Massachusetts Ranks #1 In Baby Study – And Not In A Positive Way

Listen, it's no secret. Everybody is dealing with it. Times are tough. Life is hard. The cost of living just seems to keep going up. And if you're the parent of a child(or children), the situation is probably even worse.

Well, I just came across a study that, unfortunately, probably won't make you feel better. I'm sure many of you are familiar with pregnancy pillows. If you're not, a quick description. Pregnancy pillows are pillows that are designed especially for the contours of the pregnant body. They provide support and help prevent aches and pains.

A California-based company that manufactures pregnancy pillows, Body Nest, recently released a list of the most and least expensive states to have a baby. They compiled and analyzed certain data to come up with their findings.

Body Nest looked at everything from the cost of childbirth, the cost of childcare over the course of a year, and even yearly average rent increases throughout the 50 states. And what did they find(I'm sure you can see this coming)?

Massachusetts(surprise, surprise!) ranks #1 as the most expensive state to have a baby. The Bay State had the second-highest one-year rate increase average at $4,994(Hawaii was first with $5,747).

Massachusetts didn't do too bad for childbirth costs (several states ranked higher) at $8,782. But it was in the third metric that Massachusetts came out on top, the average cost of childcare for one year, $20,913! Far and away the most expensive. California was at #2, $16,945.

Because Massachusetts came in at #1 and #2 in two out of the three metrics, it was ranked #1 overall. The other four states in the top 5 for most expensive, from #2 to #5 were: California, Alaska, Connecticut, and New Jersey.

And, just for fun, the top 5 least expensive states to have a baby from #5 to #1: Louisiana, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Alabama. For more on the study, visit Body Nest's website here.