Arizona Reacts to Being Left Off List of 50 Best Towns to Raise a Family in America

I was looking through a list of the 50 Best Small Towns to Raise a Family in America. The data was compiled by a website called Niche, and the list was released into the wild by Stacker.

List the Top Cities to Raise Families in America

The cities on the list were ranked on factors like public schools, jobs, and cost of living. Towns with a population under 5,000 were weighted strongly as a favorable factor.

While combing through the towns, one glaring factor stood out: nearly all the towns on the list were nestled in the shadow of a large metropolitan center.

Want to live near Chicago, but not in the city; Consider living in Riverwoods, Illinois.

Want access to everything New York City, has to offer, but not actually live there? Plandome, New York may be for you.

As a matter of fact, of the list of 50 cities, 17 of them are in New York. Pennsylvania boasted 10, and Illinois had 6.

Gee, I'm Sure They're Great...But What About Arizona?

I'm not saying these aren't great places to live and raise a family. I was surprised that most of the towns listed were on the East Coast or in the Midwest.

As a matter of fact, there were only two cities on the list WEST of the Mississippi!

Holly Hills, Colorado, and Yarrow Point, Washington. That's it!

Now I've never been to these small towns, and I'm sure they're grand. At least in that small-town, charming way Niche was looking for.

All of the places listed above may be great places, but talk to me when the weather is crummy in February, and let's see who has the better deal!

Finding our Niche in Arizona!

I did a little more digging, and you know what? There's a Niche for Arizona, too!

It's not an apples-to-apples comparison with the other list. First, not all cities on this list have a population of 5,000 or fewer, like the original ranking. In my opinion, this list of Arizona cities has two things going for it.

First, our weather is MUCH better in Arizona. Second, even in Phoenix, our largest city, it still feels like we're far outside of the urban sprawl.

A New Niche List

Niche's List of the Places with the Best Public Schools in Arizona. These towns are larger than the small towns on the previous list.

Here are the top five according to Niche. We'll compile a more complete list in an upcoming article.

1. Sun Lakes (outside of Phoenix)

2. Chandler (a suburb of Phoenix)

3. Catalina Foothills (near Tucson)

4. South Tucson

5. Vail (a bit outside of Tucson)

Check out the complete list of The 50 Best Small Towns to Raise a Family in America: