Aurora Named USA's 7th-Best Big City For Families

Aurora Named USA’s 7th-Best Big City For Families

/ September 9, 2016 / Comments Off on Aurora Named USA’s 7th-Best Big City For Families / Awards and Recognition, Communities, WK-Communities

For some it might come as a surprise, but for those of us who know the city and its people, it’s easy to understand why WalletHub ranks Aurora, IL, as the nation’s seventh-best big city for families.

Overland Park, KS, was No. 1 on the WalletHub list. Madison, WI, was second, and Plano, TX, was third. Chicago came in 72nd on the top-100 list.

WalletHub’s analysts compared the 150 most populated U.S. cities based on 36 key metrics that take into account essential family dynamics such as the relative cost of housing, the quality of local school and health care systems, and the opportunities for fun and recreation.

Because we live west of Chicago, we sometimes forget that Aurora is a big city unto itself — the second-largest in Illinois — and has to deal with many of the same challenges as any metropolis, from crime to poverty to health and safety. WalletHub’s analysis provides evidence that Aurora is doing as well as any big city in meeting those challenges and in creating opportunities to improve residents’ quality of life.

From the fantastic successes of the Paramount Theatre and RiverEdge Park to educational opportunities like Waubonsee Community College’s Aurora campus and the Illinois Mathematics & Science Academy to expansion of health care at Rush-Copley to innovative crime prevention and law-enforcement efforts, the City of Lights is making efforts to improve the lives of families and to invite families to move there.

“While obviously not perfect — given the intrinsic value of each city, personal preferences and the limitations of publicly available data — our findings will hopefully give prospective movers a sense of which areas offer the greatest opportunity to achieve WalletFitness and, of course, live a long and happy life,” WalletHub says.

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2016’s Best Cities for Families

Overall Rank City Total Score ‘Family Fun’ Rank ‘Health & Safety’ Rank ‘Education & Child Care’ Rank ‘Affordability’ Rank ‘Socioeconomic Environment’ Rank
1 Overland Park, KS 77.16 60 7 24 2 2
2 Madison, WI 73.04 21 8 4 9 21
3 Plano, TX 72.59 86 4 51 1 3
4 Sioux Falls, SD 69.36 61 29 33 6 8
5 Virginia Beach, VA 68.82 83 3 19 13 14
6 Lincoln, NE 68.14 50 19 25 8 12
7 Aurora, IL 67.97 31 14 9 32 34
8 Omaha, NE 65.74 30 62 14 10 36
9 Colorado Springs, CO 65.56 41 45 13 23 24
10 Fremont, CA 65.52 121 2 76 28 1
11 Chesapeake, VA 65.06 140 9 19 15 16
12 Gilbert, AZ 63.81 100 10 139 4 4
13 Grand Prairie, TX 63.79 26 53 51 17 28
14 Irvine, CA 62.69 59 1 111 34 5
15 Denver, CO 62.46 10 33 17 41 84
16 St. Paul, MN 62.32 22 73 11 36 68
17 Minneapolis, MN 62.06 3 91 11 27 103
18 Boise, ID 61.79 8 13 134 11 20
19 Seattle, WA 61.63 18 61 34 26 60
20 Chandler, AZ 61.61 66 25 139 5 6
21 Des Moines, IA 61.52 69 78 16 22 83
22 Lexington-Fayette, KY 61.40 103 111 7 20 44
23 Scottsdale, AZ 61.08 64 43 139 3 15
24 Amarillo, TX 61.02 55 80 71 19 37
25 Louisville, KY 60.44 131 40 8 40 55
26 Raleigh, NC 60.27 81 52 29 18 57
27 Peoria, AZ 60.17 73 36 139 7 13
28 San Jose, CA 59.34 85 11 81 62 10
29 Salt Lake City, UT 59.32 45 120 28 38 47
30 Wichita, KS 59.18 110 70 31 21 42
31 Santa Clarita, CA 59.16 101 18 111 47 9
32 Huntington Beach, CA 59.14 126 16 111 43 7
33 Austin, TX 58.85 96 54 42 14 78
34 Pembroke Pines, FL 58.83 114 38 84 51 19
35 Aurora, CO 58.47 145 56 17 52 31
36 Santa Rosa, CA 58.14 38 6 94 89 27
37 Arlington, TX 57.89 107 83 51 33 32
38 Oklahoma City, OK 57.74 65 124 64 24 46
39 Vancouver, WA 57.73 92 24 41 65 64
40 Charlotte, NC 57.72 135 55 38 30 53
41 Newport News, VA 57.48 97 35 19 88 63
42 Durham, NC 57.19 137 68 26 31 61
43 Pittsburgh, PA 57.08 16 79 63 29 111
44 Garland, TX 57.06 138 84 51 37 26
45 Rancho Cucamonga, CA 56.94 74 41 124 57 11
46 Irving, TX 56.84 127 59 51 54 30
47 San Diego, CA 56.63 7 21 98 78 58
48 Nashville, TN 56.48 102 101 39 44 45
49 Fort Wayne, IN 56.36 141 69 58 25 54
50 San Francisco, CA 56.20 23 47 76 71 62
51 Columbus, OH 55.94 93 67 36 50 80
52 Lubbock, TX 55.90 94 102 47 42 48
53 Boston, MA 55.85 62 42 5 99 125
54 Chula Vista, CA 55.30 108 15 98 75 25
55 El Paso, TX 54.92 40 44 67 86 72
56 Fort Worth, TX 54.88 120 122 51 35 50
57 Jersey City, NJ 54.88 148 23 1 114 87
58 Cape Coral, FL 54.82 144 22 97 68 40
59 Anchorage, AK 54.79 68 112 137 16 18
60 San Antonio, TX 54.63 132 75 66 49 59
61 Kansas City, MO 54.52 37 128 65 46 93
62 Corpus Christi, TX 54.07 112 93 72 39 67
63 Huntsville, AL 54.05 124 89 122 12 73
64 Greensboro, NC 53.76 104 60 30 82 81
65 Port St. Lucie, FL 53.74 149 12 95 85 35
66 Norfolk, VA 53.47 88 20 19 116 101
67 Oceanside, CA 53.31 115 30 98 105 23
68 Spokane, WA 53.29 84 130 69 53 86
69 Tacoma, WA 53.27 123 123 34 61 94
70 Tampa, FL 53.11 11 31 91 73 119
71 Garden Grove, CA 52.71 24 26 111 123 29
72 Richmond, VA 52.59 87 74 15 77 138
73 Henderson, NV 52.51 36 27 148 55 38
74 Grand Rapids, MI 52.23 76 28 110 56 88
75 Yonkers, NY 52.13 143 46 73 104 56
76 Fayetteville, NC 52.01 79 106 27 106 90
77 Worcester, MA 51.99 119 94 6 117 107
78 Chicago, IL 51.85 52 82 9 122 127
79 Honolulu, HI 51.84 82 5 89 126 17
80 Tulsa, OK 51.81 43 146 83 45 92
81 Sacramento, CA 51.78 2 32 96 96 116
82 Milwaukee, WI 51.71 17 137 3 124 139
83 Little Rock, AR 51.62 139 150 45 48 65
84 St. Petersburg, FL 51.32 57 129 91 63 79
85 Winston-Salem, NC 51.24 99 96 50 80 91
86 Oxnard, CA 51.23 9 50 106 127 41
87 Laredo, TX 51.22 47 140 40 76 102
88 Portland, OR 50.82 35 95 101 83 82
89 Chattanooga, TN 50.80 142 109 60 74 98
90 Fontana, CA 50.72 13 71 124 95 49
91 Orlando, FL 50.65 6 81 90 121 100
92 Anaheim, CA 50.62 58 34 111 129 33
93 Indianapolis, IN 50.48 133 136 37 72 75
94 Dallas, TX 50.16 106 90 51 81 112
95 Houston, TX 49.88 98 133 49 69 109
96 Mesa, AZ 49.75 118 66 139 59 39
97 Glendale, CA 49.17 116 17 111 143 22
98 Albuquerque, NM 49.10 53 107 132 66 77
99 Brownsville, TX 48.90 4 77 62 132 118
100 Bakersfield, CA 48.89 48 113 131 64

SOURCE: WalletHub

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