Editor's Note: This story originally appeared on LawnStarter.
Which cities are best for juggling the many responsibilities that come with being a single father?
LawnStarter has ranked 2023’s Best Cities for Single Dads to Live In.
We compared the 200 biggest U.S. cities based on six categories, such as Affordability and Work-Life Balance.
We specifically looked at child care costs, public schools quality, and support programs, among 35 total metrics.
See where your city stands in our ranking below. To learn how we ranked the cities, see our methodology section at the end.
1. Bellevue, WA
- Overall Score: 64.56
- Affordability Rank: 3
- Child Care Rank: 5
- Health and Education Rank: 3
- Home and Outdoors Rank: 21
- Work-Life Balance Rank: 24
- Community Support Rank: 6
2. Irvine, CA
- Overall Score: 60.90
- Affordability Rank: 25
- Child Care Rank: 16
- Health and Education Rank: 6
- Home and Outdoors Rank: 36
- Work-Life Balance Rank: 11
- Community Support Rank: 3
3. Naperville, IL
- Overall Score: 60.02
- Affordability Rank: 1
- Child Care Rank: 1
- Health and Education Rank: 11
- Home and Outdoors Rank: 1
- Work-Life Balance Rank: 76
- Community Support Rank: 20
4. Fremont, CA
- Overall Score: 57.88
- Affordability Rank: 9
- Child Care Rank: 18
- Health and Education Rank: 27
- Home and Outdoors Rank: 31
- Work-Life Balance Rank: 19
- Community Support Rank: 140
5. Sunnyvale, CA
- Overall Score: 57.84
- Affordability Rank: 6
- Child Care Rank: 8
- Health and Education Rank: 69
- Home and Outdoors Rank: 67
- Work-Life Balance Rank: 9
- Community Support Rank: 93
6. Roseville, CA
- Overall Score: 56.96
- Affordability Rank: 11
- Child Care Rank: 38
- Health and Education Rank: 8
- Home and Outdoors Rank: 38
- Work-Life Balance Rank: 42
- Community Support Rank: 42
7. San Francisco, CA
- Overall Score: 56.43
- Affordability Rank: 19
- Child Care Rank: 20
- Health and Education Rank: 24
- Home and Outdoors Rank: 29
- Work-Life Balance Rank: 25
- Community Support Rank: 44
8. Seattle, WA
- Overall Score: 55.78
- Affordability Rank: 16
- Child Care Rank: 27
- Health and Education Rank: 28
- Home and Outdoors Rank: 22
- Work-Life Balance Rank: 41
- Community Support Rank: 97
9. Portland, OR
- Overall Score: 55.72
- Affordability Rank: 82
- Child Care Rank: 39
- Health and Education Rank: 20
- Home and Outdoors Rank: 65
- Work-Life Balance Rank: 5
- Community Support Rank: 47
10. Boston, MA
- Overall Score: 54.68
- Affordability Rank: 153
- Child Care Rank: 140
- Health and Education Rank: 63
- Home and Outdoors Rank: 26
- Work-Life Balance Rank: 2
- Community Support Rank: 19
11. Torrance, CA
- Overall Score: 53.63
- Affordability Rank: 32
- Child Care Rank: 7
- Health and Education Rank: 9
- Home and Outdoors Rank: 180
- Work-Life Balance Rank: 16
- Community Support Rank: 182
12. Frisco, TX
- Overall Score: 52.21
- Affordability Rank: 2
- Child Care Rank: 2
- Health and Education Rank: 13
- Home and Outdoors Rank: 27
- Work-Life Balance Rank: 152
- Community Support Rank: 136
13. Eugene, OR
- Overall Score: 51.74
- Affordability Rank: 182
- Child Care Rank: 84
- Health and Education Rank: 25
- Home and Outdoors Rank: 98
- Work-Life Balance Rank: 4
- Community Support Rank: 133
14. Elk Grove, CA
- Overall Score: 51.35
- Affordability Rank: 18
- Child Care Rank: 47
- Health and Education Rank: 40
- Home and Outdoors Rank: 103
- Work-Life Balance Rank: 36
- Community Support Rank: 148
15. Minneapolis, MN
- Overall Score: 51.29
- Affordability Rank: 42
- Child Care Rank: 115
- Health and Education Rank: 56
- Home and Outdoors Rank: 4
- Work-Life Balance Rank: 62
- Community Support Rank: 23
Methodology
First, we determined the factors (metrics) that are most relevant to rank the Best Cities for Single Dads to Live. We then assigned a weight to each factor based on its importance and grouped those factors into six categories: Affordability, Child Care, Health and Education, Home and Outdoors, Work-Life Balance, and Community Support. The factors are listed here.
- Purchasing Power Index for Working Men
- Housing Affordability for Male Workers
- Copays as a Share of Household Income
- Share of Working Men in Poverty
- Share of Children Under 18 in Poverty
- Baby Supply Stores per 10,000 Households With Children Under 6
- Childcare Workers per 10,000 Households With Children Under Age 18
- Hourly Cost of Babysitter (as % of Median Weekly Income for Working Men)
- Annual Cost of Child Care (as % of Median Annual Income for Working Men)
- Hospitals per 100,000 Residents
- Quality of Public Hospitals
- Family Practitioners per 100,000 Residents
- Share of Uninsured Children
- Food Insecurity Rate
- Quality of Public Schools
- Median Air Quality Index
- Walk Score
- Pedestrian Fatalities per 100,000 Residents
- Average Yard Square Footage
- Share of Residents Within a 10-Minute Walk of a Park
- Share of Land Used for Parks and Recreation
- Crime Index
- Water Quality Violations Present
- Share of Homes With Severe Housing Problems
- Average Length of Work Week (in Hours) for Men
- Average Commute Time (in Minutes) for Men
- Share of Men With College Degree
- Maximum Length of Paid Family Leave Allowed (in Weeks)
- Share of Wage Replacement
- Availability of Job Protection in Paid Family Leave
- Availability of State Law Allowing Sick Leave for Child Care
- Availability of Protected Time Off for School Events
- Single Dads per 100,000 Residents
- Number of Fatherhood Programs
- Dad Support Groups per 10,000 Single Dads
For each of the 200 biggest U.S. cities, we then gathered data on each factor.
Finally, we calculated scores (out of 100 points) for each city to determine its rank in each factor, each category, and overall. A city’s Overall Score is the average of its scores across all factors and categories. The highest Overall Score ranked “Best” (No. 1).
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