National Survey Names Memphis Worst Large City In U.S. To Raise A Family

Image Credit: WalletHub & Canva

The Tennessee Conservative Staff –

A recently released study has named Memphis as the worst city in the county for raising a family.

The survey, conducted by personal finance website WalletHub, looked at the 182 largest cities in the United States, considering five categories: family fun, education, health and safety, affordability, and socioeconomic status.

The city of Memphis found itself at the bottom of the list, scoring just 34.07 out of a possible 100. Just above Memphis was Detroit, with a score of 34.10.

Memphis did not come in last in any individual category, but consistently low scores led to the ultimate last place overall ranking.

How Memphis Scored

• Family Fun: No. 153

• Health & Safety: No. 181

• Affordability: No. 158

• Education & Childcare: No. 168

• Socioeconomics: No. 169

Memphis scored lowest in the health and safety category.

Notably, the city was tied with Baltimore, Cleveland, Birmingham, Little Rock, and Oakland for the highest violent crime rate per capita.

Memphis was not the only city in the state to appear on the list, with every Tennessee city mentioned landing in the bottom half.

Nashville ranked at 104 with an overall score of 49.55, Knoxville was 114 with a rating of 49.09, and Chattanooga was 125 with a score of 47.94.

The highest-ranking cities on the list still fell under 75 points out of the possible 100. The best large city to raise a family, according to the study, is Freemont, California. The city had a ranking of 73.53.