Families are becoming more strategic when choosing a city to live in. And some cities are better equipped to promote the concept of family homeownership.
Online marketplace LendingTree released a study this week that identified the best major metropolitan areas for families in 2025. The study utilized data from the U.S. Census Bureau‘s 2023 American Community Survey and evaluated each metro using several metrics, including median family income, the share of children living in owner-occupied homes and the share of children living below the poverty line.
LendingTree found that the Utah capital of Salt Lake City was No. 1 among the 50 largest U.S. metro areas, with Minneapolis and Cincinnati next on the list.
In Salt Lake City (with a score of 75.4 out of 100), the median income for families with children was $112,342, which was lower than many of the country’s largest metros. But Salt Lake also has relatively low child care costs compared to its peers.
Minneapolis (71.8 out of 100) followed behind with a median income of $132,055 for families with children, and 78.7% of children there live in owner-occupied homes, the highest rate in the nation. But Minneapolis also had much higher child care costs than some other cities.
“There’s significant diversity among metros in the top 10. For example, Louisville, Ky., is 10th despite having one of the lowest family incomes on our list, while San Jose, Calif., which finished eighth, had the highest,” LendingTree explained. “Meanwhile, San Jose had one of the lowest rates of kids living in owned homes, while second-place Minneapolis had the highest.”
Conversely, places like Miami, Las Vegas and Los Angeles were judged among the least favorable areas for families. Each of these metros had overall scores of less than 30 out of 100. The percentage of children who live in owner-occupied homes floats between 48% and 58% in these areas, while the percentage of children living below the poverty line hovers between 16% and 18%.
“Perhaps enviable weather and vibrant cultures make up for lower family incomes, long commutes, and low homeownership rates for families in these metros,” LendingTree remarked in the report.
