Best, Worst Places To Raise A Family In MD

BALTIMORE, MD — Whether you are planning to start a family or already have children, picking the community where you will raise your family is an important decision. In an effort to help you choose the perfect city to call "home," a new report by WalletHub ranked the best and worst places to raise a family.

The experts at the personal finance website compared the family-friendliness of more than 180 cities across the country based on 46 key metrics. Analysts evaluated cities using factors like housing costs, quality of school and health care systems as well as opportunities for recreation.The number of playgrounds, pediatricians and child care providers were some of the factors considered.

Columbia — which has also been ranked among the best places to live by Money magazine and Niche — was tapped by WalletHub as one the best places in the country to raise a family, and was the top Maryland city on the list. The website ranks Columbia at No. 11 on its list, while Baltimore places at No. 177, dinged for its high crime rate.

Click here to read the full report.

These are the top 15 places for families in the U.S., according to WalletHub:

1. Overland Park, Kansas
2. Irvine, California
3. Freemont, California
4. South Burlington, Vermont
5. Bismarck, North Dakota
6. Plano, Texas
7. Fargo, North Dakota
8. Sioux Falls, South Dakota
9. Huntington Beach, California
10. Gilbert, Arizona
11. Columbia, Maryland
12. Lincoln, Nebraska
13. Madison, Wisconsin
14. Scottsdale, Arizona
15. Seattle, Washington

Columbia was ranked the third in the U.S. as far as highest median family salary, after Overland Park, Kansas, and Scottsdale, Arizona.

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SEE ALSO:

• This Is The Best Maryland City To Live In For 2018: Survey
• Columbia Among Best Places To Live In Maryland: Niche.com
• Columbia is Best Place to Live in America for 2016: Money Magazine

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