Philly ranks 90th of 100 good places to raise children

In its relentless pursuit to quantify every aspect of your life satisfaction, real estate firm Zumper has released a new report ranking the best cities in which to raise a family. (Past reports have ranked metros for singles, beer drinkers, and runners.) Regarding families, Philadelphia lost out to nearly every city on the list, finishing a dismal 90th of 100.

The study examined 10 factors in each city. They include: cost per additional room (calculated by looking at prices for one- and two-bedroom properties); percentage of income spent on rent; percentage of income spent on mortgage; median household income; current unemployment rates; infant care costs; percentage of citizens younger than 45 years old; high school dropout rate; average commute times; and rate of violent crime.

Philadelphia earned a cumulative score of 48.3 of a possible 100 points. The city got  particularly low marks for commute times, housing costs, income, and crime rates. Madison, Wisconsin, earned a perfect score, with Lincoln, Nebraska; Lexington, Kentucky; Boise, Idaho; and Tallahassee, Florida rounding out the top five.

We would humbly submit that a host of factors make a city better or worse for raising a family, only a fraction of which are included in this study. While costs and crime and commutes all matter quite a bit, we would also suggest that access to some of the country's most important historic sites, an incredibly diverse population, and one of the nation's biggest and best urban parks also should factor into the mix.

Check out the methodology and all the findings to make up your own mind.