Smilehub Marks Missouri As 34th In Best States For Children
The website smilehub.com has released a list of the best states for children which places Missouri in the lower one-third across the country.
Based on 27 key metrics including health and wellness, support system strength, education and family and working life, Missouri is ranked 34th in the study with its best showings in education and family and working life.
The worst states for children according to smilehub.com are Alaska, New Mexico and Nevada.
The best states for children…New Hampshire, Minnesota and Massachusetts.
More info:
With only 9% of the federal budget going toward kids, the non-profit organization SmileHub today released new reports on the Best Charities for Children and the Best States for Children in 2025.
To highlight the best states for children and the ones that need to improve the most, SmileHub compared each of the 50 states based on 27 key metrics. The data set ranges from the number of children’s charities per capita to the child food-insecurity rate to the child well-being index ranking.
Most Supportive States |
States in Need of Improvement |
| 1. Massachusetts | 41. Florida |
| 2. Minnesota | 42. Arkansas |
| 3. New Hampshire | 43. Alabama |
| 4. Utah | 44. Mississippi |
| 5. Rhode Island | 45. Louisiana |
| 6. Virginia | 46. Arizona |
| 7. North Dakota | 47. Oklahoma |
| 8. Vermont | 48. Alaska |
| 9. Connecticut | 49. New Mexico |
| 10. Iowa | 50. Nevada |
Key Stats
- Alaska has the most family medicine physicians per capita – 18.6 times more than Kansas, which has the fewest family medicine physicians.
- California has the most children’s charities per capita – 12.6 times more than Rhode Island, which has the fewest charities.
- Vermont has the smallest student-to-teacher ratio – 2.2 times smaller than Arizona, which has the largest ratio.
To view the full report and your state’s rank, please visit:
https://smilehub.org/blog/best-states-for-children/192
Reporter Mike Anthony
