Best Cities To Raise a Family

Do you like raising a family where you live?  Does it offer everything you would want for your family?  If not, where would you like to live and raise your family? Parenting.com put together a list of the Best Cities to Raise a Family and I wanted to share it with you (and their comments too!). 

They have quite an involved system such as health, economy, culture and safety to determine what the best cities are. If you are interested in their methodology for picking the cities, please click HERE.

Here are the top 10 cities, but if you would like to see a list of the top 100 cities to raise a family please click HERE.  Your city may even be on the list!

1. Boston, Massachusetts - A thrilling hometown baseball team, incredible institutions of higher learning, gorgeous parks, historical neighborhoods and a new highway system are the obvious reasons why Boston is a great town to live in. It is also home to the premier Boston Children's Hospital. An elementary school was picked by the White House to participate in a prestigious arts program headed by artists such as Yo-Yo Ma and Forest Whitaker, and the Boston Children's Museum recently announced a $365,000 grant to ensure that their programs appeal to all children, including kids in underserved populations. Also, students at 25 schools across Boston are enjoying a before-school exercise program created by a local mom—a program so popular it has attracted the sponsorship of Reebok and is spreading to other cities.


2. Burlington, Vermont - With afterschool ski programs (often free), fresh veggies at school, parks at every turn, farmers’ markets and plenty of snow, Burlington offers an idyllic place to raise a kid.


3. Portland, Maine - New to this year's list, Portland is another small, northeastern city that lures parents with clean air, plenty of outdoor space for kids to play, and a laidback lifestyle that encourages healthy, active family living. Low crime and easy commuting make this coastal town an inviting locale for working families.


4. Austin, Texas - Austin is a unique oasis in the midst of the Lone Star State. With a temperate climate and lots of green space, Austin is the kind of place where families can take strolls through the city and participate in numerous outdoor festivals.

5. Cheyenne, Wyoming - Cheyenne offers residents good schools and low crime. The city's culture is heavily tied to the presence of the F. E. Warren Air Force Base, which helps keep the unemployment rate low. Living on the frontier means kids will grow up with access to the outdoors and likely a love of the rodeo. As a community gathering place and a safe way to get active, the Greenway exemplifies the city's dedication to providing a healthy city to raise kids.

6.  Arlington, Virginia and Washington, DC - The Metro system connects Arlington to DC, giving residents the ability to live in Arlington and work in the capital or vice versa. Houses are comparatively expensive, but low property taxes help ease the burden. Education is a focus in Arlington with 90 percent of high school graduates continuing their education and nearly 37 percent of Arlingtonians holding graduate or professional degrees.

7. Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota - The Twin Cities ranked high on our list for healthy air, healthy people and safe streets for strolling as well as a lower unemployment rate. The Twin Cities’ dual commitment to green living gives parents the opportunity to enjoy big city life without sacrificing health and safety.


8. Madison, Wisconsin - Unemployment and crime are low, the air is clean and there are plenty of parks and trails for families to go outside and stay active. Madison is the type of city where parents can enjoy the culture and entertainment that such an urban environment offers while appreciating the green space and healthy living for their children.

9. Omaha, Nebraska - Omaha is brimming with kid-friendly activities, but this little city in the Midwest offers more than just fun, it provides a family centered lifestyle. There's something for everyone and thinks it's a great place for a working parent.






10. Sioux Falls, South Dakota -  This city offers parents a combination of low unemployment—the city scored four percentage points lower than the national average—and a stable housing market. Sioux Falls managed to avoid the subprime mortgage crisis and rapid new construction that the rest of the country experienced, and therefore never had a big housing bubble to burst. Sioux Falls boasts a low rate of violent crime and was given an A by the American Lung Association for their air quality thanks to negligent levels of ozone in the air.