Texas, Nebraska Have 9 Out of 10 Best Cities in the U.S. to Raise a Family

A new ranking of the top 10 cities for raising a family was compiled using data on housing costs as a percent of income, child care costs, school quality, poverty rate, unemployment rate, and crime rate.

Arlington, Texas was the number one city, and one of 7 Texan cities on the list. Arlington's low cost of living was an important factor in SmartAsset's ranking; home costs accounted for only 22.5 percent of the average household income. The city also scored well in education, as more than 91 percent of students graduated high school and the average proficiency rate in math and reading was 75 percent.

The Northeast has no representatives in the top 25. Typically the biggest cities in the Northeast are plagued by high costs of living, including child care costs and housing costs. Boston for example ranks 66th overall despite the high quality of its schools. A big reason for that is the $20,000 per year average cost to keep their infant in full-time center-based care.

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