New Survey: Atlanta is a Lousy Place for Young Families

A newly released survey gives Atlanta an “F” in a ranking of the nation’s best cities for young families.

The survey was released by Apartment List, which ranked 474 cities across the nation. Atlanta placed No. 469.

The company ranked the cities based on:

• Safety (35%): FBI data was used to rank cities by the number of violent crimes and property crimes per 100,000 residents.

• Housing Cost (30%): Census data was used to calculate the percentage of the median renter income required to rent a 2-bedroom apartment.

• School Quality (25%): Cities were ranked on high school graduation rate for public school districts based in that city.

• Child Friendliness (10%): Communities with a greater percentage of children tend to be more child friendly. the company used census data to score cities based on the percentage of the population that’s under 18.

Atlanta’s best category was housing cost, where it had a score of 27 percent. But when it came to schools, Atlanta received a score of 3 percent.

The No. 1 city in the U.S. for young families was Allen, TX. The worst was St. Louis, MO.