New Hampshire is the most affordable state to have a baby, and it’s the fifth-best state overall to become a mom or dad.
That’s the finding of data analyzed by Wallethub and released Monday ranking the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
New Hampshire is the least expensive place for a mom to give birth via conventional delivery and the second most affordable for Cesarean deliveries. The Granite State is also one of the safest places to give birth, with the second-lowest infant mortality rate in the U.S.
Overall, Massachusetts is ranked the best state to have a baby despite being one of the most expensive. Nationwide, the average conventional delivery in the U.S. costs more than $2,600 with insurance and almost $15,000 without it, according to the report.
“The best states for having a baby minimize costs while providing top-notch care for both newborns and their mothers,” said Cassandra Happe, an analyst for Wallethub. “They also continue to be good environments for parents even long after the birth, with high-quality pediatric care, affordable and accessible child care, and a strong economic environment that makes providing for a child easier.”
New Hampshire has consistently ranked as one of America’s most family-friendly states. It has the lowest child poverty rate in the country, and Kid’s Count named it the best state for child well-being and number two for children’s economic well-being.
State Sen. Regina Birdsell (R-Hampstead) chairs the Health and Human Services Committee. She credits the state GOP’s family-friendly policies.
“The New Hampshire Republican Party is pro-family, and it’s showing in our results,” Birdsell told NHJournal.
She noted Gov. Chris Sununu and the GOP-controlled legislature passed bills raising the income thresholds for the state’s childcare scholarship to make more families eligible and expanded eligibility for childcare subsidies to childcare workers.
The state has also tweaked the staffing ratios at childcare centers to increase the number of slots available to parents, increasing the supply.
“While Democrats are fighting to make abortion legal up to the moment of birth, Republicans are trying to make New Hampshire a better, safer, more affordable place to have children and to raise them,” Birdsell said.
