The personal finance website compared the 50 states and District of Columbia across three dimensions: kids’ health and access to healthcare; kids’ nutrition, physical activity and obesity; and kids’ oral health. Each state was evaluated using 33 metrics, which was graded on a 100-point scale, with 100 representing the best care. The data included measures for children and younger.
Minnesota does not crack the overall top 10 in this ranking, but it consistently shows up near the top in related national reports. Recent analyses have ranked Minnesota among the top five states for overall child well‑being and one of the healthiest states for women and children, and Minnesota is also in the top tier nationally for children’s oral health and as a place to have a baby. Yet behind these strong averages, Safe Passage and others have documented serious child maltreatment failures and rising fatalities, making it critical not to let “good state” rankings mask the harm many Minnesota children still experience.
Here are the best and worst states for children’s healthcare, along with their total score:
Best states
- Massachusetts: 67.34
- Rhode Island: 61.77
- Connecticut: 60.91
- Vermont: 60.90
- Hawaii: 60.74
- New Jersey: 60.32
- Pennsylvania: 58.17
- New York: 57.41
- Iowa: 57.01
- California: 56.25
Worst states
- Mississippi: 37.69
- Arizona: 41.36
- Alaska: 42.20
- Montana: 42.91
- Kentucky: 43.98
- Wyoming: 44.09
- Georgia: 44.59
- Texas: 44.63
- Oklahoma: 44.72
- Arkansas: 45.02
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