula for those trying to decide the best place to raise their families today,” said Kristen Bonner, lead researcher on the GOBankingRates study. “Our study examined some of the main concerns families have during this process and found that it is possible to live in states where the cost of living won’t drain your bank account and your children can still attend good schools in a safe environment.”

The two states with the lowest median home price (about $140,000), Ohio and Indiana, ranked 24^th and 28^th on the list, respectively. Maryland had the highest median household income at approximately $74,000 per year (more than $20,000 higher than the national average) but ranked only 25^th on the list because of its higher-than-average crime rate, health insurance premium, and median home price.

Click here to view the entire list to see where each state ranks.