The BEST CITIES to Raise a FAMILY in AMERICA

US cities are shrinking.

Is that news? Well, technically it’s not true, but it kinda is. Over the last two decades, more and more Americans are fleeing cities for the suburbs and for rural areas.

It seems that a large portion of Americans moving to our largest cities are immigrants and younger millennial types who haven’t yet settled down, and who are undeterred by the financial struggles that come with high rents and overpriced lifestyles.

But a big portion of Americans - those who are middle class and who are starting families, are over the big city life. Because now, it seems US cities just aren’t family friendly anymore.

10. Cary, North Carolina

This Raleigh suburb gets an A in every category we measured. Things like great schools, low crime, and housing all make it GOOD for FAMILIES. Cary has all the amenities of a larger city, but a much smaller population - at 150,000, but growing fast. There’s a ton of parks here, and Cary ranks 8th in the US for number of households with kids, too.

9. Colorado Springs, Colorado

Here in Colorado Springs, the family amenities score is the 17th best in the nation, the percentage of households with kids is 56%, crime is about average, and home prices are very affordable at only $233,000.

The number of parks and playgrounds is in the top 10% of the nation, too. And since Colorado is such a dog friendly state, you can bet there’s lots of dog parks here, too.

8. Boise, Idaho

Boise is up there in all sorts of categories we measured. The school districts are great, there’s a lot of outdoor activities, it’s relatively safe, and of course, as you can imagine, commute times are really short in this teeny nook of the northwestern United States.

7. Gilbert, Arizona

Gilbert ranks 4th in the nation for number of households with children, so you’d be in good company if you moved here. There’s plenty of high paying jobs in the area, and Gilbert also has the second-lowest violent crime rate in the US, too.

In fact, the only knock on Gilbert is it’s low ranking for number of playgrounds per capita.

6. Billings, Montana

Billings ranks 17th and 18th respectively in the nation when you measure education and child care as well as affordability. Of course, housing is crazy affordable, where you can buy a big ole house here for about $200,000.

Like Boise before it, it’s wide open with things to do. There’s a zoo and a museum and a water park here.

5. Burlington, Vermont

Check out the accolades on Vermont! Number one overall for kid friendly cities...Vermont’s the safest state in the nation, Vermont is the healthiest state in the nation...number one place for families that love outdoor sports...number 6 best family friendly place in the nation (we’re saying number 5)...the list goes on and on for Burlington.

4. Lincoln, Nebraska

Here in Lincoln, nothing really stands out as being enormously amazing. It’s just broadly really good across the board in every category. It excels most in affordability - it’s actually the 10th most affordable city in the nation! And it has the lowest unemployment rate too.

Other factors? Short commute times, a low high school dropout rate, and really low child care costs.

3. Frisco, Texas

Of course Frisco is on here. We’ve talked about how awesome Frisco and the surrounding north Dallas suburbs are several times on this channel in the past. I’ll be brief, but Frisco ranks in the top 10 in three different categories, including safety, health, and affordability. Just about everyone owns a home, and there’s parks and all sorts of sports leagues here in which to wear the kids out.

2. Ann Arbor, Michigan

There are a whopping 159 parks in Ann Arbor - which is tops on our list. The schools here have a really low teacher to student ratio. People are educated, it’s safe, affordable, and there’s a bunch of fun things to do to keep the kids entertained.
And, there’s a great university here too - the University of Michigan.

1. Overland Park, Kansas

Overland Park is the most affordable place you can live in the country - at least for now. The schools here are like off the charts good, and families here all thrive. Divorce rates are super low, and everyone has a good job if they want one.

There’s a lot to do downtown, there’s farmers, concerts, events and parks all over the place. There’s a real sense of community here in Overland Park.
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