Is Montana Still A Great Place To Raise Kids In 2025?

How Montana Stacks Up Against Neighboring States For Families

As a working father, I like to think that my kids are doing pretty well being raised in Montana.

While you and I might think Montana is a great state to raise a family in, what do the "experts" think, and how do we compare to states around us?

What The Data Really Says About Family Life In Montana

Each year WalletHub takes a look at the data that is available to them and tries to find what state offers families the best opportunity for raising their kids.

Since there are 50 states in America, they decided to use 50 key indicators of family-friendliness.

There is more to raising kids than just "Are they safe?" and WalletHub looked at things like family income, housing availability, school rankings, plus healthcare, and yes, crime was included as well.

Montana's Strengths—and Weaknesses—for Parents Today

Today they estimate that to raise a child to the age of 18, it will cost a family in excess of $300,000.

With numbers like that, it feels like the best places to live and raise a family are states that have high earning potential but also low housing costs.

Most of you are probably thinking, "Well, that doesn't sound like Montana," and you'd be correct; we aren't a state known for having high income, and we all know housing isn't that affordable at the moment, but Montana sure isn't the worst state to raise a family in.

See how we compare to our neighbors in the gallery below.