CA Among Worst States To Have A Baby: Ranking

CALIFORNIA — California is among the worst states to have a baby, according to a ranking from WalletHub.

The personal finance website compared all 50 states and the District of Columbia across 31 measures of cost, health care accessibility, and baby- and family-friendliness. Each measure was graded on a 100-point scale and weighted, with a state’s average across all measures making up its overall score.

California came in 30th on the list with a score of 47.67. Ohio was 29th, scoring 49.46, and Missouri was 31st, scoring 46.88.

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“The best states for having a baby minimize costs while providing top-notch care for both newborns and their mothers,” according to WalletHub analyst Cassandra Happe. “They also continue to be good environments for parents even long after the birth, with high-quality pediatric care, affordable and accessible child care, and a strong economic environment that makes providing for a child easier.”

The Golden State tied with 15 other places for highest hospital cesarean delivery charges and it tied with 13 other places for highest hospital conventional delivery charges, according to WalletHub. Nationally, the average conventional delivery costs more than $2,600 with insurance and almost $15,000 without insurance.

Despite its poor overall ranking, California did come in fifth for lowest infant mortality rate, according to WalletHub.

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The three best states to have a baby were Massachusetts, North Dakota and Minnesota, with scores of 73.12, 68.8 and 68.22, respectively, according to the ranking. The worst state was Mississippi, which scored 28.58.