In August, Opendoor, a digital platform for residential real estate, released a new survey that revealed the best family-friendly cities in the country.
The survey looked at key criteria:
- Academic excellence
- The great outdoors
- A small-town feel
Opendoor's family-friendly cities and towns were identified by analyzing and averaging the number of places tagged with phrases like: community center, garden, museum, park, picnic site, playground, school, swimming pool, and supermarket within three miles of one of their brokerages.
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No. 1 best family-friendly city: Cambridge, MA
Cambridge is a suburb outside of Boston and home to Harvard University and MIT.
Opendoor's consumer trends expert and broker Beatrice de Jong told CNBC Make It that Cambridge topped the list because it is a walkable city where families can enjoy a fun day out.
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"Cambridge offers families plenty of restaurants, coffee shops, and a year-round farmers market, a perfect way to fill your weekends," she said.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Massachusetts city's median household income in 2020 was $107,490.
Cambridge public schools are highly rated, with a student-teacher ratio of 9 to 1, according to Niche.com. The city ranked no. 7 of 240 as the most diverse school districts in the state and 17 of 238 on the list of best places to teach in Massachusetts.
Though, according to Opendoor's real estate trends report, the most common reason homeowners cite for selling their houses in Cambridge is that they are searching for a better school district.
Top 10 family-friendly cities and towns in 2022:
- Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Cliffside Park, New Jersey
- Arlington, Virginia
- Chandler, Arizona
- Tracy, California
- North Richland Hills, Texas
- Denver, Colorado
- Portland, Oregon
- Boulder, Colorado
- Anaheim, California
Cliffside Parks, New Jersey, and Arlington, Virginia, offer a small-town feel with big-city amenities nearby.
The New Jersey city is close to NYC, while the Virginia metropolitan area is just outside Washington D.C.
The locations also have outdoor play areas, neighborhoods with a strong community feel, and a wide selection of restaurants and coffee shops for the entire family.
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