New Study Reveals Top Places to Raise a Family, How Does MA Rank?

Whether you have a big family or you're starting a family, finding the town or city that best suits your lifestyle is important for raising a family. Affordability, safety, education options, employment opportunities, and things to do are just some of the factors one may take into account when choosing where to lay down roots for raising a family. With all that Massachusetts has to offer, it would seem that the Bay State is a top state for raising a family. After all, Massachusetts has fared well in the past in studies for raising a family.

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WalletHub recently released a study exploring the best and worst places to raise a family in 2025. WalletHub compared more than 180 U.S. cities based on 45 key metrics that consider essential family dynamics, such as the cost of housing, the quality of local schools and health-care systems, and the opportunities for fun and recreation. Surprisingly, not a single city in Massachusetts made the top 10. As a matter of fact, the first time a Massachusetts city pops up on the list is in position # 79 (out of 182), which is Boston. Massachusetts' biggest city and capital received a total score of 52.93. While 79 isn't terrible, I would have expected to see Boston higher up the list. Here are the individual scores for Boston:

Family Fun Rank: 99
Health Safety Rank: 39
Education & Child Care Rank: 39
Affordability Rank: 92
Socio-Economics Rank: 150

The next and final city on the list after Boston is Worcester, which ranks at #106 and has a total score of 49.41. Here are the individual scores for Worcester:

Family Fun Rank: 156
Health Safety Rank: 71
Education & Child Care Rank: 74
Affordability Rank: 84
Socio-Economics Rank: 152

You can check out the methodology and find out which city landed in the #1 spot by going here.