WalletHub recently surveyed the 150 largest cities in America to determine the best and worst places to raise a family. The study looked at 41 metrics to determine the rankings, including housing costs, quality of local schools, recreation, healthcare, and more. 

Though home costs did California cities no favors, other factors still allowed multiple cities in Southern California to rank well compared to the rest. Chief among them was Irvine, which finished No. 9 in the overall scoring, and not too far removed from Fremont all the way up at No. 5. Irvine ranked particularly well in terms of “health and safety” and socioeconomics, finishing third in each respective category.

San Diego and Huntington Beach were next on the list at 24th and 25th. Then Rancho Cucamonga followed at 36th, with Santa Clarita (No. 51), Oceanside (No. 56), and Chula Vista (No. 59) also closeby.

Further down the list were:

  1. Garden Grove
  2. Glendale
  3. Fontana
  4. Los Angeles
  5. Oxnard
  6. Anaheim
  7. Ontario
  8. Long Beach
  9. Riverside
  10. Moreno Valley
  11. Santa Ana
  12. San Bernardino

LA finished in the top five for most attractions, while Ontario, Garden Grove, Fontana, and Moreno Valley had some of the fewest in that category. Los Angeles and Glendale had some of the country’s least affordable housing. Fontana also had the highest percentage of families with young kids.