It takes a village: Chandler, Mesa ranked among safest cities to raise a child
Jan 19, 2017, 3:09 PM
(Flickr/Quinn Dombrowski)
(Flickr/Quinn Dombrowski)
PHOENIX — If the saying “it takes a village to raise a child” is true, then you better make sure you’re living in the right village.
Chandler, Arizona, was recently ranked among the safest major cities nationwide to raise a family, according to GoodCall.com. Chandler ranked at No. 5 out of 40 cities, with Mesa following closely behind at No. 10.
Chandler got its high ranking mostly due to its education. In a population of 260,000, 93 percent of Chandler residents have a high school diploma, ranking the city No. 7 in that category among big cities.
In addition, more than 43 percent of Chandler residents have Bachelor’s degrees, ranking it No. 15 out of the top 40 big cities in that category.
The crime rate in Chandler is also relatively low, with just 22.7 incidents per 1,000 residents in 2015. GoodCall also cited the city’s abundant recreational facilities, parks and museums to “strengthen young bodies and minds.”
For Mesa, the lack of air pollution was a factor it its high marks. Mesa ranked No. 12 among big cities for low pollution and boasted an average annual low of 50 degrees for seven months out of the year.
Mesa also had a low number of vehicle deaths, with just 5.7 per 100,000 residents in 2015, “ranking better than the average big city,” the publication said.
The cities that rounded out the top five safest to raise a family included Henderson, Nevada; Plano, Texas; Boston, Massachusetts and Virginia Beach, Virginia.
