Where does Houston land on 2019's best & worst cities to raise a family?

The skyline of Houston is seen in this undated file image. (KPRC)

HOUSTON – A recent study was done on the best and worst cities to raise a family. So where did Houston fall on that list?

The average American moves around 11.4 times during his or her lifetime. People commonly move for family-related reasons. Also, both the promise of economic opportunity or avoiding economic or job instability play a large driving force.

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According to WalletHub, the study “compared more than 180 U.S. cities based on 47 key metrics that consider essential family dynamics, such as the cost of housing, the quality of local school and health-care systems, and the opportunities for fun and recreation. While obviously not perfect — given personal preferences and the limitations of publicly available data — our findings will hopefully give movers a sense of their options. This study aims to reveal the areas that offer the greatest opportunity to achieve Wallet Fitness and live a long and happy life."

Houston ranked extremely low at 140 out of 180 U.S. cities. 

Here are the top 5 cities to raise a family:
1. Overland Park, Kansas
2. Fremont, California 
3. Irvine, California
4. Plano, Texas
5. South Burlington, Vermont

Here are all the Texas cities that fell above Houston: 
24. Austin
61. Grand Prairie
72. Fort Worth
78. Amarillo
83. Arlington
95. El Paso
101. Irving
110. San Antonio
116. Garland
121. Brownsville
133. Dallas
134. Lubbock

Here are some other notable cities that fell above Houston:
40. San Francisco, California
59. Las Vegas, Nevada
77. New York, New York
80. Washington, DC
91. Atlanta, Georgia 
96. Los Angeles, California
100. Boston, Massachusetts 
104. Chicago, Illinois

Houston was ranked 140th.

Here are the Texas cities that fell below Houston:
141. Corpus Christi 
143. Laredo

Here are some other notable cities that fell below Houston:
149. Indianapolis, Indiana 
161. New Orleans, Louisiana 
169. St. Louis, Missouri
172. Miami, Florida
179. Memphis, Tennessee 
180. Cleveland, Ohio 
182. Detroit, Michigan 


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