With inflation leading some families to move to cities with a low cost of living, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2023’s Best & Worst Places to Raise a Family, as well as expert commentary.
To determine the most family-friendly places in America, WalletHub compared more than 180 cities across 45 key metrics. The data set ranges from housing affordability to school-system quality to the unemployment rate.
| Best Cities for Families | Worst Cities for Families |
| 1. Fremont, CA | 173. Wilmington, DE |
| 2. Overland Park, KS | 174. Hialeah, FL |
| 3. Irvine, CA | 175. Baltimore, MD |
| 4. Plano, TX | 176. Shreveport, LA |
| 5. South Burlington, VT | 177. San Bernardino, CA |
| 6. San Diego, CA | 178. Newark, NJ |
| 7. San Jose, CA | 179. Birmingham, AL |
| 8. Scottsdale, AZ | 180. Detroit, MI |
| 9. Gilbert, AZ | 181. Memphis, TN |
| 10. San Francisco, CA | 182. Cleveland, OH |
Best vs. Worst
- New York has the most playgrounds (per square root of the population), 0.660762, which is 13 times more than in Hialeah, Florida, the city with the fewest at 0.050668.
- Irvine, California, has the fewest violent crimes (per 1,000 residents), 0.51, which is 46.1 times fewer than in Memphis, Tennessee, the city with the most at 23.52.
- Overland Park, Kansas, has the highest median family annual income (adjusted for cost of living), $127,698, which is 3.2 times higher than in Hialeah, Florida, the city with the lowest at $40,285.
- Overland Park, Kansas, has the lowest share of families receiving food stamps, 1.85 percent, which is 22.9 times lower than in Detroit, the city with the highest at 42.31 percent.
- Pearl City, Hawaii, has the lowest share of families living in poverty, 2.00 percent, which is 13.3 times lower than in Detroit, the city with the highest at 26.60 percent.
