Website names Renton 10th-best city in state for families

Published 11:21 am Friday, February 6, 2015

The website ‘Apartmentlist.com’ on Friday released a list of the most family-friendly cities in Washington and Renton came in at No. 10.

Topping the list were Richland, Redmond and Bellevue, in that order.

Here’s what the site had to say about our city and its ranking:

“Rounding out Washington’s top 10 family friendly cities is Renton. The city south of Seattle, along the shore of Lake Washington, beat Auburn for safety and tied Auburn for affordability.

“Though rents are higher here, so are incomes, with a growing number of manufacturing and technology companies based in Renton. Some 23 percent of the city’s 97,000 residents are under 18, and the quality of local schools is higher than several other top 10 cities.

“Renton is also home to Jimi Hendrix’s grave, with the rock legend and Seattle native buried here alongside his mom.”

The site bases its list on four factors, all weighted differently:

• Safety (35 percent): We ranked cities by the number of violent crimes and property crimes per 100,000 residents. Source: FBI statistics

• Housing Cost (30 percent): To rank cities on housing cost, we calculated the percentage of the average income required to rent the average 2 bedroom apartment. Sources: Apartment List, American Community Survey

• School Quality (25 percent): Cities were ranked on high school graduation rate for public school districts based in that city. Comparing schools across different states can be challenging, but high school graduation rate gives a good estimate of overall school quality. Source: Department of Education data

• Child Friendliness (10 percent): Communities with a greater percentage of children tend to be more child friendly, so we scored cities based on the percentage of the population that’s under 18. Source: American Community Survey

For more information or to see the full list, visit https://www.apartmentlist.com/rentonomics/best-washington-cities-families/