A new ranking from SmartAsset analyzes U.S. cities based on employment, housing costs, education, and child care metrics. Most of the top-rated cities are in the Midwest.
Iowa came out on top with the two best cities in the ranking, Ames and Iowa City, respectively. The unemployment rate for these two cities is between 1.3 percent in Ames and 1.6 percent in Iowa City, and the median annual rent or mortgage costs range between $11,748 and $12,372, CNBC reports. Both cities have average childcare costs of $9,280.
As the cost of living continues to rise, it comes as no surprise that many families are keeping an eye out for places where their money will go the furthest.
In 2018, 63 percent of two-parent households with children under the age of 18 had two working parents, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s a slight increase from 61 percent in 2016.
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