Fresh air, good schools, and kid-friendly establishments make a handful of metros in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota the best spots to raise children.
Nine of the top 10 places on SmartAsset’s list are in the Midwest. Cedar Rapids, Iowa, ranked first, boasting a strong graduation rate, high language arts and math proficiency rates, and a low level of child poverty.
Rochester, Minn., Appleton, Wis., Des Moines, Iowa, and Fargo, N.D., rounded out the top five.
Rankings were based on a number of metrics including intergenerational mobility, mortality rates, and the percentage of the population under 20 years old.
Last year, we highlighted Florida as the state which was letting its children down. This year Florida improved with only one Sunshine State metro area in the bottom 10 places for children. However, Southern metros still dominate the bottom of this list, claiming seven of the 10-lowest spots.
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