Murrieta Ranked 59th California City For Families

MURRIETA, CA — For families who've chosen to live in Murrieta, here's proof that you've made a good decision — a new report by WalletHub ranked the best and worst places to raise a family in California. Murrieta ranked number 59 on the recently released list and was highlighted for having one of the lowest violent crime rates in the state.

In Riverside County, only the cities of Eastvale and Temecula ranked higher — Eastvale came in at number 16, while Temecula came in at number 21. Nearby Wildomar was 120, Menifee was 124 and Lake Elsinore was 143 on the list.

The report compared the family-friendliness of 254 Golden State cities based on 21 key metrics that take into account the number of attractions, the number of pediatricians per capita and the unemployment rate.

Folsom, California, a city that borders Folsom Lake in Sacramento County, was ranked as the number one city to raise your family with a combined total score of 80.84. Folsom, which also ranked as the number one city for affordable housing, had one of the lowest poverty levels in the state.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, San Bernardino and Adelanto were near-tied for the bottom of the list with a score of 35.75, and 35.08, respectively.

Households with the lowest percentages at poverty level included: Danville, Manhattan Beach, Los Altos and Pleasanton. The most people in California living at poverty level were in Huntington Park, San Bernardino and Adelanto.

Those with the lowest violent crime rates included Danville, Los Altos, Murrieta, San Ramon and Irvine, while the most violent crime-riddled cities included Compton, San Bernardino, Stockton and Oakland.

Want to earn a high income? You'd do well to live in El Dorado Hills, Folsom, Danville, San Ramon and Aliso Viejo, according to the WalletHub report. The towns with the lowest median family income included El Monte, Bell, Huntington Park, Bell Gardens and Adelanto, the report said.

If family fun and attractions are on your must list for "close to home," consider these towns with the most attractions nearby in California: San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Napa and Sacramento.

Here are the top 10 California cities for families:

1. Folsom, CA
2. San Ramon, CA
3. Los Altos, CA
4. El Dorado Hills, CA
5. Dublin, CA
6. Danville, CA
7. Pleasanton, CA
8. Cupertino, CA
9. Aliso Viejo, CA
10. Roseville, CA

Ashley Ludwig, Patch Staff contributed to this report.

Patch file photo by Renee Schiavone