Nevada ranked fourth worst state to raise a family in WalletHub’s 2026 Best and Worst States to Raise a Family study.
Only Mississippi (No. 48), West Virginia (No. 49) and New Mexico (No. 50) ranked lower.
The personal finance platform used data from federal agencies, media outlets and nonprofit organizations.
Data was sorted into five categories: family fun, health and safety, education and child care, affordability and socio-economics.
Here’s a closer look at why Nevada ranked No. 47 on the list, the other worst-performing states, and which states were named the best.
Is Nevada a good place to raise a family?
Nevada ranked No. 7 nationwide for family fun, which is based on the number of attractions, sports and recreational opportunities, the share of the population with small children and proximity of playgrounds to families.
However, Nevada had some of the worst ratings in other areas and ranked last in the nation for socio-economics – the metric includes divorce rates, median marriage duration, share of two-parent families, wealth gap, unemployment and underemployment, job security, work-related stress tweets and foreclosure rates.
Nevada also ranked low in affordability (No. 49), education and child care (No. 49) and health and safety (No. 48).
What is the most desirable location to raise a family?
Eastern and Midwest states dominated the best places to raise a family rank. The top 10 states are:
Massachusetts
Minnesota
North Dakota
Wisconsin
Nebraska
New York
Connecticut
New Hampshire
Illinois
Maine
What are the worst states to raise a family in?
Nevada was among the worst states to raise a family in. Here are the others:
Why Nevada ranks near the bottom for raising a family in 2026
