What to Know
- WalletHub compared 182 cities based on key metrics it considers essential family dynamics to find the best, worst state to raise a family
- None of the cities in the tri-state cracked the top 50; Worse yet, a local city was deemed the worst place to raise a family
- WalletHub determined that New Jersey’s largest city, Newark, was the worst city in the country to raise a family
People choose locations to raise a family based on a myriad of reasons — from cost of housing to a quality school system. The reasons to choose a place to call home are endless, especially when you are a parent.
With this in mind, the financial website WalletHub, compared 182 cities in the United States based on 46 key metrics it considers essential family dynamics to determine the best and worst place to raise a family.
The metrics were then broken down to five categories: family fun rank, health and safety rank, education and child care rank, affordability rank and socio-economics rank. These five categories determined the overall rank of a city.
It turns out that none of the cities in the tri-state cracked the top 50. Worse yet, a local city was deemed the worst place to raise a family in the entire country.
WalletHub determined that New Jersey’s largest city, Newark, was the worst city in the country to raise a family based on the dismal ranking it received in the five separate categories.
When it comes to key metrics, Newark was determined to be one of the cities with the fewest playgrounds per capita and having one of the lowest median family salary adjusted for cost of living,
Local
Out of the few tri-state cities that made an appearance on the list, the highest-ranking one is Jersey City, New Jersey, which came in overall at No. 80. However, it did rank No. 14 when it comes to health and safety.
Jersey City was also deemed one of the cities with the fewest playgrounds per capita.
Yonkers came in at No. 82, as the highest-ranking city in New York on the list. The cities of Buffalo and Rochester, New York, came in at No. 87 and 154, respectively.
Rochester also made several appearances in key metrics used in the report. It ranked among the city with the highest percentage of families not living in poverty and one of the cities with the highest divorce rates.
Additionally, Buffalo was also deemed as one of the cities with the most affordable housing, another key metric used by WalletHub.
The Big Apple also made an appearance on the overall list by coming in at No. 111, placing sixth in the family fun rank, but at No. 180 in the affordability rank.
When it comes to individual key metrics, it tied in the top spot with Chicago for having the most playgrounds per capita. It also ranked No. 1 as the city with the most attractions. However, it ranked as being one of the cities with the lowest median family salary adjusted for the cost of living and as having one of the least affordable housing markets.
The only two cities in Connecticut to make an appearance on the list were New Haven and Bridgeport which ranked 135 and 164, respectively.
So, which city reigned supreme and has the honors of being the best to raise a family, according to WalletHub? The city of Overland Park in Kansas topped the list.
