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WalletHub’s 2025 rankings on the best and worst places to raise a family revealed troubling results for several North Carolina cities. With the study assessing 182 cities based on five major dimensions, including Family Fun, Health & Safety, Education & Child Care, Affordability, and Socio-economics, North Carolina’s larger cities, such as Fayetteville, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and Charlotte, landed in the bottom half. Raleigh, while faring slightly better, only managed a middling rank at 44.
The metrics evaluated painted a stark picture for North Carolina cities. Fayetteville stood out unfavorably at rank 166 due to a combination of high family poverty rates and limited access to top-tier educational resources. Greensboro, ranked 140, highlighted challenges with low scores in health and safety, as well as socio-economic stability. These factors often overshadowed the state’s generally moderate affordability…