Best, Worst Cities To Raise A Family Revealed: See Where GA Towns Rank

ATLANTA, GA — While a California town was deemed the most ideal for raising families this year, experts say three Georgia cities were among the best and the worst.

WalletHub, a personal finance agency, recently released its 2025 Best and Worse Places to Raise a Family survey, notching three Georgia towns among some of the largest cities in the U.S.

Atlanta ranked 52nd out of 180 cities, making the heart of Georgia better than at least 100 other towns across the nation for raising families. Columbus was 139th, and Augusta was 170th.

Experts analyzed 45 metrics, including the cost of housing and the quality of local schools and health care systems. The survey also measured how much fun and recreation a city offered.

In Georgia, the scoring was as follows:

Atlanta

• Total score: 56.22
• Family Fun Rank: 14
• Health and Safety Rank: 119
• Education and Child Care Rank: 57
• Affordability Rank: 22
• Socio-economics Rank: 158

Columbus

• Total score: 46.58
• Family Fun Rank: 84
• Health and Safety Rank: 110
• Education and Child Care Rank: 113
• Affordability Rank: 146
• Socio-economics Rank: 128

Augusta

• Total score: 41.30
• Family Fun Rank: 128
• Health and Safety Rank: 167
• Education and Child Care Rank: 98
• Affordability Rank: 149
• Socio-economics Rank: 161

“Finding the best place to raise a family is difficult, between balancing an affordable cost of living with good educational opportunities, safety and enough recreation to keep kids entertained," WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said in a news release. "On top of all of these factors, people also often want to raise their children close to their extended family. Therefore, current or prospective parents can benefit from narrowing down their choices to a few of the best cities that are within a reasonable drive of their family.”

While the City of Atlanta could arguably be the soul of Georgia, its entire metropolitan area is houses millions of people. In 2024, the Atlanta Regional Commission estimated 5.2 million people lived in the metro's 11 counties. This means tons of families are calling metro Atlanta home.

In a February 2024 Atlanta Magazine report, a Roswell family told the media outlet that they adore their multigenerational neighborhood, while a Duluth family was reportedly drawn to the Gwinnett County town's close proximity to attractions.

A year later, Roswell was named among Atlanta's top five family-friendly neighborhoods by Know Atlanta. Others were Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Decatur and Peachtree City.

Decatur, Johns Creek, Roswell, Peachtree City and Alpharetta were also honored this year by joining the list of Niche's Top 25 Best Places to Raise a Family in the Atlanta Area.

"Johns Creek is the best city! So much to do with children and very safe. Our neighborhood is very friendly and there are so many shops and restaurants convenient to us," wrote a reviewer on the Niche survey, which ranked the Fulton County town first on the metro Atlanta report.

>> See WalletHub's full survey: 2025 Best and Worse Places to Raise a Family

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