Chances are you’ve heard of the statistic touting that there are more dogs than children in Seattle. While it’s true that Seattle is an extremely dog-friendly city, that certainly doesn’t mean there is a lack of children here. In fact, Seattle was just ranked one of the best cities in the US to start a family.
According to a recent WalletHub study, Seattle is the 7th-best city in America to raise children! Yep, we made it into the top 10. The full list includes 182 cities, making Seattle’s high ranking quite impressive.
WalletHub evaluated each city with 46 key metrics. These include cost of housing, the quality of schools and healthcare, and the somewhat subjective category of opportunities for “family fun.” Seattle’s overall score was 64.9 (for comparison, the number one city—Fremont, CA—was given an overall score of 73). The lowest-ranked city was Detroit, MI, coming in last with a score of 34.
WalletHub acknowledged that their findings can’t be taken completely objectively “given personal preferences and the limitations of publicly available data.” That said, the information they collected may be helpful to those seeking out the best place to raise their children. If Seattle wasn’t on your short list before, you may want to reconsider.
Although we may be biased, Seattle does have a lot to offer families. In terms of education and childcare, Seattle was ranked number eight out of 182 on WalletHub’s list. The city has a variety of neighborhoods to choose from, each with its own special flavor depending on what your family needs, so it’s easy to prioritize a central, lively city lifestyle or a more suburban, quiet pace for you and your kids. Also, each neighborhood has its own city parks, beaches, and lakes so you can immerse your children in nature without even leaving the city. And if you ever do want to get away for a weekend, Seattle is surrounded by stunning state and national parks as well as charming island towns.
Finally, if your kids want to get a dog, you can rest assured that every member of your family—including the furry ones—will be welcome in Seattle!