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Subscribe to RSSSure, New Jersey has lately had its share of headache-inducing cultural ambassadors, from Snooki to the Situation.
But it turns out that if you want a great place to raise kids, the Garden State ranks tops.
So says the Foundation for Child Development, which put out its annual Child Well Being Index (CWI), a state-by-state comparison of quality of life for kids.
The index uses 28 indicators across seven categories -- family economic well-being, health, safe/risky behavior, education attainment, community engagement, social relationships and emotional/spiritual well-being -- to calculate overall child well-being.
Ranking No. 1 over all, New Jersey was in the top 10 in five categories and was No. 1 for social relationships. (Insert Real Housewives joke here.)
Massachusetts came in second place overall, and was in the top 10 in five categories, and first for both education attainment and community engagement.
New Hampshire, Utah, and Connecticut rounded out the top five. New Hampshire was in the top 10 in six domains, yet it ranked 45th in the emotional/spiritual well-being category. Utah was No. 1 for safe/risky behavior, while Connecticut was No. 2 in the family economic well-being domain.
The rest of the top 10: Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, Maryland and New York.
For the most part, the report shows that states in the Northeast and upper Midwest perform well in most categories, while states in the South and the Southwest generally do poorer.
Getting the dubious honor of being in the bottom 10: Tennessee, Kentucky, Alaska, Oklahoma, Alabama, Arizon, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi. And New Mexico ranked the absolute lowest.
And what about the west coast? Washington ranked 22nd while California and Oregon came in at 30 and 31, respectively.
Researchers found a link between high tax rates and public investments in kids (like education and Medicaid) and higher child well-being scores.
Find the full report here.
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Leave a Comment:
Really MSNBC? "Arizon?" Where's that? I'm sure spell check would have caught that one...
Alright relax it's not a huge deal.
You're right Big Bad Wolf, why bother to use spell check before publishing an article to a Global Audience! After all we are talking about MSNBC journalism standards.
Didn't even notice the error till you pointed it out. Had to go check for myself, guess I read too fast! o.O
Arizon? You mean Arizona? Not only is some of their research outdated, BUT they do not spell check articles before they submit them.
I quess where the "Illegal Populations" are the highest are the worst states.
get over yourselves. they are human. they make mistakes.
True dancer, they paid to make mistakes, which is why MSNBC is not a credible source of information or ethical journalism.
WOW! A misspelled word. They didn't use spell check!!! That's a big deal for people who could care less weather FOX has ever used FACT CHECK.
The beauty of these right wingers is all ya gotta do is let them talk/post, n they prove beyond any doubt that Conservative is more of a personality disorder than a political ideology.
From the report
Really it took 5 years to analyze this data and publish it. How much has changed since? Who pays for this research?
Probably took them another five years to compose this post as well. Not too bright, I would say. Let me guess about the author; lived and grew up in the city, spent their day in some sort of a cubical, where they compiled all the facts and then wrote the article, and then returned home via the subway at the end of their wonderful day. Now that is living!
Jersey?
MTV in charge of the voting?
I have relatives in NH-truly a great place, but Jersey?
My kids grew up in New Jersey and had access to the real Jersey shore, parks, lakes, play areas as well as the mountains in Pennsylvania and the culture of Philadelphia. I think we in New Jersey hold kids in great importance. When my kids were growing up there were safe houses in the neighborhoods with a sign in the window where a kid could go if he had a problem, so they always felt secure. The police and firemen came to school and taught them how to keep themselves safe. There was a regular show on public TV called street smarts teaching them how to deal with strangers, potential abductions, etc. Our neighborhood was very close knit and had neighborhood bbq's, yard sales, Halloween costume parties and a whole host of other things for the kids. I knew who my kids hung around with as well as all the parents. My daughter is now a lawyer and my son an engineer traveling the world. I can't think of a better place they could have grown up in.
I certainly put no credence in this report. I'm glad that I raised my kids in Alaska but I also took them to America to see the vast differences.
Even in Alaska, I wouldn't have wanted to raise them within the city. We are far enough out of the city to be safer but close enough to enjoy the city when we want. I would think that would hold true for many places.
Alaska must have ranked low in education, otherwise you would have said "I also took them to the Lower 48" instead of "I also took them to America". Newsflash: Alaska became an American state over 50 years ago!
rude much?
KC,
I'm fully aware that Alaska is part of the United States. It's clear that you don't live here or you would understand why some of us refer to the rest of the country as "America."
Try ordering something online from Alaska. The postage rates are the same but they tack on another $30-$100 and say it's because we're "overseas." Some companies won't even ship here because they say we're not in the "continental" United States. I'm on the North American Continent so that's not correct.
I personally find the term "lower 48" over-used and annoying. When I'm in Hawaii, I never hear "lower 49," and we don't refer to Hawaii as "upper 1." When I'm in Arizona I never hear "lower 47." When I was in Delaware I never heard "upper 49."
Here's another good reason to raise children here. You aren't here.
thats funny, because the west coast is the best coast. i dont care what msnbc says... west coast 4 life..
WOOHOO! My state (New Mexico) is the number one worst in the nation! The Land of Entrapment once again claims its spot in the world. NUMBER ONE! NUMBER ONE!
Arizona is actually spelled with an "A" at the end. I guessing that our editor was from one of the lower ranking states. :)
New Jersey, really. Somebody is off their meds.
So when I clicked this, there was a picture of Snooki. Newsflash, snooki is not from New Jersey. I'm so sick of the misrepresentation.
I blame Northern Virginia for us having a high ranking.
California es mas bueno para mi siete ninos porque es muy facile para tomar dinero de los gringos estupidos.
Aww, how sweet/brave to insult the gringos in spanish, welcome to America.
Gotcha!
That list made me laugh. If I had kids I would raise them as far away from 'modern' society as I could get. New Jersey?? Are you kidding me? Still laughing.
most of the white american population here in south florida are from the northeast.. while this study may be true, it is obviously not enough to keep a lot of them up there.
The authorsof this post haven't a clue as to which state is the best to raise kids in. I have been in most states, some for extended periods of time, and as for myself, I would have loved to have grown up in New Mexico, Colorado, Montana, or some other western state where population densities are lower and folks aren't so absorbed in all of the crap that seems to be prevalent in the more populated states along the east coast. Growing up in the south isn't bad either. I grew up in the southeast, and spent most of my life in central South Carolina, where it isn't so over populated and polluted, the air is halfway clean, and there is a more relaxed life style, people are friendly, and more down to earth. The beaches and the mountains, were no more than a two-hour drive away. Yup, I am just an old "farm boy" that was lucky enough to have grown up on a farm, and chose to return to the farm, after 25 years in the military, and having seen the rest of the world. How people could live in the city with it's cement environment, rude people, rampant crime rates, and all the other garbage that exists there, is beyond my simple comprehension. Oh, I can spell cat, dog, and say my abc s as well.
goldwing,
New Jersey is not the "city." I grew up in New York City. Now, I live in New Jersey in the mountains. We have 4 acres, wild turkeys, deer, bears, bobcats, and red fox. I can look out my front window and not see people for days. There are no sidewalks. Being originally from New York City, the New Jersey area I live in now is too isolated for me, however, the terrific educational benefits, nearby hospitals, and social events for my children make being in the country environment of New Jersey all worthwhile.
Oh well if it would have been something bad my state would have been at the top.
Teen pregnancy. No teeth. Poor education. High taxes. Poor government. Bad roads. No jobs. Yep I live in Kentucky. Good Job to our state politicians.
thought for sure you were gonna say Tennessee.
I live in Kentucky, and yes we have our problems, but what other states doesn't also have problems with teen pregnancy, jobs, etc? I would, however, love to see our education system overhauled. I hate the way our kids are being taught in the school systems here. As for the "No Teeth", let's not perpetuate the stereotypes, OK? Bad roads are also in every state, so let's not get started on that. Yes, I know there are roads in Eastern Kentucky that are in sad shape, but let's not apply that to the entire state. I wish our state politicians would find some way to help out Eastern Kentucky and not concentrate on Central Kentucky. I live in Central Kentucky now, but lived in Eastern Kentucky for several years, and the people there are wonderful and would do anything for you. The stereotypes portray them as all dumb hicks, but they are far from dumb. You hear stupid things from people all over the United States (take Snooki, for example!), so let's not feed the stereotypes.
nobody can have as bad of roads as MO. we travel there alot but i live in IA
A other MSNBC sham. Lived in and raised three kids in N.H., MA., N.Y., and N.M. All about the same. Oh, ex. from N.J.
Just want to say that there is no way I'd want to raise my children or now grandchildren in New Jersey or New York either one. This survey has to have been done in cities by city people to come to these conclusions. People in rural areas would shudder about raising kids in big cities and I guess pollution and trash didn't enter into the results either. They didn't dwell on the criteria they used to determine this test and I for one think it's a crock of BS, new york and new jersey as great places to raise kids....ha ha ha
Vinegaroon and others- NY State includes upstate NY (rural) and the suburbs around NYC which are safe, clean, etc. NYC is only a part of New York State.
By the way, NYC's crime rate has been down for years. I work in NYC and feel totally safe.
vinegaroon and Michelle,
You can say the same about rural and suburban NJ. Take out a few of the big cities in NJ and all you have are horse farms, mountains with many wild animals (where I live) and vegetable farms. A great place to raise kids. Stereotypes abound concerning NY (where I grew up) and New Jersey, where I live now. Disregard those generalizations.
Bad science! If you follow the link you see that it is done by an organization who tries to change public policy and not real scientists. My husband is from NJ and there is no way he would move his family from East Tennessee to his home state.
Are there any stupid gringos left in California, Sanetalkerclang?
Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming are the 19 U.S. States that allow disciplinary beating of schoolchildren in taxpayer funded schools in 2012, already Illegal in Schools in 31 U.S. States, search "A Violent Education" for disturbing facts!
Mandatory Reporters of suspected child abuse, school teachers, coaches and administrators, legally hit schoolchildren, K-12, with thick wooden paddles, SEXUAL ASSAULT when done to a non-consenting adult, to inflict Pain as Punishment for minor infractions, some states such as Tennessee do not require parental consent or notification for schoolchildren to be "Paddled". Several "School Paddling States" have "Teacher Immunity Laws" to protect school employees from criminal/civil action, leaving INJURED schoolchildren's families NO LEGAL REDRESS!
U.S. Federal Courts uphold outrageous incidents of school paddling and the U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear school corporal punishment appeals.
The practice of school discipline by "Corporal Punishment" is founded upon the RELIGIOUS conviction of "Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child" and FORCED onto taxpayers children in public schools, violating our nation's constitution regarding liberty, equality and "Cruel and Unusual Punishment". Please add your voice to federal bill to Abolish School Corporal Punishment of Students in ALL U.S. Schools at donthitstudents dot com
Arizona DOES NOT allow corporal punishment of any kind.
Oklahoma doesn't allow corporal punishment. This was stopped a long time ago. My children went to school here and now one is a Doctor and the other is studying to be a Physicist. So stop with all the negativity about the South & Southwest.
Corporal punishment in Kentucky stopped years ago. Not sure where your data is coming from, but it is erroneous.
Julie Worley, While I am not a proponent of corporal punishment, you need to realize that in virtually all of the states you mention the voters elect local board members who adopt school policy. They, likewise, elect state legislatures who pass the legislation that establishes school policy and rules. None of this is being FORCED onto tax payers. If the taxpayers in any school district dis-approve of corporal punishment they can have it abolished at the local level and if the people of any state dis-approve of the practice they can, likewise, have this practice eliminated in their state. Your suggestion of creating a federal law eliminating corporal punishment shows a lack of knowledge of the constitutional separation of federal and state rights. Education has always been a states rights issue and neither the Supreme Court, nor the federal government, have any constitutional authority over this issue.
Julie I do not care where you get your information you are wrong. I live in Oklahoma and have kids, corporal punishment has not been allowed in school for over 20 years.....Once again I do not care where you get your information, it is a lie.
Don't move. It will be a whole different list next year.
Difficult to raise children in any state.
Obviously, this report and the underscoring
research was undertaken by both the liberal media but also by the liberal GLBT
prognosticators. Between Utah's high rate of sexual immorality and
homosexuality to New England's quest for "social equality”, it amazes me
that this garbage wasn't vetted through a broader lens of outcomes. Everyplace
listed lead America in ensuring that ALL children get awards, win the race and receive
special recognition. That is not reality nor is it good for our collective
future as a nation. Whatever happened to hard work ethic, rewards commensurate
with effort and the value of faith, honor, courage and commitment? I do give
props to the states listed for their educational opportunities, however, you
have to ask yourself why private schools thrive in New England... it's because
public schools have failed in the northeast. It was said best recently in one
of the debates, "...as the morality of our country declined, so to did its
laws and the overall efficacy of our government who is charged with enforcing
it." Wouldn't it be great if we as a nation could hit the reset button and
take this country back to 1955 (withhold bigotry) morally, economically and
patriotically? No extreme left/right - just Americans, dedicated to faith,
family and making all of America great. I mean today I am told that I am
supposed to feel guilty to be a WASP who will not let his son get piercings,
grow facial hair, or let my daughters post vast amounts of provocative images
of themselves on the internet. -Just saying
WooHoo! East Coast Rules!
Yes Charle7834,
Smarter, more successful and healthier people live in the Northeast.