By John A. Tures, Professor of Political Science, LaGrange College
We all know it’s hard to raise a family, but in some states like Georgia, it’s even harder. The state can be found in the bottom ten for statistics in family friendliness, like much of the Southeast and Southwest. But are things different in Cobb County? How could the Peach State and Northwest Atlanta do better to catch up with the rest of the country?
WalletHub recently conducted a survey of the 50 states on a number of factors that would make a place more family-friendly, from median annual family income to housing affordability to the unemployment rate, according to Adam McCann. But there’s more to it than money.
“It’s crucial to consider economic factors when deciding where to raise a family, like the job market, average income and housing costs,” adds WalletHub Analyst Cassandra Happe. “It’s also important to look beyond dollars and cents, as things like low-quality schools, a bad healthcare system, natural disasters, or a high crime rate can turn the already-stressful process of parenting into a nightmare.”
Looking at the numbers, it’s a nightmare for the Southeast United States. Georgia is 40th, just below North Carolina (37th), but ahead of South Carolina (42nd), Louisiana (45th), Arkansas (46th), Alabama (47th), West Virginia (48th), and Mississippi (49th). Only one Southern state (Virginia at 19th) can be found in the top 25. The Southwest is the only area on par with those rankings, while the Northeast, Midwest and Northwest are faring far better in the family survey.
Though WalletHub didn’t score counties in the study, I looked at how Cobb County is doing by families, at least on some comparable measures in the U.S. Census Bureau databases. And Cobb County is vastly outperforming Georgia and the rest of the country on a far better total retail sales per capita, a much stronger median household income, and lower poverty rates. civilian labor…
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