4 Phoenix suburbs rated among best places to raise family

PHOENIX – Four Phoenix suburbs are among the 20 best places in the country to raise a family, according to a personal finance website.

Phoenix proper, however, didn’t fare so well in the 2018 WalletHub rankings.

The website determined the best places for raising a family by comparing 182 cities in 46 metrics across five main categories: family fun; health and safety; education and child care; affordability; and socioeconomics. Each category was equally weighted to create an overall score.

Gilbert led the way for Arizona communities at No. 10, with No. 14 Scottsdale, No. 19 Chandler and No. 20 Peoria not far behind.

Gilbert’s best category was affordability, in which it ranked ninth. The East Valley town was dragged down by ranking 64th in family fun and 63rd in education and child care.

Despite ranking seventh in the family fun category, Phoenix came in 106th overall. The city was near the bottom of the pack, at 175th, in the education and child care category.

Other Arizona cities on the list are No. 77 Mesa, No. 81 Tempe, No. 130 Glendale and No. 142 Tucson.

The rankings were limited to the 150 most-populated U.S. cities plus at least two of the most-populated cities in each state.

The top three cities, in order, were Overland Park, Kansas; Irvine, California; and Fremont, California.

Newark, New Jersey, was saddled with the title of worst place in the U.S. to raise a family.

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