Best US neighborhoods for families with young kids based on safety and school proximity
Where your family lives shapes more than your daily routine. For families with young kids, neighborhood conditions can influence everything from school performance to long-term health and well-being. Two factors consistently rise to the top of the list when families consider a move: safety and proximity to schools.
Find a Neighborhood analyzed neighborhoods across the U.S. to find areas where these two conditions overlap. By combining public safety with access to education, we identified places that support early childhood development and offer peace of mind to parents navigating the day-to-day reality of raising young kids.
How We Identified Family-Friendly Neighborhoods
To identify communities that meet the unique needs of families with young children, Find a Neighborhood used publicly available data in three main categories:
- Crime Rates: Specifically, it looked at violent and property crime statistics using FBI and local law enforcement records.
- School Proximity: It evaluated access to highly rated public elementary schools within walking distance (typically one mile or less).
- Family Infrastructure: It evaluated the prevalence of parks, libraries, childcare centers, and overall walkability using local government and U.S. census data.
The goal was not to create an exhaustive ranking, but rather to highlight neighborhoods across various regions that combine these factors in family-friendly ways.
5 Best U.S. Neighborhoods for Families with Young Kids
While affordability, climate, and personal preference all play a role in picking the perfect place for your family to live, the following neighborhoods show strong data in the categories that matter most to parents of young children…