Happy spouse, happy house, but if the kids and the family pets aren’t happy, too, a house can never be a home.
That’s problematic, because according to the most recent U.S. Census, American families are often on the move, constantly searching for a new house to call home. To find that new home, many families may change their address an estimated 11.7 times while members all live under the same roof. Families may decide to move to accept a new job or to find more affordable housing, but they may also pull up roots because of instability, perhaps after they face a foreclosure or job loss. Rich or poor, most families are looking to move to cities that provide a safe environment and have low unemployment rates. However, not all cities can offer what all family members need and want to make each of them happy.
To identify these municipal migraines-in-the-making before another family has the misfortune of moving to any one of them, WalletHub compared 182 U.S. cities, including 150 of the most populous, using 46 relevant metrics such as cost of housing, quality of local school and healthcare systems, and opportunities for fun and recreation, across the five key dimensions of family fun; health and safety; education and childcare; affordability; and socio-economics. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for family life and zero representing the least favorable. WalletHub then determined each city’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score in rank-ordering its study sample. The 10 lowest-ranking cities are the worst places for a family to live happily ever after.
Here are the top 10 worst U.S. cities to raise a family in 2023.
10. Augusta, Ga.
Families with young children should do their homework before enrolling their kids in one of the city’s many low-performing schools. Augusta ranks 133rd in family fun; 161st in health and safety; 136th in education and childcare; 151st in affordability; and 157th in socio-economics. Total score: 40.53.
