The 10 Best Places To Raise A Family In Iowa For 2022

Iowa is 75 percent vowels, 100 percent awesome, and 110 percent the best place to raise a family in the country.

According to HomeSnacks, the Hawkeye State is one of the top ten best states in the country to raise a family, and we couldn't agree more. The state has some of the safest, most friendly places in the Midwest to call home. And that's why we set out to determine the most family friendly places in Iowa to call home for 2022. With many cities in Iowa experiencing exponential growth, it's no wonder that the state is starting to move away from the agriculture stigma into the venture capital game. And, folks, that's great news for families just starting out, for families needing a change, and for everyone's overall bottom line.

Incidentally, Iowa is the 26th biggest state, but the 33rd least populous state. We think that's all the more reason to raise your family in this flyover state: there's plenty of room for your kids to run and there's plenty of opportunity to make a difference. And if you want boatloads of good, wholesome, family friendly fun at your fingertips, Iowa is your state. Heck, you can take your family to play in Cedar Rapids' Palisades-Kepler State Park and Iowa City's Devonian Fossil Gorge all in the same weekend.

So, have we piqued your interest? If so, keep reading to see how we determined the most family friendly places to live in Iowa.

How did we determine Iowa's most family friendly places? We consulted the US Census on places in the Hawkeye State with more than 10,000 residents. We looked at several factors: crime, education, family friendly activities, and the percent of households that currently have children. We ended up with 28 family friendly Iowa places that any family would be lucky to call home.

But, there can only be one number one best place to raise your family in Iowa, and that would be Pella.

To see how your favorite place in Iowa compared, take a look at the list below; and if you don't see it there, head to the bottom.

Check out some more reading about Iowa and the best places for families in the country:

• Best Places To Live In Iowa
• Cheapest Places To Live In Iowa
• Best Cities To Raise A Family In America
• Best States To Raise A Family In America

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Methodology: How do you determine which place is best for families in Iowa anyways?

To give you the places in Iowa which are best for families, we have to look at a handful of metrics. Of course, we want to measure the type of people who live in each city, and make some assumptions about what's family-friendly and what isn't.

So we researched the internet for a database that contains all that information.

How we crunched the family friendly numbers for the Hawkeye State

We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible. Using U.S. Census data produced for the state of Iowa, we looked at every single city in the state. We paid particular attention to:

• Crime (Both violent and property)
• Quality of local schools
• Distance to a major city without necessarily being in it
• % of households with children
• Family-friendly amenities nearby (museums, libraries and colleges)

We then gave each city a Family Score.

The higher the score, the better the city is for families. We also limited our results to cities with populations over 10,000 people. For Iowa, that meant a total of 28 cities. You can download the data here.

Summary: The Best Places To Raise A Family In Iowa

If you're looking for a breakdown of cities in Iowa ranked by criteria that most would agree make a place a great spot for families, this is an accurate list.

Here's a look at the best cities for singles Iowa according to the data:

1. Davenport
2. Council Bluffs
3. Waterloo

For more Iowa reading, check out:

• Safest Places In Iowa
• Most Dangerous Cities In Iowa
• Worst Places To Live In Iowa

Where Are The Best Places For Families In Iowa?