Richmond ranks 6th in best U.S. cities for families with children

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Virginia's capital has made the nation's top 10 cities for families with children, becoming one of the easiest metros for parents to raise kids this year.

A report by storage space marketplace StorageCafe recently found that Richmond is among a handful of U.S. cities better equipped to support growing households. The study evaluated 100 largest cities nationwide on factors that parents said matter most to them, including affordability, childcare and education, health care and safety, family livability, climate and environment and transport options and walkability.

Some metrics that account for how family-friendly a city is include rent and taxes, income, crime rate, commute time, air quality index and transit score.

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Per the report, the annual cost of childcare for two children averaged about $19,000 or 25% of household income for Richmond parents. StorageCafe estimated that there are about 109 childcare providers and 20 public schools for parents to choose from per 10,000 children. Richmond's student-teacher ratio also came out to 13.8.

The report highlighted the city's access to care, noting that Richmond has 21.6 pediatricians per 10,000 children and the commonwealth's second-largest hospital, VCU Medical Center. On average, Richmond workers spend 23 minutes commuting. The city also has about 46 dining spots, museums and performance venues per 10,000 residents.

Lexington, Ky., took the top spot in the study. Durham, N.C., Madison, Wis., Winston-Salem, N.C. and St. Louis, Mo., rounded out the top five. Visit StorageCafe to see the complete report.