Analysis names the most affordable, safest, family-friendly communities in the state as well as those that are not as family-friendly.

Colorado was ranked as No. 12 in the country earlier this year on WalletHub’s list of Best and Worst States to Raise a Family. It's no surprise that people love living here and that many more seem to be constantly moving here.

WalletHub recently did an analysis of 61 cities in the Centennial State to determine which cities are the best to raise a family. 2019’s Best and Worst Places to Raise a Family in Colorado gives some insight into what areas in the state are preferable to raise kids and start a family. The results were weighted, scored, and averaged to come up with the overall list.

Cities, in the case of this analysis, refer only to the area designated as the city proper of a community and not suburbs or cities in the surrounding metropolitan area.

Using 21 indicators of family-friendliness across four main categories, the 61 cities were compared and ranked. The areas analyzed for this ranking were Family Life & Safety, Education, Health & Safety, Affordability, and Socio-Economics. The characteristics analyzed within each dimension include the following:

• Family Life & Safety: looked at playground per capita, number of attractions, share of families with children aged 0-17 years, weather, and average commute time.
• Education, Health & Safety: rated the quality of school systems, high school graduation rate, air quality, pediatricians per capita, share of uninsured children, the violent crime rate per capita, and property crime rate per capita.
• Affordability: looked at housing affordability and general affordability in each city.
• Socio-Economics: analyzed separation and divorce rates, share of two-parent families, share of families living in poverty, share of households receiving food stamps, unemployment rate, wealth gap, and foreclosure rate.

Parker came in as the best place in the state to raise a family, followed by Erie, Castle Pines, Louisville, and Superior, to round out the top five spots. Firestone, Frederick, Johnstown, Castle Rock, and Winsor filled out the top 10 places in the state for raising a family.

Denver came in at No. 55 on the list overall, ranking No. 1 in the state for attractions, but coming in as almost worst the state for affordable housing (which surprises no one). Denver was ranked 39th in the state for highest violent crime rate, while Johnstown came in at No. 1 for lowest violent crime rate. Johnstown also came in No. 1 in the state for the lowest percentage of families living in poverty.

Clifton is the worst in the state with the highest percentage of families living in poverty. Pueblo came in at No. 56 of 61 overall for places the state to raise a family; it has the second-highest divorce rate in the state. Welby took the top spot there, and Black Forest is reported to have the lowest divorce rate in the state.

Fort Carson is the most affordable place for families to find housing, while Greenwood Village is the least affordable. Fort Carson also has the most families with kids, while Black Forest has the fewest. Fort Carson has the lowest median family income of cities analyzed, and Castle Pines has the highest.

Courtesy of Pixabay

You can check out the full results of the analysis yourself right here, and see how WalletHub broke down the data and what methods and sources they used.

Do you agree with WalletHub’s take for the best and worst places in Colorado to raise a family? Are there any other factors you would look at when deciding where to raise your family? Share with us where you think is the best and worst place in Colorado to raise a family in the comments.