The Top Cities To Raise Your Family

April 9th, 2012 - By Charlotte Young

http://www.blackparenting.org

When it comes to raising a family, location is important. Concerned parents want to make sure that their children are getting a good quality education and that crime is relatively low. At the same time, no one wants to live in an area where they spend so much on housing and location that they can’t afford anything else. Forbes took a look at 100 of largest metro areas in the nation and graded them for median income, cost of living, housing affordability, family home ownership, education, crime rate and transportation.

The number one city for families is Grand Rapids, Michigan. In this city, 75 percent of families own homes and the public school system also offers several charter schools.

The Number two city is Boise, Idaho. Sixty-nine percent of families own homes which is the Pacific Northwest’s third largest city. Compared to the two largest, Seattle and Portland, Boise has both a lower cost of living and crime rate.

Number three on the list: Provo, Utah where 65 percent of families own homes. Although housing is a bit on the expensive side, cost of living in Provo isn’t. In addition, the city has the lowest crime rate of any metro area.

Youngstown, Ohio comes in at number four. This city took a hit in its economic stability with the recession, but it still offers affordable living and a solid education system.

Raleigh, North Carolina is next on the list. At number five it has a good education system, 69 percent of families own homes and fairly low crime. There is however, one downside: in a year commuters will spend about 25 additional hours in their commute time than workers around the nation. But when you break that up, it’s only about 10 minutes extra a day.

For some of you, this list may have gotten you thinking about moving to more affordable and family friendly city. But for those who need more convincing, check the full list of 10 cities on Forbes. 

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  • Just saying!

    Glad you posted this. I think money and education is important to consider but honestly with all that has been going on with Trayvon and these other black kids dying my main question is: WHERE is it safest to raise black children!!?? If you can even determine that…

    • W Veronica7

      Each state website tells you the percentage of blacks per state and some city. It would have been nice if it was included in the article since this is a predominantly black audience (instead of copy and pasting) to add more to the rankings.