Massachusetts Ranked Eighth Best State for Having a Baby

New England dominated the top 10.

Get a compelling long read and must-have lifestyle tips in your inbox every Sunday morning — great with coffee!

New England is a mighty fine place to start a family.

Massachusetts was ranked the eighth best state for having baby, according to a new report by personal finance social network WalletHub. Vermont, Maine, and Connecticut took the top three spots, while, New Hampshire followed not far behind in fifth. Rhode Island was ranked 18th.

To compile its ranked, WalletHub compared all 50 states using 17 metrics across three dimensions: delivery budget (hospital charges for Cesarean delivery, cost of living, average health insurance premiums), health care (infant mortality rate, rate of low birth-weight, number of pediatricians and fertility clinics per capita), and baby friendliness (number of mothers’ groups per capita, number of child care centers per capita, parental leave policy).

Massachusetts and New Hampshire had the second and third lowest infant mortality rates, respectively, while Vermont had the most midwives and OB-GYNs, as well as child care centers, per capita. Massachusetts also had the most pediatricians and family doctors per capita.

The worst state for having a baby? That’d be Mississippi.

You can check out WalletHub’s full ranking here.