North Texas’ Plano named No. 4 most family-friendly city in US

WalletHub published on Tuesday, May 26, its roundup of the best and worst places to live while raising a family in the United States, analyzing more than 180 American cities on factors such as cost of housing, education quality, healthcare systems’ rankings and robust entertainment and recreation opportunities. The result? The Dallas-Fort Worth area suburb of Plano cinched the No. 4 spot, bringing some Texas-sized representation to the Top 10.

Just Fremont, California; Overland Park, Kansas; and Irvine, California all bested the Texas city, with Plano earning especially high regard for its health and safety, affordability and socio-economic rankings. 

“Finding the best place to raise a family is difficult, between balancing an affordable cost of living with good educational opportunities, safety and enough recreation to keep kids entertained,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said in the report.

Not looking to be too bested by its Dallas-area counterpart, the Texas capital of Austin earned the second-highest ranking amongst Lone Star State competitors, inching into the Top 25 with a No. 22 finish. The Live Music Capital of the World’s affordability status nabbed itself a No. 7 individual ranking, while it also received kudos for its socio-economics rank as well as education and childcare access.

How did Texas’ other major cities compare? Elsewhere beyond Austin, WalletHub ranked El Paso No. 122, Dallas No. 135, Houston No. 136 and San Antonio No. 137. While not ranked among the highest, Laredo’s No. 91 overall finish came with a first-place finish elsewhere; WalletHub revealed it was the city with the highest percentage of families featuring young kids among all 182 analyzed.