It takes a village to raise a child – and according to a new ranking, a few of the best villages in the country are right here in the Chicago area.
Four suburbs are among the top 100 cities in the U.S. to raise kids, the National Council for Home Safety and Security announced Monday.
The organization, a trade association of home security professionals, said 526 cities were considered in its analysis. [[454312983, C]]
Factors impacting the ranking included: education levels, median household income, crime and health insurance.
Coming in at 14th overall was Naperville, which has been included in various rankings of the best, safest and wealthiest communities over the years, the study noted.
“For those families wealthy enough to own a home and raise kids in Naperville, it is undeniably a fine place to live, offering all of the municipal, recreational, culinary, and retail options and services one could ask for,” the list said, calling the city “a model suburb.”
“The school system has a fantastic reputation and its high schools regularly churn out excellent football teams,” the study continued. [[450641213, C]]
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Next was Evanston, which ranked 28th on the list as a “suburb that has it all.”
“Evanston boasts a bustling shopping district, historic residential architecture, fantastic schools, scenic lakefront and a proactive populace that takes pride in their town,” the report said, adding that the city is an “all-around excellent environment for children to grow up in” with the bonus of proximity to Chicago.
“Blow kids minds by exposing them to Chicago’s skyline on weekend trips to the city,” the company recommended.
Lower on the list were Arlington Heights and Skokie, coming in at 54th and 96th, respectively.
Two other Illinois cities made the cut as well: Champaign, at 81st, and Bloomington, at 88th. [[450270083, C]]
The highest-ranked place to raise a family in the entire country, according to the study, is San Ramon, California – a state that boasts nine of the top 15 cities on the list.
Other Midwestern cities include Woodbury (18) and Maple Grove (20), both in Minnesota, plus Carmel, Indiana, in 30th place. Madison (42), Oshkosh (62), Waukesha (76), Appleton (98) in Wisconsin all cracked the list, as did five Michigan towns.
For more information and the full list, you can visit the National Council for Home Safety and Security’s website here.
