Massachusetts best state to raise a family: report

Massachusetts is the best state in the union to raise a family, according to personal finance website WalletHub.

Come again?

The website compared all 50 states across what it described as “42 key indicators of family-friendliness,” including health and safety, education and childcare, and affordability.

Those last two—childcare and affordability (as in real estate)—should by themselves ensure that Massachusetts is nowhere near the top of any list of family-friendly states.

The commonwealth is one of the most expensive states for childcare, in its eastern portion especially, and it is famously among the three or four most expensive states in terms of renting or buying a home—again, in the Boston region in particular, which contains the bulk of the state’s population.

There is plenty to do with kids and teens in Massachusetts, we’ll give it that (though getting around via car or public transit can be its own unique headache). But the costs of being able to be here in the first place to check out that museum or go on this hike or visit that monument are often razor’s-edge ruinous.

Maybe try Minnesota. That was No. 2 on WalletHub’s list.

• 2018’s Best & worst states to raise a family [WalletHub]
• Massachusetts America’s No. 1 state? Please. [Curbed Boston]
• Boston museums: 11 unsung institutions to visit [Curbed Boston]
• Boston hikes: 10 superb treks in and around the city, mapped [Curbed Boston]
• Boston Revolutionary War monuments: 11 key places, mapped [Curbed Boston]
• Federal tax overhaul could rattle Boston, Cambridge housing markets in particular [Curbed Boston]
• Boston apartment rents end 2017 slightly up [Curbed Boston]
• Boston-area housing prices at the start of 2018: Back Bay on top, Chelsea least pricey [Curbed Boston]