This California City Is the Best Place to Raise a Family in the U.S.

Whether you’re thinking about starting a family, or already have a house full of kids, you’re probably wondering how your own city stacks up when it come to raising a family. WalletHub just released a new report, 2023’s Best and Worst Places to Raise a Family, to answer that very question. The researchers at the personal finance website made the report in part because “during this period of high inflation, many families will consider moving to a place with a relatively low cost of living.”

To compile the rankings, the WalletHub team compared 182 cities based (the most populated U.S. cities and at least two of the most populated cities in each state) on 45 key metrics, like the cost of housing, cost of living, quality of local school and healthcare systems, unemployment rate, and number of recreation spots. 

The top city to raise a family might seem familiar—it’s Fremont, California. The Bay Area city was also named the “happiest city” in the U.S. by WalletHub earlier this year. Cities in the West in general had a strong showing on the list—there were seven Western cities in the top 10. Irvine, California, was the third on the list and had the fewest violent crimes (per 1,000 residents). Pearl City, Hawaii (number 39 on the list) has the lowest share of families living in poverty. Scottsdale and Gilbert in Arizona made the top 5 list when it comes to highest median family salary.

Take a look at the top 10 list below, followed by the 10 worst cities to raise a family.

Best Cities for Families

1. Fremont, California

2. Overland Park, Kansas

3. Irvine, California

4. Plano, Texas

5. South Burlington, Vermont

6. San Diego, California

7. San Jose, California

8. Scottsdale, Arizona

9. Gilbert, Arizona

10. San Francisco, California

Worst Cities for Families

1. Wilmington, Delaware

2. Hialeah, Florida

3. Baltimore, Maryland

4. Shreveport, Louisiana

5. San Bernardino, California

6. Newark, New Jersey

7. Birmingham, Alabama

8. Detroit, Michigan

9. Memphis, Tennessee

10. Cleveland, Ohio

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