By: Brooke Staggs. At Apartment List, our goal is to help you find a home. That’s why we dug into the data last month to identify the 100 Best Cities for Families nationwide, and that’s why we’re following it up now with a look at the top five cities in Colorado.
We used the same methodology as the national list. Our analysis centered on four factors that our research has identified as the most important to families:
Safety (35%): We ranked cities by the number of violent crimes and property crimes per 100,000 residents. Source: FBI statistics.
Housing Cost (30%): To rank cities on housing cost, we calculated the percentage of the average income required to rent the average 2 bedroom apartment. Sources: Apartment List, American Community Survey
School Quality (25%): Cities were ranked on high school graduation rate for public school districts based in that city. Comparing schools across different states can be challenging, but high school graduation rate gives a good estimate of overall school quality. Source: Department of Education data.
Child Friendliness (10%): Communities with a greater percentage of children tend to be more child friendly, so we scored cities based on the percentage of the population that’s under 18. Source: American Community Survey
One city in the Rocky Mountain State will be familiar, since it finished in the top five on our national ranking of family-friendly cities. Here’s a closer look at Colorado’s best cities for families:
Castle Rock: This picturesque town high in the Rocky Mountains, south of Denver, ranked No. 1 in Colorado and No. 4 on our national list of family-friendly cities. Nearly a third of the town’s 53,063 residents are under 18., and nearly all of them go on to graduate from high school, as actress Amy Adams did when she was raised here. Crime rates remain very low. While rent is a bit pricey, with a 2 bedroom averaging 29% above the national going rate. Household incomes are also high here, though, with many Castle Rock residents commuting to work in the Denver Tech Center.
View entire article here.
