North Carolina is home to one of nation’s best places to raise a family, report finds

North Carolina is home to one of the nation’s best places for families, a new report finds.

Raleigh ranks No. 5 on a list of places offering family-friendly attractions, safety and other qualities that appeal to parents, according to results published last month from StorageCafe, a storage-focused website from the real-estate technology company Yardi.

To create the list, StorageCafe said it studied 100 of the most populous cities across the country. Then, it used data from the U.S. government and other sources to score each place in four main categories: public school rankings; environment; amenities and recreation; and income and cost of living.

Raleigh earned a spot on the list after making its mark in the school category, which considered test scores, student-to-teacher ratios and the presence of public school campuses.

North Carolina’s capital city also stood out in the environment category, particularly because it boasted one of the lowest crime rates in the nation. The category also considered other quality-of-life factors such as air quality, commute times and the share of households with children, StorageCafe said.

Raleigh also was a top place for amenities and recreation, which weighed attractions ranging from sports facilities to restaurants. But costs — including prices for homes and child care — were higher in Raleigh when compared to several other cities in the United States, results show.

So, how did other North Carolina cities fare in the rankings? Greensboro landed at No. 26, followed by Charlotte at No. 35, Winston-Salem at No. 36, and Durham at No. 38.

Raleigh is no stranger to being recognized on a national scale. This year, it was named one of the safest places to live and even the nation’s most driver-friendly city.

On the latest list from StorageCafe, the top-ranking city for families was Plano, Texas, north of Dallas.

Rounding out the top five were:

• Virginia Beach, Virginia

• Lincoln, Nebraska

• Boise, Idaho

Landing at the bottom of the list was Philadelphia.

StorageCafe said San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Fort Wayne, Indiana, weren’t considered for the rankings due to a lack of sufficient data.

This smaller North Carolina city earned a big spot on a national list. Here’s why

Time for a getaway? This North Carolina tourist destination ranks No. 1 for fall trips