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Best, most affordable cities to raise family in 2024: Study

By Stephanie Weaver
Published  May 28, 2024 6:51pm CDT
Lifestyle
Fox TV Stations

These are the world's most expensive cities in 2023

The three U.S. cities on the list all dropped in rankings compared to last year.

If you’re looking for the best and most affordable places in America to raise a family, you may want to consider these states. 

The company WalletHub compared more than 180 U.S. cities based on 45 key metrics that consider family dynamics, such as the cost of housing, the quality of local school and health-care services and the opportunities for fun.

"Finding the best place to raise a family is difficult, between balancing an affordable cost of living with good educational opportunities, safety and enough recreation to keep kids entertained," WalletHub analyst Cassandra Happe wrote in a statement. 

The study, published Tuesday, revealed that a couple of the overall top-ranked cities to raise a family were also found to be the most affordable. 

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FILE: Kids enjoy baseball game between the Seattle Mariners and the San Diego Padres at Peoria Stadium on February 24, 2023 in Peoria, Arizona. (Credit: Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

Here’s a look at the results. 

Overland Park, Kansas ranks high

The WalletHub team ranked Overland Park, Kansas as the second best city to raise a family. The city also ranked No.1 in affordability. 

Plano, Texas and Seattle, Washington also ranked in the top 10 for both overall rankings and affordability. 

Top 10 places to raise family in 2024

  1. Fremont, CA
  2. Overland Park, KS
  3. Irvine, CA
  4. Plano, TX
  5. Seattle, WA
  6. Gilbert, AZ
  7. San Jose, CA
  8. San Diego, CA
  9. Boise, ID
  10. Huntington Beach, CA

See the full rankings here.

Most affordable cities to raise family in 2024

  1. Overland Park, KS
  2. Columbia, MD
  3. Minneapolis, MN
  4. Bismark, ND
  5. Madison, WI
  6. Cedar Rapids, IA
  7. Plano, TX
  8. Seattle, WA
  9. Austin, TX
  10. Raleigh, NC

See the full rankings here.

Last month, Niche, a website that helps people find good schools and neighborhoods, also found the 20 best places to raise a family in 2024. 

RELATED: Best places to raise a family in 2024, according to this report

The top cities were all found in Pennsylvania, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Indiana and Ohio – far different than WalletHub’s findings. 

This story was reported from Los Angeles.

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