Best Places to Raise Kids: Three Things You Use Every Week
Editorial Staff · September 18, 2026
A summary of facts and distances, *not medical advice.
Make this a wish: Where Might I Live highlights US counties where you might find it, in search of YOUR happy place. Combine wishes for healthcare, prices, and more.
A pediatrician, insured children and library storytimes nearby. A doctor who knows your child by name. Other children in your town covered too. Somewhere free and out of the weather on a Tuesday morning.
1,264 of 3,141 US counties have no pediatrician at all. In 22 counties a parent has all three within reach.5
| Wishes | Matching counties | Across the country in general |
|---|---|---|
| A pediatrician nearby | 4725 | 1,264 of 3,141 counties have none |
| Children with health insurance | 6035 | in the typical state, about 5.2% of children under 19 have none2 |
| Library programs for under fives | 5755 | the typical state runs about 68 a year for every 1,000 children under five3 |
We measure pediatricians and library programs in the county, from the federal health workforce file and the federal public libraries survey, rather than averaging either across a state. The share of uninsured children is a fact about the county rather than about your own household: it shows how well children living there are reached by cover of any kind. A practice nearby is not an appointment: even where there are plenty, a practice can have its books closed.5
What stands out
- Only 22 of 3,143 US counties have a pediatrician, well insured children and library storytimes all at once.5
- Counties with all three are in 13 different states.5
- In the typical state, about 28% of households are raising a child under 18.4
Best places to raise a family
Two towns, same size, same rent. In one, a doctor knows your child by name and the library runs a storytime on Tuesday mornings. In the other, the nearest pediatrician is an hour each way, and a sick child takes the whole day.1
22 counties across 13 states have all three within reach.5
Counties with no pediatrician
1,264 of 3,141 counties have no pediatrician, which is more than a third of the country. In those counties a child is seen by a family doctor, by a practice in the next county, or at an emergency room, and a parent arriving from elsewhere might want to check first.1
472 counties are best supplied, where a parent can choose between practices instead of taking the only one.1
Are children in this county insured?
About 5.2% of children under 19 are uninsured in the typical state. 603 counties are the best covered.2
Where most children in a county are covered, a pediatric practice can stay open, a school nurse has somewhere to refer a child, and the family down the road is not choosing between an appointment and a bill.2
Free things to do with toddlers
Library programs for the under fives are free, indoors, weekly, and within walking distance for a lot of families. Librarians in the typical state run about 68 programs a year for every 1,000 young children.3
A library running a storytime every week is a library its town pays for, and the doors are open to a family on the first morning they walk in.3
Plenty more places have children well insured. Start there and narrow as you go.
Sources and review
- HRSA Area Health Resources Files, AHRF 2024-2025. Fact sheet (PDF).
- County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, 2026 supplemental release (2026-03-25). Fact sheet (PDF).
- Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, FY2023 public use data (posted 2025-08). Fact sheet (PDF).
- US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Fact sheet (PDF).
- Where Might I Live county figures: each figure taken in the county, with no score, weighting or ranking applied over the top. Methodology
- Written
- 2026-09-18
- Reviewed by
- Editorial Staff, 2026-09-27
- Published
- 2026-10-04