Raising a healthy, stable family can often require moving to a new state. The reasons for moving are numerous: Career transitions, better schools, financial advancement or just a general desire to change settings. But wants and needs don’t always align in a particular state. For example, one state might offer a low income-tax rate but have a less than stellar education system. But families don't always have to make those lifestyle tradeoffs. In fact, those problems can be avoided by knowing which states offer the best combination of qualities that matter most to both parents and their kids.

To help with that evaluation, personal finance website WalletHub compared the 50 states, using 52 key indicators of family-friendliness. Their data ranged from median annual family income to housing affordability to unemployment.

So, if a family were considering a move to Louisiana, what would they find? Well, according to WalletHub's statistics, not much. The Pelican State ranked 47th out of the 50 states in their overall assessment of What's Best for Families.

Were there any positives? Well, in the category of "Family Fun," Louisiana came in 19th out of 50. And Louisiana's  hardly the most expensive place to live, as we came in a relatively middle-of-the-pack 32nd.

But is was categories like Health and Safety and Education and Childcare that our state's numbers flagged. Louisiana was 43rd out of 50 in the area of health and an even more dismal 47th in education.

WalletHub's 5 Best States for Families:

1)Massachusetts

2) Minnesota

3) North Dakota

4) New York

5) Vermont

WalletHub's 5 Worst State's for Families:

46) Oklahoma

47) Louisiana

48) West Virginia

49) Mississippi

50) New Mexico

To see the complete WalletHub study, including a state-by-state and category-by-category breakdown, JUST CLICK HERE!

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