Could San Diego Be More Family Friendly?

SAN DIEGO—San Diego ranks the 96^th best city in the state for California families and could stand to improve in the percentage of families with small children, violent-crime rate and market affordability, among other things, WalletHub's analyst Jill Gonzalez tells GlobeSt.com. The firm recently released a study, 2015's Best & Worst Cities for California Families, which compared 240 California cities across 22 key metrics. In the study, San Diego ranked 117^thfor median family salary (adjusted for cost of living), 104^th for quality of school system, 78^th for unemployment rate, 78^th for number of playgrounds per capita and 34^th for average commute time. We spoke exclusively with Gonzalez about the report and how the city could improve its family-friendly ranking.

GlobeSt.com: San Diego came in as the 96th best city for California families, according to your survey. That's in the top half, but still not high up. What do you think the area is lacking for families, and how could it improve?
Gonzalez: We found that San Diego ranked below average, 147th, for the percentage of families with children younger than age 18 at just 46.2%. Families with small children might be avoiding San Diego due to its violent crime rate (ranked 169th). The city has a 83.7% high school graduation rate, ranking 181st. Its housing-market affordability is also worse than average, ranking 158th. 

In terms of its socioeconomic environment, San Diego ranked 166th for the separation and divorce rate at 21.8% of marriages resulting in either. The percentage of families living below poverty line is higher than average at 10.9%, ranking 131st. The wealth gap ranked 203rd, which means there is a large separation between the top 1% of earners and the bottom 20%.

GlobeSt.com: What do you feel are San Diego's strengths as a family market?
Gonzalez: San Diego's family market shines when it comes to the number of attractions there, ranking 1st in the state with 873 attractions. The city also has a fairly high number of playgrounds per capita (3.44, ranking 78th). The average commute time is the 34th lowest in California. And the foreclosure rate is relatively low, 66th best. 

GlobeSt.com: How could the San Diego business community help it improve its family-friendly numbers?

Gonzalez: The San Diego business community should try investing in family-orientated businesses that will attract children and parents alike. On the entrepreneurial side of things, business-friendly community can attract more young people and recent college graduates to set down roots and start a family in a certain city more than another.

GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers take away from this survey information?
Gonzalez: Overall, San Diego has a family-friendly environment. One other thing to take into consideration is the return on investment that parents receive for the city's services, obviously including the public school system. Higher-quality schools might be difficult to find in an affordable area, but it is most definitely worth it.