Oh Baby! SoCal Ranks High for CA Families

For the second straight year the best city in California to raise children is located just 20 miles from LA in Arcadia, according to a BusinessWeek magazine.

Arcadia has a population 55,817 and won the award for the second straight year based on its low crime and excellent schools.

"This honor is in recognition of the community's strong commitment to sustaining a high quality of life with top public services and great schools," Arcadia City Manager Don Penman told PublicCEO.com, a Web site devoted to California local government. "Our residents are interested, involved and a big part of what makes Arcadia such a terrific place to raise a family."

BusinessWeek reported that they used OnBoard Informatics, a real estate analyst, to compile data about cities of more than 50,000 population and median family incomes between $40,000 and $100,000.

"We then narrowed the list of towns using the following weighted criteria: school performance; number of schools; household expenditures; crime rates; air quality; job growth; family income; museums; parks, theaters, and other amenities: and diversity," BusinessWeek reported. "We weighted school performance and safety most heavily, but also gave strong weight to amenities and affordability."

A Chicago suburb, Tinley Park, Ill., was named for the nation's best community for children.

The two runners-up were also LA suburbs, Monterey Park and Diamond Bar, proving that if you have a family and live in California, then you should be living right here.

Copyright Associated Press / NBC Los Angeles

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