WalletHub: Gilbert and Scottsdale ranked as top 10 cities to raise a family

PHOENIX — Gilbert and Scottsdale were ranked among the top 10 in the nation for cities to raise a family, and two more in Arizona were ranked in the top 30.

According to a recent study by WalletHub, Gilbert and Scottsdale ranked seventh and ninth, respectively, while Chandler came in at No. 17 and Peoria came in at No. 27.

WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzalez helped explain how the study came up with the results.

“We looked at almost 50 different metrics that really looked at essential family dynamics,” Gonzalez said. “Cost of housing, quality of local schools and health care systems and, of course, opportunities for fun and recreation.”

The top three Arizona cities all earned strong rankings in cost of housing categories such as affordability and socio-economics rankings with Gilbert, Scottsdale and Chandler falling in the top 25 or better in both categories.

“Gilbert did well when it comes to affordability (No. 15), but also when it comes to overall health and safety (No. 13) and overall socio-economics (No. 11),” Gonzalez said. “A lot of two-parent families, a lower separation and divorce rate.

“Scottsdale had a lot of the same marks there.”

The study measured more than 180 cities with Mesa, Phoenix, Glendale and Tucson all finishing in the bottom half of the rankings.

“Some cities not doing as well [include] Phoenix, which isn’t necessarily a surprise,” Gonzalez said. “A lot of bigger cities did not do as well when it comes to raising a family.”

Tempe was ranked No. 82.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Madison Spence contributed this report.

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