When considering the best possible place to raise your children, certain criteria should be top of mind. Things like a safe family-friendly neighborhood as well as an exceptional school system are great places to start.

It is also a good idea to take into account the different types of recreational and education facilities that are available for children to take advantage of outside of school.

Not only can aspiring to raise your kids in the most exceptional environment be challenging – it can be costly, too.

Recently, the people at Kiplinger compiled a list using a two-step approach to determine which are the best cities in America to raise children. They examined metropolitan areas with high household incomes in comparison to the cost of living, a large percentage of families with children under the age of 18 and low crime rates.

Then, within each specific city, educational factors as well as fun factors were weighed out as means for determining the top ten.

According to their research, Omaha, Nebraska is the number one place to raise your children, followed by Richland, Washington and Suwanee, Georgia. All boast high scores in schools' standardized tests, along with an average family income in between $75,000 - $105,000.

How does the city you live in size up against the best in the country?

Top 10 Cities in America to Raise Children

1. Omaha, Nebraska
2.
Richland, Washington
3.
Suwanee, Georgia
4.
Thousand Oaks, California
5.
East Grand Rapids, Michigan
6.
Appleton, Wisconsin
7.
Sunnyvale, California
8.
Middletown, New York
9.
Corona, California
10.
Stamford, Connecticut

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