America sounds like it’s getting a “one star, would not recommend” when it comes to seeking out a place to raise a family. A new study found that the U.S. was ranked the second worst country to raise a family in 2020.
This study was based off of the research by travel site Asher & Lyric, according to the New York Post “The first time I looked at the data, I was in disbelief,” co-founder Lyric Benson-Fergusson said of the findings in the “Raising a Family Index” (RAFI).
To determine what we basically already know, the organization rated 35 countries according to safety, happiness, cost, health, education and time.
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The US clocked in at 34th place, just ahead of last-place finisher Mexico, whose murder rate jumped to the highest in nearly two years.
The best family-safe nations, according to the study, are Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland.
“I think if we, as Americans, are truly honest with ourselves, we might understand why the United States ranks solidly as the second-worst country to raise a family,” said Benson-Fergusson.
The Los Angeles-based mother of two started the site with her Australian husband, Asher Fergusson, to help people “stay safe, healthy, and happy at home and while traveling,” per the website’s description.
To delve deeper into the study, America came in dead last in terms of time — which the RAFI gauged by maternity leave, vacation days and other factors.
We also rank last in cost, which is measured by out-of-pocket health spending, cost of living, income ratio and more.
The study noted the U.S. is the only country that doesn’t require employers to offer maternity leave.
To put cost into perspective, the average household blows 31.79% of their income on child care compared to the 4 to 10% spent by Scandinavian nations.
America also reportedly tops the list in school shootings with a whopping 288 incidents from 2009 to 2018, with Mexico placing second at eight and all other countries recording zero, per the study.
“I have come to the heartbreaking conclusion that America is a deeply challenged and troubled country,” Benson-Fergusson said. “It doesn’t, and maybe never did, line up with its own ideology.”
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