Say what you want about Fort Collins, but the one thing that you can absolutely say about it is that it’s a safe place to raise a family. According to Livability, it’s the fourth best place to raise a family in the U.S. Here’s why Fort Collins is such a great family town.
In 2018 Fort Collins ranked #4 in Best Places to Raise a Family
We were ranked on some specific criteria by Livability:
- Number of potential playmates under age 6
- Quality of public schools
- Measures of children’s health
- Affordability of housing and transportation options
- Cost of childcare
- Number of daycare options, parks, and libraries
Today, we’re going to talk about each of these criteria and why Fort Collins ranked well.
Number of potential playmates under age 6
The median age in Fort Collins is 29 years old which is when I had my first kid. That being said, we have a strong population centered around people having kids so there’s a lot of kiddos under the age of 6 which is really fun to see.
Ultimately everyone wants their kids to have fun and spend time with other kids their age, so it’s clear why this factor is important for determining whether a place is family-friendly.
Quality of public schools
Poudre School District is one of the best public school systems in Colorado. A lot of people moving to Fort Collins are pretty determined to send their kids to this district. There is also a housing price difference between the Poudre School District and Thompson Valley, I would estimate about a 10% discount moving outside of the Poudre School District. That’s not to say that the Thompson Valley District is not good as well. It’s just that Poudre School District is a great school system that people want their kids to attend.
Measures of children’s health
We are a community that thrives being outdoors. It doesn’t surprise me that kiddos in Fort Collins are pretty healthy. We are conscious about what we’re eating, we’re outdoorsy and active. When my wife and I go to the park, it is filled with families outside playing around. Especially in a world where tech dominates, we need to focus on our health and getting outside. Fort Collins does a great job of this.
Affordability of housing and transportation options
It’s common knowledge that the housing prices in Fort Collins are and are becoming very expensive. To be honest, I don’t see the prices going down any time soon. What I do expect is for incomes to become higher in order to afford these houses. Our housing options are maybe the reason we ranked lower on the Livability list.
Cost of childcare
You can expect to pay from $35-$75 per day per kid for an in-home daycare or facility daycare. For a nanny, you’d need to pay around $16-$20 per hour. That is the average cost of childcare in Fort Collins. From my experience talking to others, this seems pretty reasonable.
Number of daycare options, parks, and libraries
In my personal experience, it wasn’t so hard getting my daughter into preschool. I hear a lot of people from out of state struggling with their daycare options, but I don’t think it’s the case in Fort Collins. We have two great libraries here and some amazing parks, so you definitely have a lot of options to spend time with family and friends.
Possibly not because of the daycare options or libraries, but I would stack our parks up against the best of them! Our parks in Fort Collins are AWESOME!!
Final thoughts
Those were the criteria and why we were ranked on as the fourth best place to raise a family by Livability in 2018. I suggest you check out my YouTube channel for more videos on day-to-day life here in Fort Collins so you can decide whether or not you should move here.
