Orlando is just a so-so place to raise a family, study says
Orlando is a so-so place to raise a family, coming in 70th on a list of 182 metro areas in the United States, according to an analysis by WalletHub.
The City Beautiful ranks high in “family fun,” No. 6 in the nation — not a big surprise considering Central Florida’s plethora of world-famous theme parks and the opportunity to be outdoors year-round. The researchers still put Tampa one slot ahead of Orlando in the family fun category, though.
But our “health and safety” ranking came in low, at 146 out of 182.
Education and child care were deemed about average at No. 97, and affordability came in at above average at No. 67.
Overall socioeconomics in Orlando were judged at No. 130 on this list, well below average.
WalletHub said it took 47 metrics into account for each city. Some were a bit quirky, such as “most playgrounds per capita,” where Jacksonville came in fourth in the nation (Hialeah, a Miami suburb, has the least in the nation).
Miami and Hialeah were at the bottom of the barrel for median family salary, ranking No. 180 and No. 182.
Port St. Lucie (No. 3) and Cape Coral (No. 5) earned kudos for lowest violent-crime rates.
The best overall city among those analyzed in Florida for raising a family is Pembroke Pines, which earned high scores for education and child care and socioeconomics.
Overland Park, Kansas, was awarded the title of best place in the country to raise a family, mostly because of a combination of its affordability, socioeconomics, health and safety, and education and child care.
As an aside, three of the six main researchers for the study are affiliated with Florida colleges or universities: the University of South Florida in Tampa, Eckerd College in St. Petersburg and Florida International University in Miami.
See the full list at WalletHub.com.
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