I grew up in Baltimore, MD here ranked dead last. I was probably less comfortable than I may have been growing up somewhere else, but I don't think that made it a worse place for my parents to choose to raise me.
This list seems to prioritize quality of life issues that associate with "comfortableness"-- good to know but perhaps not, in my opinion, the best way to choose where to raise your family and make your life.
@Geoff I currently live in Lawton, Ok and it recently was ranked the 4th worst city to raise children in. I think that it is all a matter of opinion, especially since Lawton is a military community and a lot of families choose to retire in the area. I'm sure there are far worst cities to raise children in than Lawton, however I do understand why someone would view it as not such a good place for families.
I'm pretty disgusted and disheartened by many of the comments here. Sure, NY is great, and I lived there for almost 20 years, but it's not the only place to live. Frankly, there are a lot of fantastic places to live elsewhere in the country that are beautiful, welcoming, affordable, diverse, and filled with culture. It's becoming impossible to live in NYC unless you're flush with cash. Thanks for showing your privilege and prejudice, New Yorkers.
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This study completely defines itself into irrelevance with it's narrow definition of "city." In fact, it completely excludes AL, AR, CT, DE,HI, ME, MS, MT, NH, ND, SC, SD, VT, WV, WY altogether. So let's title an article about 'best cities to raise children' and exclude 15 states? Come on now.
In the five states of New England, it includes only 2 cities, excluding gems like Burlington, VT and Portland, ME. Huge misses elsewhere: Hawaii (Honolulu?), South Carolina (Greenville?). I'm sure the are tons more I'm not familiar with.
I'm a fan of smaller cities with active cultural amenities and great schools; I think they are some the best places to raise children and they are not represented at all.
There are much better studies on this topic....
@PG , I don't want any more move ins to my state, glad they did not mention how wonderful it is.
@bigdoc
My husband, son, and I were raised in Brooklyn, NY. . We were always at some museum with school trips during the week and on the weekends as a family. We went to the theatre, ballet, and symphony often with his class. We always ate the best food, and it was all ethnic. Sometimes we ate it in restaurants and sometimes we ate it in our friends' homes. My son's Public School classmates were from Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Central and South America. They were Protestant, Roman Catholic, Buddhist, Muslim, and Jewish. We socialized in each others homes. We weren't wealthy, but we had a rich life.
Now we live in the South, and everyone looks like us.
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As a liberal Democrat who has lived in many states of the Midwest and now lives in New England, it pains me to see folks in the comments paint themselves as somehow being open-minded and cultured -- while at the same time closing their minds off to the possibility that there are places behind the tri-state area that have diversity of thought, faith, income, race, etc. and cultural opportunities. Take a look in the mirror; that is closed-minded thinking right there.
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@Gretchen They are liberals --open minded as long as you agree with them and do everything their way.
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How is it news to quote irresponsibly incomplete information from a random business/marketing entity named “zumper??” I’d hope an article from the NYT would be based around this information, rather: http://racetoequity.net/baseline-report-state-racial-disparities-dane-co...
Really disappointed in and embarrassed for the NYT on this one.
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@Jessica You want an article based on a 2013 report about a county in WI? The article explains the data reviewed and the sources that Zumper reviewed. It's a good summary. Anyway, your town ended up #1.
The NY Times is not research institution and this story and supposed research shows it. Who would ever want to be raised or even live in Iowa or Nebraska? I was raised in Brooklyn and it was the best environment. Lots of parks and open areas and easy access to the most amazing cultural environment anywhere in the world. I went to a public school where we spent two days each week going to museums and other cultural events. At the time, more than 50 years ago, there were 87 MUSEUMS in NYC!!!
It was the best place to move from near poverty to wealth.
I have been to most of the major college campuses in the U.S. and Madison is a nice place. Tallahassee does not have the museums that this study says it has. It is a nice place. The only
place that is not flat in the entire state of Florida. However, the summers are brutal and I would never want to raise a child in that environment. Texas is too violent. The entire culture is violent. There are some pockets of culture, but it is generally a complete waste. Few good symphonies, theater or museums. Really only two good universities in the entire state.
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OMG ! Mostly red
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The comments section definitely illustrates the stratospheric income level of the Times readers.
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@Traymn It also represents some elitism.
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I guarantee you that Louisville, Ky should be included! In my neighborhood it is starting to feel like when I was a kid (many years ago!) with kids (again I'll say many) playing out in the streets and joining each other with different activities. I walk every night and I do keep an eye out for them and their parents know it but it's a safe neighborhood. When I was a kid though we had plenty of fields around us where we could have teams of pick-up football and baseball but that no longer exists.
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This doesn't take into account the presence of sidewalks, transit, parks, and other things that benefit families. Also schools, diversity, cultural events... There is so much missing here! I don't think the Times should amplify the results of a poorly done comparison that isn't based on any real research about what benefits families.
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As a New Yorker, I could never live somewhere that doesn’t offer cultural activities. Was that at all considered? I guess if you care mostly about commute and low cost of living but can get by without the arts this survey is useful. And what about jobs? People in many big cities have good jobs. That’s why they are there. What would they do in Lincoln, Nebraska? I have been to Lincoln. Nebraska. The area is beautiful but there are so many other considerations than this survey seems to address.
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@Janet
As a New Yorker, you're showing your lack of knowledge about other areas in assuming that they do not offer "cultural activities." I'll take my local art museums and galleries, craft galleries, libraries (both excellent public and university), theaters, performance art, music, learning opportunities, bearable traffic with public transportation, an award-winning research university, and so much more, over New York's. You might have more museums, but you also have WAY more traffic, and I'm not into large crowds. Is the view of others that New Yorkers are rude true? I'll take my southern hospitality, helpfulness, caring and graciousness.
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You are right!
I grew up in the South. Am amazed how multicultural some parts of Arkansas have become---especially Bentonville and Rogers. Great schools, community spirit, helpful, well-educated residents. New Yorkers can be so provincial and arrogant!
@anonp
Your argument for southern graciousness, helpfulness and caring is not strengthened by the sentence the sentence that precedes it, which reads as sarcastic and condescending.
Forpicking a place to live, this article isn't helpful because it only considers the 100 largest cities. It's pretty well established by now that smaller cities (like Lancaster, PA) have a much higher quality of life in every regard.
I'm also intrigued by the apparent failure of this survey to consider climate. I wouldn't move anywhere below the Mason Dixon line in an era of global warming and the extreme weather events it's making more extreme.
As to the great plains, Lincoln, NE, for example, has about the worst weather in the country even before you consider tornadoes.
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As someone who has lived in Chicago (where I also grew up), Madison, and Boston, this article couldn’t be less accurate. Yes, the top 10 cities list may be great for raising an upper middle class white family, but in no way would those places be warm or welcome for ethnic or religious minorities. I highly doubt the NYT methodology used factors of racism, antisemitism, bigotry, or diversity based on the results. Madison is gorgeous, the University life is a blast, it’s easy to get around if you have a car, but it’s also approximately 80-90% white and extremely segregated. There were more black students at my high school in Chicago (Whitney Young, one of the most diverse and one of the highest ranked the state) than at the entirety of UW-Madison.
The bottom 10 cities in this list are all major urban areas - compared to the “top 10” cities, the small midwestern and southern cities pale in cultural output compared to Chicago, NYC, San Francisco, & Detroit. The concerts, museums, history, and access of more things to do will drown out Boise, ID, 10 times out of 10. Larger cities also have a correlation with higher pay due to the higher cost of living. And guess what, if your city has more to offer, you’re always going to have to pay more in taxes to support those cultural institutions and extensive infrastructure. The NYT should really revise this article to include more factors for better accuracy. Living in a big city is most times going to be an all around better experience
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It seems that most of the comments here come from either "green-like" city dwellers who believe that "Red" city dwellers are elitist Bernie-bros who cannot wait for 435 Anastasia Ocasio Cortes's to populate the House of representatives or from "Red" city dwellers who who think "Green" city dwellers are hicks who can't wait to wear their MAGA hats to the nearest gun show .
Without getting into the methodology of the study (though it is interesting that similar results were obtained, over a number of years, from different studies),many of the comments here appear to reflect prejudice much more than experience .
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Ya'll need to get out more. After living in Chicago, St. Louis, Cleveland, Rome and E. Coast we moved to Madison 20 years ago.
The purpose of the Zumper ranking was to identify the "best" cities for young families and its methodology puts emphasis on housing costs, economic stability and youth. No surprise that state capitals and University towns score well.
Madison worked for us. We bought a 1920s craftsman home for $160K located in a mixed income neighborhood 200 yds from a large lake/beach. On one income (working at a global non-profit) my wife went to grad school and then stayed home for 10 years to be with young kids. The house was paid off after 15 years while socking away $ for retirement.
Its not as diverse as London or NYC, but its lot cheaper.
My son's high school is 27% Africa-American, 19% Latino, 9% Asian, 9% Multi-racial and 37% white. 27% of students are English 2nd language.
We do have museums in Madison (the mustard and toilet paper museum are my favorite) but annually head to Chicago for this. Madison is the 4th largest research university & churns out the 2nd highest number of PhDs. By the comments here Mumbai and Lagos are 2Xs better than NYC b/c they have twice the population. Oy vey...
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@DG Thank you for summarizing the benefits of our beautiful city!
To everyone else who pities flyover country, you will be extremely hard pressed to find a MAGA hat-wearer in this city.
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@DG
The tri-State area on the East Coast has the best and most diverse museums; one of my favorites was a small button museum in CT; the buttons were historical and fascinating.
Says the AI Robot! .... As a Black man and father of a Black boy there's no way I would pick any of these places over New York. I think the parameters in the formula should change. Does the formula include amount of white supremacist groups in the selected metropolitan areas? That should definitely be considered a danger to a child. Heck, I'd even take points away for being a Trump county.
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Chicago is terrible- crime, gun violence, traffic, public schools with little funding where teachers go on strike, high real estate prices. However, the suburbs especially the North shore is wonderful. Schools are fantastic, the towns are diverse and safe with excellent parks and libraries. There is also an excellent system of hospitals. Also O’Hare is a 20 minute car ride with little or no traffic when approached from from the north side.
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I lived in Madison for 6 glorious years, and would have gladly raised my kids there, but so many others want to do the same that every job had many overqualified applicants, and it was hard to break in. I wonder if that has changed over the past decade.
When I returned to NY, I realized how provincial this place is, as many comments here show. Of course, NY has many fabulous things that can't be found elsewhere. But this does not mean that it does everything well, and that it can't learn a thing or two from cities in flyover states, if it would only be open-minded enough to listen.
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Did the "weighing various factors important to family life" include diversity and inclusion?
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@Faith Do you mean like how conservatives, and especially Christian conservatives are welcomed in liberal big cities? Or does diversity exclude diversity of thought?
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Disagree with article and agree with many commenters. I lived in the US for 20 years, in DC and NY and can’t imagine moving to any of these places. Our child is a New Yorker, a product of two very different cultures, feeling great among his equally diverse friends. He is not yet 5 and knows natural history museum as the palm of his hand, we go to exhibits in MoMa and other art museums, art workshops, math museum, theater and other exciting things. Public schools were excellent so far in pre K, we started K. Traveling is relatively easy, he is learning 3 languages. I don’t get suburban life sprawling houses and driving. Yes, space is limited and money too, but culture, diversity and closeness to the rest of the world make up for it. Love this city!
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@Angelica - I completely understand that perspective, we also lived in NYC for a long time. But just wait until you want a dog and to see the bright stars at night... and to stroll in the woods on a crisp fall morning... not to mention actually good public schools past 2nd/3rd grade... see you in the burbs! (Or, if I may make a recommendation, check out smaller but more livable cities instead, such as Austin and Portland).
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@WildernessDoc I guess we will see :):) I don't imagine myself there... Portland is nice, Austin still need to explore. Maybe we will get a very small dog:):):) But of course, there are advantages of living closer to nature! I just like urban living, even neighbors around... But you never know, thank you for your advice. :)
@Angelica, can your son go out and experience natural history by wading in a stream, catch fish himself, climb trees, build a tree house etc?
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There was an article recently about the U.S. states with the highest obesity rates. A large number of these places that seem so desirable are not healthy places to live from a BMI (body mass index)viewpoint.
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I love NY and now have an apartment in the city but I would not have raised my children there. The arcane lottery system for school selection and the pressure at every level to get into the right school is too nerve wracking. And am talking about public school. Private school is a different nightmare. I also don’t think I could have lived in the square footage I could afford. People in NY smugly convince themselves that there is no place better on the planet. But have you ever been to Madison, Wisconsin? Because it is home to a huge university it is diverse, liberal, walkable with lots of cultural and outdoor activities. And that may be true for other cities on this list. My children were raised in a diverse Connecticut suburb ( there is such a thing), with a neighborhood school and ample cultural activities, sprinkled with many trips to NY. None of us have ever regretted it.
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Manhattan is a horrible place to raise kids; the outer boroughs are far better.
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Yikes the algorithm for this has some really poor choices. It clearly lacks considerations of residents world views and values. It fails to consider zoning, architecture, history, diversity. Do you like sprawl, strip plazas,chain stores and restaurants?
It fails to consider location relative to taking family vacations to visit historic or cultural attractions. It appears to fail to consider outdoor recreation.
Buffalo has beautiful sand beaches, skiing, great cultural institutions, welcoming people, incredible architecture, very reasonable housing costs and great schools.
We are a city and there are some neighborhoods that suffer from higher crime statistics but it’s not the city as a whole and you’re unlikely to chose that neighborhood unless you’re into inner city homesteading or farming.
It’s 1.5 hour drive to Toronto or a 45 minute flight to NYC. No one commutes more than 20 minutes and rush hour is 30 minutes if it exists at all. In that same 20 minute drive you can be at a world class art museum, historic site, natural wonder, public fossil digging, pick your own produce farms and orchards, maple sugaring, the beach, world class sailing or fishing, toboggan runs or skiing.
The factors considered likely unfairly compare apples to oranges if not comparing the same geographic sizes. Cities farther from the northeast are geographically much larger and fair comparisons require the inclusion of suburbs. This skews crime and school statistics and numerous other factors.
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But will your children want to continue to live in these cities once they're adults? They might want to live somewhere more cosmopolitan that offers better-paying jobs. So the parents may find themselves marooned in flyover country.
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Step right up Americans ~ choosing any of these "top-ten" cities allows you and your family to experience the wonders (and safety, of course!) of living in ultra-homogenous, ultra-segregated, cultural wastelands free from most pesky-interlopers (that look different from you in any way).
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EXACTLY what I was thinking! I was wondering how those schools (and my kids) would feel about them being biracial.
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Are you kidding me? Red states have terrible schools! What a joke.
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@Maureen my extremely successful sons attended public red state high schools and colleges! This is a stereotype! One is retiring at age 48 and doing what he wants-traveling internationally !
Convinced parents engaged in their child’s education makes all the difference! The only advantage of a name school is connections!
We’re not all rafting down rivers as in Deliverance! The movies re-force stereotypes of the South! Nor are we marrying our cousins!
Our neighborhood is filled with people from New York, New Jersey, and other Northern states. We’re not all Trump supporters either!
Come south to experience friendly people, affordable living, and educated neighbors!
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@ladybee
Many families would love to locate in these gardens of eden but jobs, jobs, jobs prevent this move. If work could be found in utopia the cost and time of commuting would negate these advantages. Moving workers to these areas would probably open dialogues and perhaps open minds but the new reality of certainty in work and costs of relocation is prohibitive.
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@ladybee
Likely retired folks from the north in your neighborhood...nothing wrong with that but they're done contributing. And why so many !!! in your text?
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Sure, if you want your kid taught about how cavemen and dinosaurs frolicked together 6000 years ago you can send them to school in Kansas or Mississippi.
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Wait - so the best place to raise a family shouldn't factor in school quality, the percentage of children with health insurance, the percentage of kids who go to college, the divorce rate, students (legal) rights, gun ownership numbers, neighborhood walkability (especially to school) and access to cultural activities?
Gee, I've been doing it all wrong.
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These rankings are all biased by the rankers choice of factors to include in the ratings. But there are unbiased ratings.
Probably the best ratings are where people choose to live. There are two ways to measure this. One might be population growth. Another, probably better measure is cost of living. Cost of living goes up as more people want to live in an area. That is why the cost of living in New York City is so high.
Let's consider some of the reasons that people want to live here. Could it be that there is a choice of top hospitals? Perhaps many of the top physicians in the country practice here? Perhaps its the number of museums? Certainly it's not the fact that there are over 100 colleges. Of that NYC has some of the best private and public schools in the country. After all, what is really so remarkable about Stuyvesant or the other specialized high schools? And every city has a school like LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and the Performing Arts. I doubt people come for the food. Every city and town has restaurants. Even some that aren't parts of chains. It couldn't be for the Broadway theaters. Or the Off Broadway or Off, Off Broadway theater scene. Perhaps people come for safety. If your neighbor's house or apartment has a major fire, what's the chance that you will be affected? And who cares about crime? Perhaps it's the wide variety of possible employers and jobs?
So what is it that draws people to New York City?
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@Eugene
"So what is it that draws people to New York City?"
Making more money than they could elsewhere.
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@Eugene -The people, plays, art galleries, museums, restaurants, and just the scent of NYC streets is exciting to me and my girlfriends!
If I couldn't go to Europe NYC would be my next choice!
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@Eugene "So what is it that draws people to New York City?" The city is a scrum for alpha males...of both genders. It would be a passable place to raise kids if your family income is north of $500K/yr. If the income is under $150K/yr you'd fare much in any city on the "green" list. Over priced rents/housing and a 3rd world mass transit system...no thanks. As a Chicago born professor of mine once remarked, "there's no one more provincial than a New Yorker."
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