ALBANY, NY — New York is being counted among the better states in the country for having a baby, according to a new WalletHub ranking that weighed affordability, health care access, baby friendliness and family support. The state landed at No. 16 out of 51, putting it in the top 20 overall even though some of the biggest pressures on new parents remain tied to cost.
WalletHub said the strongest states help families keep expenses manageable while also offering quality care for newborns and mothers. In New York, the ranking suggests a mixed picture: strong family support and low infant mortality, but some of the highest delivery and infant-care bills in the country.
Why WalletHub says New York still stands out
The personal-finance company compared all 50 states and the District of Columbia using 31 measures. Those measures covered four broad areas: cost, health care, baby friendliness and family friendliness. New York’s overall score was 57, helped by strong results in family friendliness and some important health outcomes.
The state ranked No. 8 for family friendliness and No. 22 for baby friendliness. It also had the fourth-lowest infant mortality rate in the nation, a statistic that likely helped offset weaker marks elsewhere. For families making long-term plans, those numbers can matter as much as the price of a hospital bill.
Where the state falls short for new parents
Even with a respectable overall ranking, New York’s cost profile remains a major hurdle. WalletHub said the state had the second-highest hospital conventional delivery charges and the fourth-highest average annual infant care costs. Those two categories can quickly shape the budget for parents during a baby’s first year.
The ranking also showed a sharp contrast in health care. New York placed No. 50 in the health care category, which means it lagged almost every other state on that part of the analysis despite its relatively strong infant mortality performance. That lower placement suggests that many of the state’s other health-related measures pulled its score down.
The most expensive parts of the baby budget
WalletHub’s cost category looked at several items that families may face before and after birth. Those included cesarean and conventional hospital delivery charges, annual early child care costs, health insurance premiums, the cost of a babysitter or nanny, newborn screening costs and whether a state had expanded Medicaid.
By including those items together, the ranking tried to capture more than just the price of labor and delivery. It also reflected the ongoing expense of caring for an infant, from child care to insurance. For families in New York, that broader picture helps explain why the state can rank well overall while still feeling expensive at the household level.
How health care and support were measured
The health care category reached beyond delivery-room costs. WalletHub examined infant and maternal mortality, low birth weight, preterm births, food security for babies, vaccination rates, the quality of women’s hospitals and pediatric neonatology facilities, and the number of midwives, obstetricians, pediatricians and family doctors per capita.
It also looked at prenatal care access, postpartum depression rates and policies tied to maternal depression screening and dyadic treatment under Medicaid. In the baby-friendliness category, the company considered paternal leave policies, child care centers, mom groups, birth rate and parenting programs. That combination shows how the ranking tried to measure both medical care and the everyday support families can use.
Which states landed at the top and bottom
Massachusetts took the No. 1 spot on WalletHub’s list, followed by Minnesota, North Dakota, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. Maine, Connecticut, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia rounded out the top 10. Those states were credited with combining stronger care systems and more favorable conditions for families with infants.
At the other end of the list, Mississippi ranked last, followed by Alabama, Florida, New Mexico and Nevada. South Carolina, Texas, Georgia, Arkansas and West Virginia also appeared in the bottom 10. The spread underscores how differently states can score on health outcomes, child-care access and basic affordability for new parents.
What the ranking means for New York families
The ranking does not suggest that New York is inexpensive for new parents. Instead, it points to a state that offers some meaningful strengths, especially on family support and infant survival, while still leaving parents to navigate steep costs. That combination may matter to readers comparing where to live, where to raise a child or where family support is strongest.
WalletHub said its data was collected as of July 6, 2026, using information from organizations including the National Center for Children in Poverty, Child Care Aware of America, the U.S. Census Bureau, the National Partnership for Women & Families and U.S. News & World Report. For New Yorkers weighing the realities of parenthood, the message is clear: quality may be there, but affordability remains the bigger challenge.
