Thanks to its low living costs, quality of life and abundant attractions, many consider San Antonio a family-friendly town.
However, the Alamo City’s meager economy, not to mention lagging health access and educational opportunities, led a new study to declare it one of the worst U.S. cities in which to raise a family.
San Antonio ranked as the nation’s 152nd best city to raise a family in an analysis by online personal finance blog WalletHub. Researchers ranked the nation’s 182 largest cities across 45 metrics in five categories: family fun, health and safety, education and childcare, affordability, and socioeconomics.
Although attractions such as Six Flags Fiesta Texas, SeaWorld and the award-winning San Antonio Zoo helped San Antonio perform well in the family fun category, that was the only one in which the city excelled.
San Antonio ranked in the bottom quartile in health and safety. It also landed in the bottom half in the education and child care, affordability and socioeconomics categories, the latter of which included factors such as the share of families living in poverty, separation and divorce rates and the city’s underemployment statistics.
Indeed, San Antonio ranked as the worst city in Texas to raise a family, according to the study.
On the other end of the spectrum, Plano ranked as the best city in Texas for families, coming in at No. 3 overall, followed by Austin and Grand Prairie, which ranked No. 16 and No. 75, respectively.
Fremont, California, ranked as the best U.S. city for families, while WalletHub named Memphis, Tennessee, the worst.
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This article appears in Jun 26 – Jul 9, 2025.
