Indianapolis News and Headlines

Actions

Carmel, Fishers & Westfield named best cities in Indiana to raise a family

Posted at 1:39 PM, Aug 25, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-25 13:39:51-04

CARMEL, Ind. -- Hoosiers have upped their game when it comes to being a place to raise a family, but not all Indiana cities are created equal. 

It might be no surprise that the top three cities in the state for raising a family are Carmel, Fishers and Westfield, according to WalletHub. And the worst cities to raise a family are Gary, East Chicago and Connersville.

The study says Indiana currently boasts the 16th biggest state economy by GDP and the sixth lowest unemployment rate and a cost of living lower than 41 other states. A recent analysis also showed that Indiana outranked 33 states in education and child care.

But just because a city ranks high doesn't mean it's where the most families live. East Chicago is one of the worst places to raise a family, according to the study, but it ranks in the top five for most families with kids in the state. To determine the places in Indiana that are most conducive to family life, WalletHub’s analysts compared more than 70 cities in the state across 21 key livability indicators ranging from housing affordability to quality of school system to unemployment rate.

Source: WalletHub

Check out WalletHub's full "Best Places to Live in Indiana for Families" list below.

Overall Rank
(1 = Best)

City

Total Score

‘Family Life & Fun’ Rank

‘Education, Health & Safety’ Rank

‘Affordability’ Rank

‘Socio-economics’ Rank

1

Carmel, IN

79.36

3

3

2

4

2

Fishers, IN

79.31

1

8

1

2

3

Westfield, IN

78.24

2

4

3

3

4

Zionsville, IN

75.81

6

2

5

5

5

Avon, IN

72.51

4

14

4

8

6

Jasper, IN

68.98

25

1

11

13

7

Noblesville, IN

67.99

11

19

6

11

8

Brownsburg, IN

67.62

30

10

7

7

9

Plainfield, IN

64.21

13

18

10

10

10

Auburn, IN

62.40

10

17

9

23

11

Granger, IN

61.52

62

7

8

6

12

St. John, IN

59.76

76

6

15

1

13

West Lafayette, IN

59.56

12

15

43

17

14

Chesterton, IN

58.14

58

5

12

28

15

Columbus, IN

57.91

19

38

26

16

16

Yorktown, IN

57.66

42

16

17

15

17

Washington, IN

57.45

49

13

18

29

18

Greenwood, IN

57.24

29

39

14

19

19

Greenfield, IN

56.31

48

25

13

21

20

Fort Wayne, IN

54.75

7

52

22

32

21

Warsaw, IN

54.32

17

33

49

25

22

Frankfort, IN

54.03

37

28

29

37

23

Munster, IN

53.40

73

9

37

18

24

Dyer, IN

53.29

78

11

28

14

25

Valparaiso, IN

53.25

34

21

45

36

26

Peru, IN

53.12

35

24

19

63

27

Plymouth, IN

53.05

5

20

51

53

28

Seymour, IN

52.58

23

54

32

34

29

Jeffersonville, IN

51.80

65

40

27

20

30

Greensburg, IN

51.59

22

26

40

47

31

Lebanon, IN

51.45

53

43

16

26

32

Franklin, IN

50.98

41

45

20

43

33

Vincennes, IN

50.90

27

46

24

57

34

Kokomo, IN

50.88

47

49

23

42

35

Logansport, IN

50.66

26

48

39

45

36

Goshen, IN

50.50

24

34

73

27

37

Huntington, IN

50.36

55

44

25

35

38

Portage, IN

50.16

66

22

30

44

39

Crawfordsville, IN

49.88

8

12

62

68

40

New Haven, IN

49.58

61

66

21

22

41

Highland, IN

49.49

71

29

41

24

42

Lafayette, IN

49.34

20

63

42

40

43

La Porte, IN

48.99

32

36

61

51

44

Crown Point, IN

48.85

72

55

36

12

45

Wabash, IN

48.73

45

35

31

56

46

Schererville, IN

48.42

74

59

46

9

47

Bedford, IN

48.28

51

27

53

54

48

Cedar Lake, IN

47.95

63

23

57

46

49

Madison, IN

47.49

38

51

50

39

50

Bloomington, IN

47.12

16

32

77

49

51

Marion, IN

46.45

40

37

56

67

52

Mishawaka, IN

46.19

56

56

58

33

53

Griffith, IN

45.60

64

30

47

55

54

Evansville, IN

45.26

28

71

60

41

55

Michigan City, IN

44.74

33

42

63

70

56

Beech Grove, IN

44.73

21

41

74

60

57

Greencastle, IN

44.66

46

74

33

50

58

South Bend, IN

44.63

14

65

66

61

59

Richmond, IN

44.55

18

60

65

65

60

Shelbyville, IN

44.37

36

70

48

52

61

Merrillville, IN

43.98

69

50

54

48

62

Hobart, IN

43.72

75

67

34

30

63

New Albany, IN

43.37

50

64

44

59

64

Clarksville, IN

42.95

52

76

35

38

65

Terre Haute, IN

42.85

39

57

64

69

66

Lawrence, IN

42.35

44

77

67

31

67

Elkhart, IN

42.09

15

75

68

58

68

Muncie, IN

40.91

57

69

52

66

69

Anderson, IN

40.26

59

62

59

71

70

Indianapolis, IN

38.80

9

78

72

62

71

Martinsville, IN

38.08

68

53

70

64

72

Speedway, IN

38.02

43

58

75

72

73

New Castle, IN

38.02

70

47

38

75

74

Lake Station, IN

37.61

54

61

71

74

75

Hammond, IN

36.28

60

72

69

73

76

Connersville, IN

33.48

77

31

55

76

77

East Chicago, IN

28.47

31

73

78

77

78

Gary, IN

26.83

67

68

76

78