Starting a family? Then here are the country’s best spots to buy a home

Family-friendly cities

Planning to buy a home and start a family? Then get ready to get to head to Kansas. According to a new ranking, the Sunflower State is home to the nation’s most family-friendly city.

Made for child-rearing

According to a new ranking from WalletHub, Overland Park, Kansas, is America’s best place to raise a family. The ranking takes into account housing costs, school quality, health care systems, recreational opportunities and more.

Overland Park, according to the analysis, is high on the socioeconomic scale, boasts affordable housing and has quality education and childcare. The only factor it ranks low on is “family fun.”

California claimed the second and third place spots, with Irvine and Fremont about even. The two rank high on socioeconomics, health and safety, and education and child care quality.

Big city buying: The best metros to buy a house in

The remaining top 10 family-friendly cities include South Burlington, Vermont; Bismarck, North Dakota; Plano, Texas; Fargo, North Dakota; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Huntington Beach, California; and Gilbert, Arizona.

Most of the highest family salaries — adjusted for local cost of living, at least — are in the South. In fact, Arizona accounts for three of the top six (Scottsdale, Gilbert and Chandler). Gilbert also has one of the highest percentages of families with young children.

Steer clear of the South: The best (and worst) places for women home buyers

The least family-friendly places to buy a home

The worst place to raise a family, according to the ranking, is Newark, Jersey, which ranks low in family fun, health and safety, affordability and socioeconomics.

Newark is followed by Detroit, Miami, Cleveland, and Hialeah, Florida, as the least family-friendly cities.

Hialeah also has the fewest playgrounds per capita and the lowest median family salary. San Francisco claims the least affordable housing, while Detroit has the highest violent crime rate and the highest percentage of families living in poverty.

Get today’s mortgage rates

Looking to buy a home in a family-friendly spot? Then shop around and see what mortgage rates you qualify for today.