Only 1 California city made ‘top places to raise a family’ list

Even as many Silicon Valley residents pack up and leave for more affordable places like Phoenix, Las Vegas and even Seattle, U.S. News and World Report has ranked San Jose the second best area of the country in which to raise a family.

It was the lone Golden State metro among 25 family-friendly locales noted by the news publication, known for its voluminous rankings and lists. U.S. News looked at factors including cost of living, average salary, quality of high school education and crime rates to determine the most desirable metro areas for families looking to relocate.

The San Jose metro, which includes Santa Clara and San Benito counties, owed its high ranking in large part to having the best college readiness among high school students, according to U.S. News. The downside, of course: sky-high housing costs, with a typical single-family home going for more than $1.5 million.

The report revealing the list notes, however, that San Jose’s average income of $99,430 a year is well above the national average of $58,260. But that’s little comfort for many families hoping to buy a house in the region. According to the California Association of Realtors, just 26% of Santa Clara County households can afford an entry-level home, compared to 55% nationwide.

Exorbitant home prices are one reason San Jose has since the start of the pandemic shed some 50,000 residents, a roughly 5% decline in the city’s population. That helped Austin, Texas, officially knock off San Jose as the country’s 10th largest city earlier this year. With a population of around 970,000, San Jose remains the Bay Area’s largest city and now ranks 12th nationwide.

Here are the top 25:

• 1. Huntsville, Alabama
• 2. San Jose, California
• 3. Green Bay, Wisconsin
• 4. Fayetteville, Arkansas
• 5. Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota
• 6. Des Moines, Iowa
• 7. Albany, New York
• 8. Grand Rapids, Michigan
• 9. Fort Wayne, Indiana
• 10. Lincoln, Nebraska
• 11. Madison, Wisconsin
• 12. Syracuse, New York
• 13. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• 14. Omaha, Nebraska
• 15. Hickory, North Carolina
• 16. Ann Arbor, Michigan
• 17. Buffalo, New York
• 18. Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina
• 19. Portland, Maine
• 20. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
• 21. Rochester, New York
• 22. Washington, D.C.
• 23. Davenport-Bettendorf, Iowa, and Moline-Rock Island, Illinois (Quad Cities)
• 24. Cincinnati, Ohio
• 25. Boise, Idaho

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