Mississippi is the worst state for children's healthcare, according to personal finance website WalletHub's "Best & Worst States for Children's Health Care" list for 2023.
WalletHub compared the 50 states and Washington, D.C. across 33 key indicators of cost, quality and access to children's healthcare, including pediatricians per capita, cost of dental treatment, obesity rates and more. The full methodology can be found here. States were scored from 0 to 100, with 100 representing the best care for children.
Massachusetts, the state with the highest-ranked healthcare for children, scored 66.26 out of 100. Mississippi, the state with the lowest ranking, scored 39.58.
Here are the 10 lowest-ranked states for children's healthcare and their score out of 100, starting with the lowest ranking:
1. Mississippi: 39.58
2. Texas: 41.52
3. Louisiana: 43.96
4. Wyoming: 44.26
5. Indiana: 45.06
6. West Virginia: 45.16
7. Kentucky: 45.45
8. Oklahoma: 45.93
9. Arkansas: 47.54
10. New Mexico: 47.87