Choosing a place to raise children can be a daunting task for new families as well as seasoned parents. If it takes a village to raise a child; that may just extend all the way to your next-door neighbor, fifth-grade teacher, or volunteer soccer coach. While all parents are looking for the top place to raise their children, oftentimes this decision means balancing community resources with steep prices for the nicest neighborhoods.

To help families of all stages take a data-driven approach to finding the best communities within their state, Stacker looked to Niche's 2019 Best Places to Raise a Family, which evaluates dozens of important components. Public schools have the heaviest weighting among the considerations included, while crime and safety, cost of living, demographics, and community resources all factor strongly (full methodology here).

From this analysis, we've picked out the area in each state that ranks best for raising a family, focusing on places with at least 10,000 residents.

We've ranked the full list from small to large by population—while you may have never even heard of some of these cities, they’re worth taking a look at before you decide to plant your roots. The best spot for your family might be right next door.

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- Population: 47,079
- Median home value: $239,400 (70% of residents own)
- Median rent: $879 (30% of residents rent)
- Median household income: $92,197
- Educational attainment: 23% masters or higher, 33% bachelors, 27% some college, 16% high school or less

- Population: 14,362
- Median home value: $233,000 (60% of residents own)
- Median rent: $1,198 (40% of residents rent)
- Median household income: $77,341
- Educational attainment: 18% masters or higher, 24% bachelors, 37% some college, 20% high school or less

[Pictured: University of Alaska Museum of the North in College, AK.]

- Population: 50,202
- Median home value: $410,200 (74% of residents own)
- Median rent: $1,020 (26% of residents rent)
- Median household income: $82,252
- Educational attainment: 35% masters or higher, 31% bachelors, 21% some college, 13% high school or less

- Population: 44,601
- Median home value: $203,800 (54% of residents own)
- Median rent: $883 (46% of residents rent)
- Median household income: $79,259
- Educational attainment: 17% masters or higher, 32% bachelors, 22% some college, 29% high school or less

[Pictured: An old red and white ford truck that belonged to Sam Walton sits parked in front of the first Walmart store, which now serves as a corporate museum in Bentonville, Ark., 2019.]

- Population: 19,682
- Median home value: $766,000 (48% of residents own)
- Median rent: $1,739 (52% of residents rent)
- Median household income: $87,694
- Educational attainment: 39% masters or higher, 33% bachelors, 17% some college, 11% high school or less

[Pictured: Albany kids' 3-mile bike ride]

- Population: 12,879
- Median home value: $491,100 (58% of residents own)
- Median rent: $1,723 (42% of residents rent)
- Median household income: $119,810
- Educational attainment: 36% masters or higher, 41% bachelors, 15% some college, 9% high school or less

[Pictured: Superior, Colo., flyers swim meet]

- Population: 18,381
- Median home value: $378,000 (85% of residents own)
- Median rent: $1,404 (15% of residents rent)
- Median household income: $125,536
- Educational attainment: 30% masters or higher, 39% bachelors, 18% some college, 13% high school or less

[Pictured: Avon Old Farms School in Connecticut]

- Population: 13,672
- Median home value: $433,400 (87% of residents own)
- Median rent: $1,840 (13% of residents rent)
- Median household income: $123,654
- Educational attainment: 32% masters or higher, 33% bachelors, 17% some college, 19% high school or less

[Pictured: Newly renovated library in Hockessin, Del.]

- Population: 11,634
- Median home value: $358,600 (80% of residents own)
- Median rent: $1,692 (20% of residents rent)
- Median household income: $114,048
- Educational attainment: 23% masters or higher, 35% bachelors, 29% some college, 13% high school or less

- Population: 83,397
- Median home value: $366,200 (78% of residents own)
- Median rent: $1,469 (22% of residents rent)
- Median household income: $113,609
- Educational attainment: 26% masters or higher, 40% bachelors, 19% some college, 15% high school or less