2 NC cities rank among most family friendly. Why they’re great for raising kids
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- StorageCafe studied the most family-friendly cities across the United States.
- Durham landed at No. 2 and Winston-Salem is No. 4 on the list.
- The two North Carolina cities rank high for affordablility.
North Carolina has plenty of destinations to love — but where is the best place to raise kids?
Durham ranks No. 2 and Winston-Salem is No. 4 on a list of the nation’s best cities for families with children.
“Some cities are proving better equipped to support growing households, offering the infrastructure, affordability and everyday amenities families need to thrive,” StorageCafe, a storage-focused website from the real estate software company Yardi, wrote in a Monday, March 16 report.
To create the list, StorageCafe said it studied the 100 most populous cities across the country. Using data from the U.S. government, Zillow and other sources, it scored each place across six categories: affordability, childcare and education, health care and safety, climate and environment, transportation and walkability, and livability.
Why NC cities are family friendly
Of the two North Carolina cities that earned spots in the top 10, Durham ranked the highest at No. 2. The Bull City was praised for boasting lower health care and child care costs compared to many other places it went up against.
“With Duke University and a thriving tech scene anchoring the local economy, parents here benefit from strong, flexible careers — more than 20% of residents work remotely, well above the national average of 13%,” StorageCafe wrote. “That flexibility shows up where it matters most: at school pickups, pediatric appointments and weeknight dinners around the table.”
StorageCafe found that Durham households with two working adults make almost $123,000 a year, higher than many other cities nationwide. Also, results show “housing typically takes up just 18% of a family’s budget, leaving room for the extras that make childhood memorable.”
“Families aren’t an afterthought here; they’re part of the fabric of the city,” StorageCafe wrote. “Just over a quarter of Durham households include children, and unlike most of the country, that share has inched up over the past decade.”
Also in the rankings, Winston-Salem landed in the No. 4 spot. Residents of the Triad city pay more reasonable costs for health care, child care, groceries and transportation compared to people in many other parts of the country.
“Winston-Salem has quietly become one of North Carolina’s most appealing landing spots for young families,” the website wrote. “Affordability leads the story: Whether renting or buying, housing typically consumes less than 23% of household income.”
Winston-Salem also ranks high when it comes to offering parks that families can enjoy together. And shorter-than-average commutes give people more time — “the resource parents value most,” StorageCafe wrote.
But both Durham and Winston-Salem didn’t fare as well when it came to transportation. The two cities performed low or just about average for walkability, biking and public transit options, results show.
Which other cities are good for families?
The Triangle is accustomed to receiving wide recognition. In the past, Raleigh has been named one of the best cities for families. The area also has ranked among the nation’s top places to live for recent college grads, retirees and other groups, The News & Observer previously reported.
This time around, here’s where other North Carolina cities ranked in terms of family friendliness:
- Greensboro at No. 16
- Raleigh at No. 19
- Charlotte at No. 28
Nationwide, StorageCafe said the No. 1 place for raising a family was Lexington, Kentucky. Here are the other U.S. cities rounding out the top five:
- Madison, Wisconsin, at No. 3
- St. Louis, Missouri at No. 5
