The 10 Best Places To Raise a Family in 2024 (You’ll Never Guess What’s No. 1)

by Allyn Maycumber

For many people, buying a house and starting a family go hand in hand—and if you’re looking for the very best place to put down roots, you might be surprised to hear that it’s a bit off the beaten path in Fremont, CA.

That’s according to WalletHub‘s just-released report on the Best & Worst Places To Raise a Family in 2024. To arrive at these results, it compared more than 180 U.S. cities, analyzing 45 key metrics that resonate most with parents, including the cost of housing, quality of local schools, unemployment rate, and opportunities for family fun and recreation.

If you’re California-dreamin’, five cities in the top 10 happen to be in the Golden State, including the metro that takes the top spot.

Fremont, just an hour’s drive south of San Francisco, boasts a lower cost of living than its pricier neighbor but has many of the same benefits, including a high median family income of nearly $122,000 after adjusting for the cost of living. Plus, 67.4% of the public schools here are rated at least a 7 out of 10, and only 1.4% of resident children lack health insurance. It’s no wonder, then, that 50.5% of families here have kids under the age of 18.

Afternoon aerial view of the city of Fremont, California, USA. — Fremont, CA, boasts a high median family income of nearly $122,000 after adjusting for the cost of living.

(Getty Images)

Coming in second is Overland Park, KS, largely due to its high safety standards. The city has a low infant mortality rate, a low traffic fatality rate, and the ninth-best public hospitals in the country. Irvine, CA, comes in third, with the lowest violent-crime rate, a high percentage of quality schools, and tons of summer camps.

“Many aspects of where you live can impact your family’s well-being. The quality of school systems, access to good jobs, general crime rates, and access to quality recreation are all factors that are tied to the city you live in,” Brian J. Willoughby, professor, and fellow at The Wheatley Institute at Brigham Young University, notes in his analysis. “Considering all these factors when you pick a city to live in is an important consideration when you have a family.”

Here’s a look at the top 10 family-friendly cities, plus what you’ll pay for housing in the area.