LEXINGTON, Ky. (FOX 56) — A recent analysis of living costs compared to last year suggests the Bluegrass State may be one of the most affordable places in the US to raise a child.
SmartAsset, a financial resource website, published a list of all 50 states on Nov. 11, ranking them by their estimated cost of raising a young child for two working parents.
How the data was gathered
SmartAsset wrote that staff used the MIT Living Wage Calculator to compare the living costs of a household with two working adults and one child to those of a childless household with two working adults in all 50 states. The data compared costs from February 2024 through February 2025, ranking the cost of living in each state with a child from highest to lowest. Analysts looked at the costs of food, transportation, medical expenses, childcare, additional housing, and other necessities for a child under age five.
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Kentucky ranked 48th most expensive, just ahead of Alabama and Mississippi, respectively.
Below were the 10 most expensive states to live in, according to SmartAsset’s findings:
- Massachusetts
- Connecticut
- Vermont
- California
- New Jersey
- Washington
- Colorado
- Hawaii
- New York
- Minnesota
Kentucky saw a rise in the overall price of raising a child by just shy of 2% from 2024 to 2025, according to SmartAsset’s data, while Vermont saw a hike of over 25% over the course of a single calendar year, resulting in a nearly $8,000 jump in costs…