This North Carolina city ranks among nation’s best places for families. Here’s why
North Carolina boasts one of the nation’s top-ranking places to raise a family — again.
Raleigh ranks No. 9 on a list of the “most family-friendly cities for renters.” The list focuses on places that offer job opportunities, lower child care costs and other qualities that might be attractive to parents in the rental market, according to results RentCafe published Monday, Aug. 7.
RentCafe, a website from the real-estate technology company Yardi, said it created the list after it studied 136 cities across the country. Using data from the U.S. government and other sources, it considered how each place fared in three categories: economy, quality of life, and housing and cost of living.
What makes Raleigh a great city for families?
Raleigh, the only North Carolina city to land in the top 10, was praised for “striking a perfect balance between Southern charm and a busy college town.”
“Prairie Ridge Ecostation and Marbles Kids Museum both make learning a dynamic and unforgettable experience, whereas Pullen Park is sure to keep everybody in shape while admiring the beauty of nature,” RentCafe wrote in its report. “As an added bonus, renters who decide to make this place their forever home can look forward to large apartments (half of which are in top locations).”
Among the categories considered, Raleigh made its biggest mark when it came to the economy, ranking No. 16 in that category. It received nods for having “highly educated” residents and one of the highest year-over-year job growth rates.
Raleigh scored a bit lower when it came to quality of life, landing at No. 24. The category weighed opportunities for balancing work and play as it considered weather, commute times, school ratings and other factors.
Raleigh didn’t fare as well when it came to housing and costs of living, landing in the No. 52 spot. Though RentCafe said North Carolina’s state capital has “generously sized” apartments and lower child care costs than some larger cities, those expenses still were higher compared to many of the other places that landed in the top 50, results show.
What are other top cities for families?
Other North Carolina cities that made it into the top 50 were Charlotte at No. 24; Asheville at No. 27; Durham at No. 32; and Wilmington at No. 36.
The results come after Raleigh was named one of the nation’s best places to raise a family on a similar list in October. Those rankings, also from a Yardi website, focused on school performance, sports facilities and other metrics, McClatchy News reported.
On the latest list, RentCafe said the nation’s most family-friendly destination was the Dallas-area city of Plano, Texas. Many other high-ranking cities were in the South, including several that rounded out the top five:
Scottsdale, Arizona, at No. 2
Arlington, Virginia, at No. 3
Marietta, Georgia, at No. 4
Sunnyvale, California, at No. 5
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