NEWTON, Mass. — Like a lot of young children, Matthew Shifrin loved building Lego sets. But because he was blind, Shifrin had to rely on friends and family to help him complete his creations — sometimes bribing them with tea to get them to come by his house.
Matthew Shifrin, founder of Bricks for the Blind, feels for specific pieces while building a Lego gum ball machine at his family's home March 20 in Newton, Mass.
Charles Krupa, Associated PressPeople are also reading…
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Matthew Shifrin listens to directions on his phone while building a Lego gum ball machine in Newton, Mass.
Charles Krupa, Associated Press
Matthew Shifrin, founder of Bricks for the Blind, reads from a Braille terminal while building a Lego gum ball machine at his family's home.
Charles Krupa, Associated Press
Matthew Shifrin, founder of Bricks for the Blind, reads from a Braille terminal while building a Lego gum ball machine at his family's home on March 20 in Newton, Mass.
Charles Krupa, Associated Press
Matthew Shifrin, founder of Bricks for the Blind, reads from a Braille terminal while building a Lego project at his family's home on March 20 in Newton, Mass.
Charles Krupa, Associated Press
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50 best cities to raise a family
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50 best cities to raise a family
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- Population: 239,783
- Median home value: $177,500 (37% own)
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- Median home value: $730,100 (42% own)
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- Population: 127,873
- Median home value: $726,100 (70% own)
- Steven Guo // Shutterstock
- Population: 475,862
- Median home value: $159,700 (59% own)
- EQRoy // Shutterstock
- Population: 107,072
- Median home value: $471,800 (48% own)
- Rob Hainer // Shutterstock
- Population: 874,961
- Median home value: $1,097,800 (38% own)
- javarman // Shutterstock
- Population: 113,686
- Median home value: $241,600 (38% own)
- Tricia Daniel // Shutterstock
- Population: 115,557
- Median home value: $200,100 (68% own)
- IMG_191 // Shutterstock
- Population: 121,230
- Median home value: $191,800 (47% own)
- Ken Wolter // Shutterstock
- Population: 157,613
- Median home value: $572,900 (43% own)
- Bob Pool // Shutterstock
- Population: 127,721
- Median home value: $1,034,000 (43% own)
- Mariusz S. Jurgielewicz // Shutterstock
- Population: 145,492
- Median home value: $762,700 (56% own)
- trekandshoot // Shutterstock
- Population: 724,305
- Median home value: $663,100 (46% own)
- Anthony Ricci // Shutterstock
- Population: 124,434
- Median home value: $244,300 (60% own)
- Roschetzky Photography // Shutterstock
- Population: 114,253
- Median home value: $814,700 (65% own)
- Lester Balajadia // Shutterstock
- Population: 106,392
- Median home value: $700,000 (48% own)
- Arina P Habich // Shutterstock
- Population: 254,977
- Median home value: $246,300 (47% own)
- Paul Brady Photography // Shutterstock
- Population: 152,770
- Median home value: $1,223,600 (45% own)
- Sundry Photography // Shutterstock
- Population: 116,432
- Median home value: $274,200 (59% own)
- Trong Nguyen // Shutterstock
- Population: 464,485
- Median home value: $248,300 (52% own)
- ESB Professional // Shutterstock
- Population: 116,632
- Median home value: $768,300 (35% own)
- Joseph Sohm // Shutterstock
- Population: 273,157
- Median home value: $838,000 (47% own)
- LunaseeStudios // Shutterstock
- Population: 287,064
- Median home value: $320,100 (59% own)
- ulkare // Shutterstock
- Population: 120,735
- Median home value: $323,400 (45% own)
- Paul Brady Photography // Shutterstock
- Population: 191,011
- Median home value: $276,100 (63% own)
- City of Overland Park // Wikimedia Commons
- Population: 103,991
- Median home value: $378,300 (65% own)
- Andrea Izzotti // Shutterstock
- Population: 144,403
- Median home value: $809,200 (54% own)
- Russ Heinl // Shutterstock
- Population: 233,464
- Median home value: $705,400 (43% own)
- Jon Bilous // Shutterstock
- Population: 113,819
- Median home value: $374,200 (71% own)
- thierry dehove // Shutterstock
- Population: 147,501
- Median home value: $416,700 (76% own)
- James Andrews1 // Shutterstock
How do you find a good city to raise a family? The most ideal spots provide safe neighborhoods, quality education, recreation opportunities, and affordability. Weighing all those factors and more and finding the right locale among nearly 20,000 incorporated cities, towns, and villages across America can be daunting, so Stacker collected 2020 data from the national review and ranking site Niche to compile a list of the top 100 locations to raise a family.
Some criteria considered in ranking the best 100 cities included crime rates, public school rankings, college graduation rates, cost of living, family amenities, outdoor recreation, transportation, diversity, and walkability. While Niche primarily sourced data from the U.S. Census Bureau data, other city details came from the U.S. Department of Education, the FBI, and other specific programs and demographics links.
- TravnikovStudio // Shutterstock
- Population: 191,279
- Median home value: $203,800 (40% own)
- Todd Taulman Photography // Shutterstock
- Population: 857,425
- Median home value: $220,300 (53% own)
- digidreamgrafix // Shutterstock

