BALTIMORE, MD—Baltimore ranks near the bottom of a new nationwide study evaluating the best and worst cities to raise a family, while a neighboring Maryland community secured a spot in the top five.
The report, released Tuesday by personal-finance website WalletHub, placed Baltimore at 178th out of more than 180 cities evaluated across the United States. The low ranking positions Charm City as the fifth-worst municipality for families among those surveyed, largely held back by challenges related to socioeconomics, local employment data, and housing costs.
In stark contrast, Columbia, Maryland, located roughly 20 miles to the southwest, was ranked as the fifth-best city in the nation for raising a family. According to the data set, Columbia boasts the highest median annual family income in the country when adjusted for the local cost of living…