GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Maybe we’ll have to try a little harder.
After Forbes in 2012 named Grand Rapids the best city to raise a family, we fell all the way to ... No. 2.
The top city this year? Raleigh, N.C.
Grand Rapids had a median household income under $50,000, but Forbes said its “other stats are solid across the board. The cost of living is low, and 77 percent of residents own their homes, the highest rate in the country.”
What’s so great about Raleigh? “Raleigh, N.C., has built a solid economy around financial services, software and energy, a major retail shipping operation and its renowned Research Triangle,” Forbes’ Tom Van Riper writes.
“The metro area is also blessed with quality schools, low crime, lots of oak trees and a low cost of living relative to its residents’ rising level of income. About two-thirds of locals own their own homes. Among America’s major population centers, is there a better place to raise a family? We don’t think so. Raleigh gets the nod in 2014, edging out Grand Rapids, Mich., Ogden, Utah, and Omaha, Neb.”
Still, he noted that Grand Rapids had minimal commute times and low crime - and tastes in cities are subjective.
John Agar covers crime for MLive/Grand Rapids Press E-mail John Agar: jagar@mlive.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ReporterJAgar