Having been born and raised here in Illinois, and having repeated the pattern with my own children, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that I tend to think that there might be more than two cities in this entire state that are great places to raise a family.

Is there another place in another state that I would choose instead of Illinois? Absolutely, but I simply cannot afford a Hawaiian beachfront compound on the island of Maui (probably because I'm buying gas and eggs in Illinois).

Young mother carrying her little daughter in her arms
When you let baby watch The Silence of the Lambs this stuff happens. (Getty Images)
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According To The Numbers, The Best Place In The U.S. To Raise A Family Is Fremont, California

The numbers I'm referring to are courtesy of personal-finance website WalletHub, who put them together for a piece called "2022’s Best & Worst Places to Raise a Family."

Here's the criteria WalletHub used to come up with their rankings of 180 cities across the country:

WalletHub compared more than 180 U.S. cities based on 46 key metrics that consider essential family dynamics, such as the cost of housing, the quality of local school and health-care systems, and the opportunities for fun and recreation.

Fremont takes the #1 spot with a score of 73.05 out of a possible 100, and overall California lands 4 cities in the top ten, and 6 of the top twenty.

dad lifting daughter to put Star tree topper on Christmas tree
Cindy Lou Who and her dad. (Getty Images)
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Of The 2 Illinois Cities On The List, Neither One Even Makes The Top 50

The highest rated Illinois city for raising a family is 70 miles southeast of Rockford:

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Aurora, Illinois is ranked #62, with an overall score of 54.41. The other Illinois city on the list is Chicago, ranked at #110 with a score of 49.80.

If you're curious as to the bottom 3 on the list, we've got Memphis, Cleveland, and coming in dead last, Detroit.

Click here to read WalletHub's entire list.

The 25 Best Rockford Restaurants for Cheap Eats According to TripAdvisor

Hungry but don't want to break the bank? Check out these places for the best cheap eats in Rockford.

How Many of These Undesirable Nicknames for Illinois Towns Have You Heard?

It seems every town or city in Illinois has a different name. It's the derogatory name that locals use and noobs will soon understand. Some are pretty dirty.

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