Jobs and Income Score: 87
Housing Score: 42
Lifestyle Score: 83
Healthcare Score: 39
Safety Score: 69
The No. 1 best state for families to live a richer life is New Hampshire, which has a lot going for it. Parents will enjoy the state’s low crime rates, highly rated schools and low child care costs. Groceries aren’t the cheapest, ranking sixth highest, but New Hampshire’s zero sales tax helps put the state in first place for lifestyle.
The main drawback to New Hampshire is its 2.15 percent average property tax, the third highest nationwide. Still, New Hampshire takes first place for jobs and income. Its unemployment rate is the second lowest in the nation, behind only South Dakota, while the state also posts the eighth-highest median income.