Parenting

10 Best -- & Worst -- Cities in America to Raise a Family (Is It Time to Move?)

ParentingPublished Sep 12, 2016
By Jacqueline Burt Cote
family

Choosing the ideal place to raise your family is one of the biggest decisions we make as parents. After all, few things affect the quality of your family's life as much as where that life is being lived -- but how can you tell if your kids will thrive in the city of your dreams? WalletHub looked at a variety of factors, including the cost of housing, the quality of local school and health care systems, and "family fun" opportunities, and ranked the 150 most populated cities in the US in terms of just how family-friendly they truly are.

One of the most interesting things about these findings is that how the cities rated apparently had little to do with the region; great (and not-so-great) cities can be found all over the map. WalletHub's rankings took into consideration these five key factors:

  1. Family Fun: Everything from the number of playgrounds to the percentage of families with children under 17.
  2. Health & Safety: From air and water quality to violent crime stats.
  3. Education & Child Care: This included WalletHub's "School Systems" Ranking, as a well as factors like affordable childcare and the high school graduation rate.
  4. Affordability: Factors like housing and the cost of living.
  5. Socioeconomic Environment: This is all about the social environment, from divorce rate to the percentage of families living below the poverty line.
good cities for families

Read on to find out if you should start browsing the real estate section now -- or if you're already in the perfect place to put down roots! (And check out the full list of cities and their rankings here.)

Image via iStock.com/Geber86

1/20
#10 Worst City for Families: Augusta, Georgia-placeholder
#10 Worst City for Families: Augusta, Georgia
Dizzy Girl/Flickr

#10 Worst City for Families: Augusta, Georgia

Augusta may be lovely, but it ranked #100 in terms of health and safety for family, and #111 for affordability -- meaning the city could definitely do a lot better!

2/20
#9 Worst City for Families: North Las Vegas, Nevada-placeholder
#9 Worst City for Families: North Las Vegas, Nevada
Lauri Vain/Flickr

#9 Worst City for Families: North Las Vegas, Nevada

There are no lack of children in North Las Vegas -- the city came in at #5 for "most families with kids" -- but since it was ranked as the 115th most affordable city, that means there's no lack of stressed-out parents, either (also because education and childcare systems are #148).

3/20
#8 Worst City for Families: Shreveport, Louisiana-placeholder
#8 Worst City for Families: Shreveport, Louisiana
Blake Lewis/Flickr

#8 Worst City for Families: Shreveport, Louisiana

If you're looking for a good time, maybe don't go to Shreveport: In the "family fun" category, the city came in at #95. That's no fun at all!

More from CafeMom: The 10 Best -- & Worst -- States for Working Moms

4/20
#7 Worst City for Families: Fresno, California-placeholder
#7 Worst City for Families: Fresno, California
Great Valley Center/Flickr

#7 Worst City for Families: Fresno, California

Families hoping to stretch their dollar might want to avoid moving to Fresno: The California city was ranked #140 in the "affordability" column.

5/20
#6 Worst City for Families: Miami, Florida-placeholder
#6 Worst City for Families: Miami, Florida
Liliana/Flickr

#6 Worst City for Families: Miami, Florida

Even less affordable than Fresno at #148, Miami also has one of the lowest median family salaries in the country. At least there are palm trees ...

6/20
#5 Worst City for Families: Cleveland, Ohio-placeholder
#5 Worst City for Families: Cleveland, Ohio
Erik Drost/Flickr

#5 Worst City for Families: Cleveland, Ohio

With one of the highest percentages of families living below the poverty level in the country, Cleveland also has THE highest divorce rate of all the cities analyzed.

More from CafeMom: 10 Best & Worst States for Schools -- Is Yours on the List?

7/20
#4 Worst City for Families: Hialeah, Florida-placeholder
#4 Worst City for Families: Hialeah, Florida
Phillip Pessar/Flickr

#4 Worst City for Families: Hialeah, Florida

According to this study, kids living in Hialeah must be pretty bored: The Florida city has remarkably few playgrounds per capita and very few attractions for families in general (#147 on the list).

8/20
#3 Worst City for Families: Detroit, Michigan-placeholder
#3 Worst City for Families: Detroit, Michigan
Michigan Municipal League/Flickr

#3 Worst City for Families: Detroit, Michigan

Interestingly, while Detroit has the highest violent crime rate per capita in the country, it also has the third highest number of playgrounds (too bad playing outside is such a scary prospect!).

9/20
#2 Worst City for Families: San Bernardino, California-placeholder
#2 Worst City for Families: San Bernardino, California
Raymond Shobe/Flickr

#2 Worst City for Families: San Bernardino, California

Talk about a bad combination: San Bernardino has lots of poverty, and not a lot of playgrounds. 

More from CafeMom: Best & Worst States at Dealing With Bullying: How Scary Is It Where You Live?

10/20
#1 Worst City for Families: Birmingham, Alabama-placeholder
#1 Worst City for Families: Birmingham, Alabama
James Willamor/Flickr

#1 Worst City for Families: Birmingham, Alabama

Winning the dubious honor of being the worst city for families in America, Birmingham has especially high rates of violent crime and divorce, and it's not particularly affordable either.

11/20
#10 Best City for Families: Fremont, California-placeholder
#10 Best City for Families: Fremont, California
Yong Thye/Flickr

#10 Best City for Families: Fremont, California

Fremont got super high ratings in two super important areas, with the second lowest percentage of families living below poverty level in the country and the fourth lowest violent crime rate per capita. Fremont also has THE lowest divorce rate in the country!

12/20
#9 Best City for Families: Colorado Springs, Colorado-placeholder
#9 Best City for Families: Colorado Springs, Colorado
David Jones/Flickr

#9 Best City for Families: Colorado Springs, Colorado

Beautiful Colorado Springs got high ratings for its education and health care system. (Maybe because everybody's in such great shape from spending all that time in the great outdoors!)

More from CafeMom: 10 Best & 10 Worst States for Poor Kids to Live In: Is Yours on the List?

13/20
#8 Best City for Families: Omaha, Nebraska-placeholder
#8 Best City for Families: Omaha, Nebraska
Pat Hawks/Flickr

#8 Best City for Families: Omaha, Nebraska

The tenth most affordable city for families in the country, Omaha also has the fifth highest number of playgrounds per capita. Good fun, on the cheap!

14/20
#7 Best City for Families: Aurora, Illinois-placeholder
#7 Best City for Families: Aurora, Illinois
Doug Kerr/Flickr

#7 Best City for Families: Aurora, Illinois

If making lots of friends is important to you, head to Aurora. The city is home to the most families with kids in the country!

15/20
#6 Best City for Families: Lincoln, Nebraska-placeholder
#6 Best City for Families: Lincoln, Nebraska
RLEVENS/Flickr

#6 Best City for Families: Lincoln, Nebraska

The state capital of Nebraska, Lincoln was ranked the 8th most affordable city for families in the country, with a low percentage of parents and kids living under the poverty line (and a low separation and divorce rate).

More from CafeMom: 10 Best & Worst States to Raise a Girl: Is Yours on the List?

16/20
#5 Best City for Families: Virginia Beach, Virginia-placeholder
#5 Best City for Families: Virginia Beach, Virginia
John Getchel/Flickr

#5 Best City for Families: Virginia Beach, Virginia

Congrats to Virginia Beach for being nabbing the #3 spot for healthiest and/or safest city for families (and for looking like a postcard!).

17/20
#4 Best City for Families: Sioux Falls, South Dakota-placeholder
#4 Best City for Families: Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Jerry/Flickr

#4 Best City for Families: Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Get more real estate bang for your buck in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, which came in as having the third most affordable housing for families in the country.

18/20
#3 Best City for Families: Plano, Texas-placeholder
#3 Best City for Families: Plano, Texas
Matt Hollingsworth/Flickr

#3 Best City for Families: Plano, Texas

If you've never heard of Plano, Texas, you might be missing out: The city has the #1 most affordable housing in the country and has the second highest median family salary (plus low rates of divorce and poverty).

More from CafeMom: 10 States That Vaccinate the Most & the Least -- Is Yours on the List?

19/20
#2 Best City for Families: Madison, Wisconsin-placeholder
#2 Best City for Families: Madison, Wisconsin
gbozik photography/Flickr

#2 Best City for Families: Madison, Wisconsin

Budget-friendly and safe with stellar school systems and plenty of playgrounds, Madison, Wisconsin, is the second best city for families -- not too shabby!

20/20
#1 Best City for Families: Overland Park, Kansas-placeholder
#1 Best City for Families: Overland Park, Kansas
Chris Murphy/Flickr

#1 Best City for Families: Overland Park, Kansas

Congratulations, Overland Park, Kansas, for winning the title of #1 Best City in America for Families -- and for having the LOWEST percentage of families living below the poverty level! BRB, packing our bags.

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