Overland Park, Kansas is the best city in the United States to raise a family, according to a recent analysis that weighs more than 180 cities with 46 key metrics.
The analysis, conducted by WalletHub, considered essential family dynamics, such as the cost of housing, the quality of local school and health-care systems, and the opportunities for fun and recreation. "While obviously not perfect — given personal preferences and the limitations of publicly available data — our findings will hopefully give movers a sense of the areas that offer the greatest opportunity to achieve Wallet Fitness and live a long and happy life," WalletHub wrote in the study.
According to the website, Overland Park was at the top among cities with the highest median family salary, most affordable housing, and lowest percentage of families living in poverty.
The rankings were calculated from a weighted combination of scores in the following categories:
1) Family Fun — Factors like playgrounds per capita, walkability, sports-fan-friendliness, ideal weather, and current share of families with young children
2) Health & Safety — Factors like property-crime and violent-crime rates per capita, Pediatricians per capita, and water and air quality
3) Education & Child Care — Factors like GreatSchools.org school system quality score, Childcare workers per total number of children under age 14, State parental-leave laws
4) Affordability — Factors like cost of living, housing affordability, and “wallet fitness”
5) Socioeconomics — Factors like share of two-parent families, Separation/Divorce rate, Share of families in poverty or on food stamps, Un/Underemployment rate, and debt per median earnings
Overland Park’s “Family Fun” rank was an underwhelming 94, but it earned the list’s top spot thanks to stellar affordability, socioeconomics, and education/childcare ranks, as well as a solid health & safety rank.
In other analyses, WalletHub ranked Overland Park as one of the Best Cities for First-Time Homebuyers, one of the Least Stressed Cities In America, and among the top ten in the Best Places To Rent in America.
Among Missouri cities, Kansas City, Mo. ranked #78 on the list, and was the highest-ranked Missouri city. Springfield, Mo. was ranked 146, and St. Louis landed at 170.
View the full ranking list here
Michelle Bemiller, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology at Walsh University, told WalletHub, “A child’s development and a family’s quality of life is largely influenced by the city they live in due to environmental factors and social factors. In terms of environmental factors, a child’s development and a family’s quality of life can be impacted by issues related to lack of adequate housing, pollutants that effect health and wellness, crime rates, and the quality of schools – to name a few (See Ferguson, Cassells, MacAllister, and Evans).”
She added, “families tend to be happier and healthier if they are surrounded by a positive network of people in a productive community (i.e., experience social support and social cohesion) (See Gapen et. al, 2011).”
WalletHub is owned by Evolution Finance, Inc. and is based in Washington, DC. The site is the first-ever to offer free credit scores and full credit reports that are updated on a daily basis. The site also provides customized credit-improvement advice, personalized savings alerts, and 24/7 wallet surveillance.
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References:
Ferguson, K. T., Cassells, R. C., MacAllister, J. W., & Evans, G. W. (2013). The physical environment and child development: An international review. International Journal of Psychology : Journal International de Psychologie, 48(4), 437–468.
Gapen, M. et. al. (2011). Perceived neighborhood disorder, community cohesion, and PTSD symptoms among low-income African Americans in an urban health setting. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 81 (1), 31-37.
