In doing so, it revealed that a lot of the best family vacation spots are not necessarily in places you might expect. So, where are the best kid-friendly vacations? Read on to see the results of our study:
Surprise, surprise, we at Florida Rentals found that Florida is the best place to vacation with kids. Many families make regular trips to Orlando, FL due to its abundance of amusement parks. Between Walt Disney World, Epcot, Universal Studios, SeaWorld, and others, Orlando is a city you need to visit time and time again to experience all it has to offer.
DISCLAIMER: While it is certainly in our best interests for Florida to come in first place in this analysis, it was very important to us to conduct this study in a fair and impartial way. The truth is, we needed to adjust the weight of and add or remove different factors numerous times throughout this process for an unexpected reason: Florida kept scoring too high.
The Orlando Eye is a giant Ferris wheel overlooking the city. Located just off of International Drive (A/K/A I-Drive), even if you do not ride the Ferris wheel, you can admire its lights while enjoying miniature golf, wax figures at Madame Tussaud’s, or the Sea Life Orlando Aquarium. Head to the northern part of the city and you can catch a concert or watch the Orlando Magic play a game at Kia Center.
Florida, being a peninsula, has more miles of beaches than any other state except Washington. Daytona Beach is one of the best places to vacation with kids because you can spend part of the day by the water and then catch a race at the Daytona International Speedway.
Miami Beach is also a popular family vacation destination and is a great place for sports-lovers as well. It is one of the only cities in the US to have a team in all five of the major league sports leagues: The Heat, the Dolphins, the Marlins, the Florida Panthers, and the Inter Miami CS soccer team.
Wyoming may not be the first state people think of as one of the best family vacation spots but it is #2 on our list! It has the lowest population of any US state and is one of only five with less than 1 Million permanent residents. However, Wyoming has the second-largest number of hotel rooms per 100,000 people out of any US state, behind only Nevada.
While no major sports teams play out of Wyoming, and there is only one amusement park in the state, it does have 32.5 museums for every 100,000 residents, making it one of the Top 5 states for museums per capita – truly one of the best places to vacation with kids who like to learn and stay educated. If the Florida heat is too much for your family, you really may want to consider visiting Wyoming.
According to our data, Idaho is the least desirable state for a family-friendly vacation. It is in the lower 20% of US states in terms of the number of restaurants and in the lowest 10% of states for the number of museums. There is still plenty to do in Idaho. The Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve is among the most interesting US National Parks due to its abundance of caves and volcanic rock. Idaho is also home to one of the largest waterfalls in the US: Shoshone Falls, which stands at 212 feet tall and 900 feet wide.
As mentioned earlier, Nevada has more hotels per person than any other US state with 6,216 per 100,000 residents. This is largely due to Las Vegas where you can see dozens of luxury and budget-friendly places to stay while making a quick trek up and down the strip.
The neon lights and slot machines may not make it one of the best places to vacation with kids, but Nevada is also home to Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area and is only a short drive from Death Valley, CA where the opening scenes of the original Star Wars were filmed. It’s like taking a family vacation to Tatooine!
California has 85,779 restaurants, the most of any US state by a wide margin (the second is Texas with 56,739). Unsurprisingly, California and New York have the most Michelin-star restaurants. However, if you are adamant about going to a state where the restaurants have little-to-no wait time, consider Hawaii. It is the only state with more than 300 restaurants per 100,000 residents. It being a tropical paradise also adds to its appeal.
California has more museums than any other US state with 2,915. However, being the most-populated state, that only equates to 7.5 museums per 100,000 residents. You will have a lot of options, but they may be crowded. Vermont has 299 museums, a tenth of what California has, but due to its population, this is actually more museums per 100,000 people than any other state: 46.2. Therefore, Vermont is one of the best family vacation spots if your family would like to visit museums and experience them at your own pace.
But what about our top state for family vacations? Of all the factors that Florida ranked highly for, museums is not one of them. Florida is the state with the fewest museums per capita.
Like with restaurants and museums, California has more amusement parks than any other state, however, its attractions are spread between different areas in the state. If you want to experience the most California has to offer, you will want to visit, at minimum, San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco, and you are looking at a 6 hour drive between those last two.
Florida and Texas have the second-largest number of amusement parks, and with so many of them being in the city of Orlando itself, it reaffirms why the state of Florida is such an appealing place for a family vacation.
Perhaps you are looking for family vacation destinations with the intent to relocate. Mississippi is the cheapest state to live in with the cost of living being about 14.7% below the national average. However, there have been a lot of studies lately showing that the job market in Mississippi is quite low. The education system is also said to be poor, ranking #38 out of 50 in the United States, and there are not many doctors in the state either. On the bright side, Mississippi and Georgia are the two states with an average temperature closest to an ideal 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Cost of living was used as an indicator of how expensive vacations in each state would be. In that metric, Mississippi would be the most affordable state for family vacations.
The most expensive state to live in is Hawaii. This is due to a housing shortage stemming from an effort to preserve the natural beauty of the state and limit new construction. Furthermore, it costs more to ship anything to the Hawaiian Islands. The state also has high taxes and a general excise tax on every step of the production of goods. Because of this, Hawaii is the most expensive state for family vacations.
Florida is one of the best vacation locales for families. With pet friendly, and beachfront rentals, there is an opportunity for groups of all sizes to enjoy the best family vacation spots in affordable luxury. We also specialize in beach house rentals and snowbird vacation rentals if that is what you have your heart set on.
The best state for family-friendly vacations was determined by analyzing seven important factors to consider when searching for the best vacation spot. These factors include necessary vacation amenities like hotel rooms and restaurants; and fun vacation amenities like museums, amusement parks, and beaches. The factors also include the affordability of vacationing in each state and the best weather for year-round vacations. A list of all the factors and the weight of their scores can be found below.
Data Sources:
| State | State Population | Number of Hotel Rooms | Hotel rooms per 100k | Number of Restaurants | Restaurants per 100k | Number of Museums | Museusm per 100k | Number of Amusement Parks | Total Miles of Beaches | Mean Average Temperature past 3 years (july 2021-June 2024) | COL is +above or –below the average | TOTAL INDEX SCORE | |
| 1 | Florida | 22,610,726 | 482,518 | 2,134 | 48,354 | 213.9 | 1,293 | 5.7 | 34 | 909.2 | 72.7°F | 2.3% | 404.56 |
| 2 | Wyoming | 584,057 | 28,444 | 4,870 | 1,415 | 242.3 | 190 | 32.5 | 1 | 0 | 42.8°F | -7.2% | 394.92 |
| 3 | North Dakota | 783,926 | 25,568 | 3,262 | 1,803 | 230.0 | 287 | 36.6 | 2 | 0 | 41.7°F | -5.4% | 388.24 |
| 4 | Hawaii | 1,435,138 | 55,173 | 3,844 | 4,431 | 308.8 | 197 | 13.7 | 0 | 289.3 | 78.3°F | 79.0% | 382.39 |
| 5 | Vermont | 647,464 | 16,018 | 2,474 | 1,462 | 225.8 | 299 | 46.2 | 3 | 0 | 45.5°F | 14.9% | 374.01 |
| 6 | Montana | 1,132,812 | 33,231 | 2,933 | 3,271 | 288.8 | 301 | 26.6 | 1 | 0 | 43.3°F | 3.7% | 368.79 |
| 7 | Maine | 1,395,722 | 32,105 | 2,300 | 3,360 | 240.7 | 556 | 39.8 | 3 | 40.4 | 44.2°F | 11.5% | 366.85 |
| 8 | Texas | 30,503,301 | 520,916 | 1,708 | 56,739 | 186.0 | 2,034 | 6.7 | 34 | 331.9 | 67.5°F | -7.0% | 360.90 |
| 9 | South Dakota | 919,318 | 26,784 | 2,913 | 2,001 | 217.7 | 216 | 23.5 | 3 | 0 | 46.7°F | -6.2% | 354.12 |
| 10 | Louisiana | 4,573,749 | 98,739 | 2,159 | 11,275 | 246.5 | 431 | 9.4 | 2 | 21.9 | 68.5°F | -8.0% | 341.31 |
| 11 | Nevada | 3,194,176 | 198,559 | 6,216 | 6,806 | 213.1 | 200 | 6.3 | 5 | 0 | 51.3°F | 1.3% | 339.85 |
| 12 | Tennessee | 7,126,489 | 147,265 | 2,066 | 14,106 | 197.9 | 576 | 8.1 | 18 | 0 | 59.6°F | -9.6% | 331.73 |
| 13 | Mississippi | 2,939,690 | 62,311 | 2,120 | 5,904 | 200.8 | 281 | 9.6 | 3 | 34.5 | 65.8°F | -14.7% | 331.63 |
| 14 | California | 38,965,193 | 565,232 | 1,451 | 85,779 | 220.1 | 2,915 | 7.5 | 44 | 327.5 | 59.4°F | 34.5% | 330.75 |
| 15 | New Hampshire | 1,402,054 | 22,940 | 1,636 | 3,403 | 242.7 | 408 | 29.1 | 7 | 8.8 | 46.4°F | 15.0% | 330.53 |
| 16 | Oklahoma | 4,053,824 | 77,702 | 1,917 | 7,733 | 190.8 | 548 | 13.5 | 5 | 0 | 61.9°F | -14.0% | 327.40 |
| 17 | Iowa | 3,207,004 | 55,852 | 1,742 | 6,435 | 200.7 | 708 | 22.1 | 5 | 0 | 50.0°F | -10.3% | 326.09 |
| 18 | Missouri | 6,196,156 | 108,190 | 1,746 | 12,417 | 200.4 | 792 | 12.8 | 12 | 0 | 56.9°F | -11.6% | 325.12 |
| 19 | South Carolina | 5,373,555 | 117,611 | 2,189 | 11,170 | 207.9 | 413 | 7.7 | 6 | 91 | 64.2°F | -3.5% | 324.70 |
| 20 | North Carolina | 10,835,491 | 167,910 | 1,550 | 23,471 | 216.6 | 916 | 8.5 | 8 | 335.9 | 60.7°F | -3.9% | 322.95 |
| 21 | Kansas | 2,940,546 | 48,160 | 1,638 | 5,551 | 188.8 | 568 | 19.3 | 3 | 0 | 56.4°F | -12.3% | 320.85 |
| 22 | Washington | 7,812,880 | 104,357 | 1,336 | 16,732 | 214.2 | 732 | 9.4 | 7 | 1053.6 | 47.8°F | 15.1% | 320.20 |
| 23 | Georgia | 11,029,227 | 201,660 | 1,828 | 22,915 | 207.8 | 742 | 6.7 | 6 | 84.5 | 65.2°F | -9.0% | 319.44 |
| 24 | Nebraska | 1,978,379 | 34,109 | 1,724 | 4,355 | 220.1 | 369 | 18.7 | 1 | 0 | 50.7°F | -9.9% | 319.09 |
| 25 | New Mexico | 2,114,371 | 51,560 | 2,439 | 3,667 | 173.4 | 308 | 14.6 | 3 | 0 | 55.4°F | -5.8% | 318.00 |
| 26 | Alaska | 733,406 | 20,349 | 2,775 | 1,557 | 212.3 | 182 | 24.8 | 1 | 316.5 | 28.2°F | 24.4% | 317.98 |
| 27 | Oregon | 4,233,358 | 70,391 | 1,663 | 11,928 | 281.8 | 596 | 14.1 | 3 | 224 | 48.4°F | 15.1% | 317.04 |
| 28 | Colorado | 5,877,610 | 129,102 | 2,197 | 13,424 | 228.4 | 703 | 12.0 | 12 | 0 | 46.8°F | 5.5% | 315.50 |
| 29 | New York | 19,571,216 | 253,051 | 1,293 | 49,510 | 253.0 | 2,412 | 12.3 | 24 | 122.8 | 48.0°F | 25.1% | 312.24 |
| 30 | Rhode Island | 1,095,962 | 12,614 | 1,151 | 3,082 | 281.2 | 209 | 19.1 | 1 | 28.1 | 52.6°F | 10.5% | 311.19 |
| 31 | Alabama | 5,108,468 | 78,649 | 1,540 | 9,750 | 190.9 | 459 | 9.0 | 6 | 28.3 | 64.8°F | -11.2% | 310.69 |
| 32 | Illinois | 12,549,689 | 173,506 | 1,383 | 26,543 | 211.5 | 1,386 | 11.0 | 12 | 16.7 | 54.2°F | -9.2% | 310.12 |
| 33 | Arkansas | 3,067,732 | 54,145 | 1,765 | 5,816 | 189.6 | 316 | 10.3 | 2 | 0 | 62.5°F | -9.7% | 307.65 |
| 34 | Michigan | 10,037,261 | 128,649 | 1,282 | 19,984 | 199.1 | 1,118 | 11.1 | 7 | 469.2 | 47.1°F | -7.3% | 307.19 |
| 35 | Virginia | 8,715,698 | 158,230 | 1,815 | 16,930 | 194.2 | 1,067 | 12.2 | 7 | 36.6 | 57.4°F | 3.1% | 305.34 |
| 36 | Ohio | 11,785,935 | 141,527 | 1,201 | 24,821 | 210.6 | 1,430 | 12.1 | 11 | 45.8 | 53.4°F | -6.0% | 303.33 |
| 37 | West Virginia | 1,770,071 | 29,106 | 1,644 | 3,349 | 189.2 | 267 | 15.1 | 1 | 0 | 53.9°F | -9.7% | 302.82 |
| 38 | Wisconsin | 5,910,955 | 94,124 | 1,592 | 13,052 | 220.8 | 874 | 14.8 | 4 | 53.7 | 45.5°F | -5.0% | 302.36 |
| 39 | New Jersey | 9,290,841 | 113,519 | 1,222 | 20,373 | 219.3 | 778 | 8.4 | 17 | 196.8 | 55.4°F | 14.1% | 300.31 |
| 40 | Pennsylvania | 12,961,683 | 153,317 | 1,183 | 26,626 | 205.4 | 1,685 | 13.0 | 15 | 3.1 | 51.3°F | -1.0% | 299.44 |
| 41 | Delaware | 1,031,890 | 13,892 | 1,346 | 2,264 | 219.4 | 154 | 14.9 | 1 | 24 | 57.5°F | 2.6% | 298.89 |
| 42 | Indiana | 6,862,199 | 93,726 | 1,366 | 13,276 | 193.5 | 743 | 10.8 | 7 | 26.6 | 54.0°F | -8.5% | 295.87 |
| 43 | Kentucky | 4,526,154 | 69,208 | 1,529 | 8,594 | 189.9 | 473 | 10.5 | 3 | 0 | 57.7°F | -6.2% | 293.69 |
| 44 | Connecticut | 3,617,176 | 36,865 | 1,019 | 9,158 | 253.2 | 541 | 15.0 | 4 | 15.4 | 51.9°F | 13.1% | 290.31 |
| 45 | Minnesota | 5,737,915 | 87,439 | 1,524 | 11,133 | 194.0 | 732 | 12.8 | 6 | 58.6 | 43.0°F | -5.9% | 288.02 |
| 46 | Arizona | 7,431,344 | 122,568 | 1,649 | 12,321 | 165.8 | 472 | 6.4 | 8 | 0 | 61.3°F | 7.2% | 279.98 |
| 47 | Massachusetts | 7,001,399 | 94,454 | 1,349 | 15,709 | 224.4 | 1,106 | 15.8 | 4 | 152.8 | 51.1°F | 48.4% | 279.02 |
| 48 | Maryland | 6,180,253 | 82,553 | 1,336 | 11,573 | 187.3 | 672 | 10.9 | 8 | 20.1 | 57.0°F | 19.5% | 276.26 |
| 49 | Utah | 3,417,734 | 58,034 | 1,698 | 6,072 | 177.7 | 264 | 7.7 | 4 | 0 | 49.6°F | 1.5% | 272.13 |
| 50 | Idaho | 1,964,726 | 25,733 | 1,310 | 4,390 | 223.4 | 210 | 10.7 | 3 | 0 | 44.2°F | 6.1% | 271.61 |
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