Do You Live in the Best Place to Raise Kids?

Three CT towns made BusinessWeek's list

By KYLE REYES

Updated 9:46 AM EST, Wed, Jul 29, 2009

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Good schools, low crime rates, family entertainment and affordable living. Sound like the kind of community you want to raise your kids in? Look no further than West Haven.

The city, with a population of 54,765, was listed by BusinessWeek as the best place in the state to raise your kids in 2009.

Runners up in the state were East Hartford and Norwalk.

Here's how BusinessWeek came to the decision.

Quick Poll

Poll

Q: Where's the Best Place to Raise Kids?

They worked with a group called OnBoard Informatics, a New York-based provider of real estate information.

They chose from towns with at least 50,000 people and a median family income between $40,000 and $100,000. Keep in mind that it means smaller communities, such as Simsbury or more affluent communities such as Greenwich, were left out.

Next, BusinessWeek narrowed the list using the following criteria:

school performance
how much families spent
crime rates
air quality
job opportunities
cultural activities
and diversity

Data aside, if you're looking for why West Haven is such a great place to raise your kids, all you have to do is check out the city Web site. The first thing that pops up are the "10 Commandments of Connecticut's Friendliest City."

Perhaps those simple suggestions are more telling than any study could be.