This Is the Best US City for the Family-Minded

For families eyeing a move in 2026, the California city of Fremont could prove an appealing pick. WalletHub analyzed 182 of the most populated US cities using 45 metrics across five broad categories—family fun, health and safety, education and childcare, affordability, and socio-economics—to see which urban hot spots offer the best conditions for raising kids. Fremont leads largely on money and healthy living, with one of the nation's lowest shares of families in poverty, and only 1.1% of residents lacking access to nutritious food. Here, the top and bottom 10 cities, per WalletHub's rankings:

Best Places to Raise a Family

1. Fremont, California (No. 1 in "Socioeconomics" category)
2. Overland Park, Kansas
3. Irvine, California (No. 1 in "Health & Safety" category)
4. Plano, Texas
5. Columbia, Maryland (No. 1 in "Affordability" category)
6. Bismarck, North Dakota
7. South Burlington, Vermont (No. 1 in "Education & Childcare" category)
8. Charleston, South Carolina
9. Seattle
10. Boise, Idaho

Worst Places to Raise a Family

1. Hialeah, Florida (last in "Affordability" category)
2. Birmingham, Alabama
3. Shreveport, Louisiana
4. Jackson, Mississippi
5. Newark, New Jersey
6. Baltimore
7. Gulfport, Mississippi
8. Cleveland
9. Memphis, Tennessee
10. Detroit (last in "Socioeconomics" category)

See the complete list here. (Looking for great beaches to take your family to this summer? Here are America's best.)