Don’t raise your kids in California or Washington state — at least if you have a budget
Businessweek with data provided by a New York firm called OnBoard identified the top 50 locations throughout the U.S. to raise your kids based on crime rates, cost of living, schools, test scores and cultural amenities.
The top were:
No. 1 Groesbeck, Ohio
No. 2 Western Springs, Ill.
No. 3 Deerfield, Ill.
No. 4 Echelon, N.J.
No. 5 Arapahoe, Neb.
No. 6 Waverly, Neb.
No. 7 Wilmette, Ill.
No. 8 Lackland, Tex.
No. 9 Waterville, Ohio
No. 10 Hopewell, Tenn.
More details on the top 25 and the rest of the 50 follows:
No. 1
Groesbeck, Ohio
Nearest city: Cincinnati (7 miles)
Population: 7,202
Median household income: $49,235
OnBoard Scoring
Total: 323.22
Test scores: 97.29 (8th)
Cost of living: 92.44 (23rd)
Recreational/cultural activities: 24.19 (16th)
Schools: 22.95 (3rd)
Crime: 86.35 (36th)
No. 2
Western Springs, Ill.
Nearest city: Chicago (21 miles)
Population: 12,493
Median household income: $98,876
OnBoard Scoring
Total: 319.77
Test scores: 96.38 (15th)
Cost of living: 64.64 (47th)
Recreational/cultural activities: 68.58 (5th)
Schools: 2.48 (18th)
Crime: 87.69 (34th)
No. 3
Deerfield, Ill.
Nearest city: Chicago (27 miles)
Population: 18,420
Median household income: $107,194
OnBoard Scoring
Total: 319.48
Test scores: 95.68 (19th)
Cost of living: 58.14 (49th)
Recreational/cultural activities: 68.95 (2nd)
Schools: 3.02 (16th)
Crime: 93.68 (21st)
No. 4
Echelon, N.J.
Nearest city: Philadelphia (17 miles)
Population: 10,440
Median household income: $49,410
OnBoard Scoring
Total: 315.98
Test scores: 91.87 (48th)
Cost of living: 89.00 (29th)
Recreational/cultural activities: 19.65 (24th)
Schools: 44.05 (1st)
Crime: 71.42 (47th)
No. 5
Arapahoe, Neb.
Nearest city: Lincoln (192 miles)
Population: 1,028
Median household income: $29,500
OnBoard Scoring
Total: 308.17
Test scores: 95.13 (22nd)
Cost of living: 98.65 (10th)
Recreational/cultural activities: 0.15 (43rd)
Schools: 20.23 (4th)
Crime: 94.01 (17th)
No. 6
Waverly, Neb.
Nearest city: Lincoln (15 miles)
Population: 2,448
Median household income: $52,454
OnBoard Scoring
Total: 304.49
Test scores: 97.34 (7th)
Cost of living: 90.24 (27th)
Recreational/cultural activities: 24.19 (17th)
Schools: 0.54 (40th)
Crime: 92.17 (26th)
No. 7
Wilmette, Ill.
Nearest city: Chicago (20 miles)
Population: 27,651
Median household income: $106,773
OnBoard Scoring
Total: 304.28
Test scores: 94.68 (26th)
Cost of living: 52.25 (50th)
Recreational/cultural activities: 68.92 (3rd)
Schools: 0.54 (36th)
Crime: 87.89 (33rd)
No. 8
Lackland, Tex.
Nearest city: San Antonio (12 miles)
Population: 7,123
Median household income: $32,250
OnBoard Scoring
Total: 301.90
Test scores: 94.57 (28th)
Cost of living: 98.84 (9th)
Recreational/cultural activities: 31.95 (8th)
Schools: 0.54 (38th)
Crime: 76.00 (46th)
No. 9
Waterville, Ohio
Nearest city: Toledo (15 miles)
Population: 4,828
Median household income: $60,000
OnBoard Scoring
Total: 301.13
Test scores: 96.43 (14th)
Cost of living: 86.78 (35th)
Recreational/cultural activities: 21.20 (22nd)
Schools: 1.63 (25th)
Crime: 95.09 (8th)
No. 10
Hopewell, Tenn.
Nearest city: Nashville (104 miles)
Population: 1,815
Median household income: $43,973
OnBoard Scoring
Total: 298.21
Test scores: 94.58 (27th)
Cost of living: 92.14 (24th)
Recreational/cultural activities: 0.36 (38th)
Schools: 15.29 (6th)
Crime: 95.84 (4th)
No. 11
Middleport, N.Y.
Nearest city: Buffalo (40 miles)
Population: 1,917
Median household income: $36,464
OnBoard Scoring
Total: 297.11
Test scores: 96.53 (13th)
Cost of living: 96.24 (17th)
Recreational/cultural activities: 3.08 (27th)
Schools: 6.34 (11th)
Crime: 94.92 (9th)
No. 12
Matawan, N.J.
Nearest city: Edison (16 miles)
Population: 8,910
Median household income: $63,594
OnBoard Scoring
Total: 296.87
Test scores: 91.97 (46th)
Cost of living: 83.73 (38th)
Recreational/cultural activities: 8.76 (26th)
Schools: 28.09 (2nd)
Crime: 84.32 (40th)
No. 13
Helena, Ala.
Nearest city: Birmingham (20 miles)
Population: 10,296
Median household income: $62,908
OnBoard Scoring
Total: 296.80
Test scores: 92.52 (40th)
Cost of living: 86.71 (36th)
Recreational/cultural activities: 28.04 (10th)
Schools: 2.18 (20th)
Crime: 87.36 (35th)
No. 14
Ridgetop, Tenn.
Nearest city: Nashville (20 miles)
Population: 1,083
Median household income: $52,381
OnBoard Scoring
Total: 296.71
Test scores: 92.57 (38th)
Cost of living: 91.19 (25th)
Recreational/cultural activities: 22.07 (21st)
Schools: 0.54 (43rd)
Crime: 90.34 (29th)
No. 15
East Brainerd, Tenn.
Nearest city: Chattanooga (13 miles)
Population: 14,132
Median household income: $66,151
OnBoard Scoring
Total: 296.09
Test scores: 97.04 (9th)
Cost of living: 79.72 (42nd)
Recreational/cultural activities: 23.33 (19th)
Schools: 0.00 (50th)
Crime: 96.01 (3rd)
No. 16
Green, Ohio
Nearest city: Akron (11 miles)
Population: 22,817
Median household income: $54,133
OnBoard Scoring
Total: 295.84
Test scores: 91.56 (50th)
Cost of living: 87.76 (32nd)
Recreational/cultural activities: 24.88 (14th)
Schools: 1.63 (23rd)
Crime: 90.01 (30th)
No. 17
Lawrence, Neb.
Nearest city: Lincoln (136 miles)
Population: 312
Median household income: $25,089
OnBoard Scoring
Total: 295.43
Test scores: 99.10 (2nd)
Cost of living: 99.25 (6th)
Recreational/cultural activities: 0.15 (41st)
Schools: 1.09 (34th)
Crime: 95.84 (5th)
No. 18
Jamestown, Ky.
Nearest city: Lexington (88 miles)
Population: 1,624
Median household income: $18,587
OnBoard Scoring
Total: 294.71
Test scores: 96.08 (17th)
Cost of living: 101.21 (1st)
Recreational/cultural activities: 0.31 (39th)
Schools: 3.27 (15th)
Crime: 93.84 (18th)
No. 19
Fort Thomas, Ky.
Nearest city: Cincinnati (6 miles)
Population: 16,495
Median household income: $49,575
OnBoard Scoring
Total: 294.08
Test scores: 99.75 (1st)
Cost of living: 88.22 (31st)
Recreational/cultural activities: 18.40 (25th)
Schools: 5.20 (13th)
Crime: 82.52 (43rd)
No. 20
Ackerman, Miss.
Nearest city: Birmingham, Ala. (160 miles)
Population:1,696
Median household income: $21,287
OnBoard Scoring
Total: 293.75
Test scores: 97.79 (6th)
Cost of living: 100.49 (2nd)
Recreational/cultural activities: 0.00 (48th)
Schools: 1.63 (29th)
Crime: 93.84 (19th)
No. 21
Batavia, Ill.
Nearest city: Chicago (44 miles)
Population: 23,866
Median household income: $68,656
OnBoard Scoring
Total: 293.70
Test scores: 91.56 (49th)
Cost of living: 80.66 (40th)
Recreational/cultural activities: 26.63 (12th)
Schools: 0.54 (39th)
Crime: 94.30 (16th)
No. 22
Bartlett, Neb.
Nearest city: Lincoln (169 miles)
Population: 128
Median household income: $33,250
OnBoard Scoring
Total: 293.67
Test scores: 91.97 (47th)
Cost of living: 98.46 (11th)
Recreational/cultural activities: 0.00 (49th)
Schools: 10.93 (8th)
Crime: 92.31 (25th)
No. 23
Douglas, Mich.
Nearest city: Grand Rapids (43 miles)
Population: 1,214
Median household income: $41,250
OnBoard Scoring
Total: 293.47
Test scores: 94.32 (30th)
Cost of living: 88.55 (30th)
Recreational/cultural activities: 1.52 (32nd)
Schools: 18.31 (5th)
Crime: 90.77 (28th)
No. 24
Sherman, N.Y.
Nearest city: Buffalo (88 miles)
Population: 714
Median household income: $30,583
OnBoard Scoring
Total: 293.05
Test scores: 96.18 (16th)
Cost of living: 98.21 (13th)
Recreational/cultural activities: 2.26 (30th)
Schools: 1.63 (26th)
Crime: 94.76 (10th)
No. 25
Barrington, Ill.
Nearest city: Chicago (38 miles)
Population: 10,168
Median household income: $83,085
OnBoard Scoring
Total: 292.83
Test scores: 92.52 (39th)
Cost of living: 63.17 (48th)
Recreational/cultural activities: 68.82 (4th)
Schools: 6.04 (12th)
Crime: 62.28 (49th)
No. 26 Dundee, Ore.
No. 27 Fairmount, N.Y.
No. 28 Lyndhurst, Ohio
No. 29 Nolanville, Tex.
No. 30 Buffalo Grove, Ill.
No. 31 Friendship, N.Y.
No. 32 Petersburg, Neb.
No. 33 Clarendon Hills, Ill.
No. 34 Clarence Center, N.Y.
No. 35 Franklin, Ga.
No. 36 Newcastle, Neb.
No. 37 Diller, Neb.
No. 39 Loomis, Neb.
No. 40 Madeira, Ohio
No. 41 Arlington, Neb.
No. 42 Haslett, Mich.
No. 43 Oakland, N.J.
No. 44 Davenport, Neb.
No. 45 Mariemont, Ohio
No. 46 St. Johnsville, N.Y.
No. 47 South Cleveland, Tenn.
No. 48 Chagrin Falls, Ohio
No. 49 Galesburg, Mich.
No. 50 Patterson, Ga.
For the complete slideshow, you can go here.
[...] build the list myself and occasionally post them here. For Businessweek’s latest list of “Best places to raise your kids” (on a budget), check out this post on one of my other s…. Looks like the key phrase of “on a budget” excludes regular popular destinations [...]