Best Suburbs for Single-Parent Households

Updated: November 1, 2024

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According to the American Community Survey, there were 26 million single-earner families in the United States in 2022 — that's 31% of all households. Finding the right community can significantly help with navigating parenthood on one income. Some single parents might find that suburban life offers the affordable living costs, access to enriching activities and safe environment needed to raise their children comfortably.

To identify the best suburbs for single-parent households, MoneyGeek analyzed data on income, child care and housing rental costs, access to recreational and day care facilities, education quality, and crime rates across 50 U.S. suburbs. We found that suburban communities in Tennessee and Indiana may be the ideal choices for single parents seeking a safe, happy and financially suitable environment for their families.

KEY FINDINGS

Brentwood, Tennessee, ranked as the best suburb for single-parent households, featuring the highest annual single-earner income of any suburb analyzed: $189,286, compared to the national average of $63,534. The city and surrounding area also boast a low unemployment rate of 2.5% and have the second-lowest child care costs ($14,615 annually).
Elizabethtown, Kentucky, is the most cost-effective suburb for single parents. The city and neighboring area average child care costs of $15,482 per year and rental housing expenses of $9,907 per year.
Washington state suburbs Issaquah, Redmond and Auburn have the most day care facilities per capita of all suburbs analyzed. These suburbs are located in King County, which has 40 day care centers per 100,000 residents.
Carmel and Fishers, two Indiana suburbs, rank among the best for single-parent households. These cities also boast impressively low crime rates, placing them within the top five safest suburbs.

Tennessee and Indiana Are Home to the Best Suburbs for Single Parents

Brentwood, Tennessee, ranks first as the ideal suburb for single-parent households. It has the highest single-earner income of any suburb MoneyGeek analyzed at an average of $189,286 annually. It's also one of the safest suburbs, holding the fifth-lowest violent crime rate with 71 crimes per 100,000 residents.

Franklin, another Tennessee suburb, joins the list with the fifth-highest annual single-earner income of $112,813, ranking at the No.3 best suburb overall. These two suburbs share the same county and metro area, with an unemployment rate of just 2.5% and child care costs averaging $14,615 annually, the second-lowest among all metro areas analyzed.

Carmel and Fishers, Indiana, also rank in the top five suburbs for single-parent households. These cities boast the two lowest property crime rates in the study, with 655 and 672 crimes per 100,000 residents, respectively. Both suburbs are located in Hamilton County, Indiana, which boasted the lowest unemployment rate (2.2%) in the MoneyGeek's study.

5 Best Suburbs for Single-Parent Households

	Suburb	County	Metro	Violent Crimes per 100,000 Residents	Property Crimes per 100,000 Residents	Median Single-Earner Income	Unemployment Rate
1.	Brentwood, Tennessee	Williamson	Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin	71	883	$189,286	2.5%
2.	Carmel, Indiana	Hamilton	Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson	48	655	$116,591	2.2%
3.	Franklin, Tennessee	Williamson	Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin	165	765	$112,813	2.5%
4.	Fishers, Indiana	Hamilton	Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson	78	672	$94,666	2.2%
5.	Alpharetta, Georgia	Fulton	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell	239	1,086	$112,294	4.7%

Most Cost-Effective Suburbs for Single-Parent Households

MoneyGeek zeroed in on costs to find the most affordable suburbs for single parents. Our analysis found that Elizabethtown, Kentucky, is the most budget-friendly suburb in the country; located less than an hour from Louisville, Kentucky, single parents there typically earn $54,700 per year. Elizabethtown also averages annual child care costs of $15,482 and rental housing expenses of $9,907, both ranking within the top 10 for cost. A close runner-up is Hickory, North Carolina, which shares the surrounding metro area’s affordable rental expenses ($8,688 annually).

5 Most Affordable Suburbs for Single-Parent Households

	Suburb	Metro Area	Cost Score	Annual Child Care Costs	Annual Rental Housing Costs
1.	Elizabethtown, Kentucky	Elizabethtown-Fort Knox, KY	88	$15,482	$9,907
2.	Hickory, North Carolina	Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC	87	$16,775	$8,688
3.	Carmel, Indiana	Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN	86	$15,498	$11,125
4.	Fishers, Indiana	Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN	86	$15,498	$11,125
5.	Greenwood, Indiana	Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN	86	$15,498	$11,125

MORTGAGE TIPS FOR SINGLE PARENTS

Mortgages and rent make up a significant portion of monthly expenses for many people, including single parents. Here are steps parents can take to lower their housing costs and stretch their income:

Mortgage refinancing could be one way to decrease monthly payments and provide extra breathing room in your budget for other essentials, but only if the going interest rate is lower than your current one.
Conventional home loans could be advantageous to single parents, as they may offer loan terms that better suit your financial circumstances. Unlike government-backed mortgages, these loans are not federally insured, allowing for flexibility in aspects like interest rates and down payments. Borrowers can choose from different loan types — including fixed-rate mortgages, adjustable-rate mortgages or jumbo loans — based on their individual profiles.

Suburbs With the Most Day Care Facilities

King County, Washington, has the highest number of day care centers (40 centers per 100,000 residents) of any area studied, particularly in suburbs like Redmond, Issaquah and Auburn. Dublin, Ohio, and Alpharetta, Georgia, also earn spots on the list with more than 30 day care centers per 100,000 county residents.

5 Suburbs With the Most Day Care Facilities Per Capita

	Suburb	County	Day Care Score	Day Care Centers per 100,000 Residents
1.	Redmond, Washington	King	100	40
2.	Issaquah, Washington	King	100	40
3.	Auburn, Washington	King	100	40
4.	Dublin, Ohio	Franklin	95	39
5.	Alpharetta, Georgia	Fulton	75	33

Education, Safety and Recreation Rankings

Many parents value their children’s education quality, safety and ability to access enriching recreational spaces. With these factors in mind, MoneyGeek also identified the best and the worst suburbs for single parents based on:

Education quality, based on high school graduation rates
Safety, by factoring in both violent crime and property crimes per 100,000 population
Recreation accessibility, by evaluating the number of recreational establishments per 100,000 residents

Education Quality

Suburbs With the Highest High School Graduation Rates

1. Mount Juliet, Tennessee: 97% 2. Brentwood, Tennessee: 96% 3. Franklin, Tennessee: 96% 4. Hendersonville, Tennessee: 96% 5. Gallatin, Tennessee: 96%

Suburbs With the Lowest High School Graduation Rates

1. Edmond, Oklahoma: 71% 2. Chamblee, Georgia: 75% 3. Maricopa, Arizona: 78% 4. Apache Junction, Arizona: 78% 5. Dublin, Ohio: 81%

Safety

Safest Suburbs

1. Carmel, Indiana 2. Dublin, Ohio 3. Hendersonville, Tennessee 4. Fishers, Indiana 5. Royal Oak, Michigan

Most Dangerous Suburbs

1. Canton, Ohio 2. Springfield, Ohio 3. Goldsboro, North Carolina 4. Hickory, North Carolina 5. Chamblee, Georgia

Recreation Accessibility

Suburbs With the Most Recreational Establishments per 100,000 Residents

1. Franklin, Tennessee: 147 2. Brentwood, Tennessee: 147 3. Roswell, Georgia: 89 4. Alpharetta, Georgia: 89 5. Loveland, Colorado: 65

Suburbs With the Fewest Recreational Establishments per 100,000 Residents

1. Apache Junction, Arizona: 16 2. Maricopa, Arizona: 16 3. Goldsboro, North Carolina: 19 4. Broomfield, Colorado: 22 5. Springfield, Ohio: 22

Methodology

To find and rank the best suburbs for single-parent households, MoneyGeek considered nine metrics across four categories: income, costs, safety and youth development and support. We assigned each metric a specific weight, which was then used to calculate a final ranking score through a weighted average. Assigned weights are expressed within parentheses for each metric. The city with the highest final ranking score ranked as the best suburb for single-parent households.

Income

Single-Earner Income (15%): This is the median one-earner family income in the last 12 months across all cities. Data comes from the American Community Survey and is for 2021.
Unemployment Rate (15%): Refers to the percentage of the labor force that is unemployed. Data is at the county level, comes from the County Health Rankings and Roadmaps and is for 2021.

Cost

Annual Child Care Costs (17.5%): Represents metro-level annual child care costs for families with one parent and two children. The metro area data was allocated to corresponding cities, which then adopted the metro area's child care costs. Data comes from MIT Living Wage and is for 2022.
Annual Housing Rental Costs (7.5%): Represents rental housing costs for families with one parent and two children in a specified area as of April 2022, utilizing HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) estimates. Data is at the metro level, comes from MIT Living Wage and is for 2022.

Safety

Violent Crimes per 100,000 People (5%): Represents the number of violent crimes reported by law enforcement per city. The FBI classifies violent crimes as those involving force or threat. Data comes from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Crime Explorer and is for 2021.
Property Crimes per 100,000 People (5%): Represents property crime incidents reported by law enforcement per city. The FBI categorizes property crimes as incidents in which money or property is taken without utilizing force or threats against victims. Data comes from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Crime Explorer and is for 2021.

Youth Development and Support

High School Graduation Rate (10%): Denotes the percentage of students in each county who successfully graduate within four years. Data is at the county level, comes from the County Health Rankings and Roadmaps and is for 2020.
Child Day Care Facilities per 100,000 People (20%): Indicates the number of child day care facilities per 100,000 residents. Data is at the county level, comes from the United States Census Bureau and is for 2021.
Recreational Establishments per 100,000 People (5%): Indicates the number of child recreational areas per 100,000 residents. This includes arts, entertainment and amusement facilities. Data is at the county level, comes from the United States Census Bureau and is for 2021.

To narrow our list, MoneyGeek focused on suburban areas within a 15-minute to one-hour drive from the nearest large city. We removed cities with incomplete data from the previously mentioned sources, kept the top 50 most populous cities and ranked them. The city with the lowest final ranking score ranks as the worst suburb for single-parent households.

Full Data Set

Rank	Suburb	Closest Largest City	Final Score	Income Score	Cost Score	Safety Score	Youth Development and Support Score
1	Brentwood, Tennessee	Nashville, Tennessee	82	97	81	96	65
2	Carmel, Indiana	Indianapolis, Indiana	75	77	86	100	58
3	Franklin, Tennessee	Nashville, Tennessee	74	73	81	94	65
4	Fishers, Indiana	Indianapolis, Indiana	73	70	86	98	58
5	Alpharetta, Georgia	Atlanta, Georgia	66	54	73	88	64
6	Roswell, Georgia	Atlanta, Georgia	64	52	73	82	64
7	Dublin, Ohio	Columbus, Ohio	64	51	62	99	67
8	Redmond, Washington	Seattle, Washington	64	67	38	74	77
9	Mount Juliet, Tennessee	Nashville, Tennessee	64	56	81	94	50
10	Issaquah, Washington	Seattle, Washington	63	67	38	60	77
11	Hendersonville, Tennessee	Nashville, Tennessee	61	53	81	98	42
12	Canton, Georgia	Atlanta, Georgia	58	51	73	96	43
13	Greenwood, Indiana	Indianapolis, Indiana	58	56	86	83	33
14	Waukesha, Wisconsin	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	58	52	50	95	58
15	Gallatin, Tennessee	Nashville, Tennessee	58	46	81	91	42
16	Georgetown, Kentucky	Lexington, Kentucky	57	42	76	83	50
17	Nicholasville, Kentucky	Lexington, Kentucky	57	40	76	81	51
18	Keizer, Oregon	Portland, Oregon	57	32	82	81	52
19	Marietta, Georgia	Atlanta, Georgia	56	47	73	64	50
20	Edmond, Oklahoma	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	56	50	83	87	34
21	Elizabethtown, Kentucky	Louisville, Kentucky	56	35	88	89	41
22	Owasso, Oklahoma	Tulsa, Oklahoma	55	43	84	86	37
23	Sheboygan, Wisconsin	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	55	47	78	80	38
24	Auburn, Washington	Seattle, Washington	53	43	38	42	77
25	Janesville, Wisconsin	Madison, Wisconsin	53	39	70	81	45
26	Bowling Green, Ohio	Toledo, Ohio	52	37	71	90	40
27	Rocky Mount, North Carolina	Raleigh, North Carolina	51	18	81	48	58
28	Goldsboro, North Carolina	Raleigh, North Carolina	49	28	81	28	50
29	Lakewood, Ohio	Cleveland, Ohio	49	19	61	92	52
30	Cleveland Heights, Ohio	Cleveland, Ohio	48	21	61	85	52
31	Olympia, Washington	Seattle, Washington	47	33	68	50	44
32	Massillon, Ohio	Cleveland, Ohio	47	28	81	80	29
33	Chamblee, Georgia	Atlanta, Georgia	47	35	73	38	40
34	Hickory, North Carolina	Charlotte, North Carolina	46	35	87	38	29
35	Elyria, Ohio	Cleveland, Ohio	46	23	61	85	43
36	Edmonds, Washington	Seattle, Washington	46	46	38	70	44
37	Maricopa, Arizona	Phoenix, Arizona	45	39	85	91	8
38	Lorain, Ohio	Cleveland, Ohio	44	22	61	69	43
39	Apache Junction, Arizona	Phoenix, Arizona	43	36	85	83	8
40	Loveland, Colorado	Denver, Colorado	43	39	47	77	33
41	Farmington Hills, Michigan	Detroit, Michigan	42	47	21	95	38
42	Royal Oak, Michigan	Detroit, Michigan	42	46	21	97	38
43	Springfield, Ohio	Columbus, Ohio	39	25	80	26	26
44	Canton, Ohio	Cleveland, Ohio	38	24	81	0	29
45	Broomfield, Colorado	Denver, Colorado	34	40	37	68	18
46	Pontiac, Michigan	Detroit, Michigan	32	29	21	47	38
47	Dearborn, Michigan	Toledo, Ohio	25	4	21	74	32
48	Southgate, Michigan	Toledo, Ohio	25	4	21	74	32
49	Taylor, Michigan	Toledo, Ohio	24	4	21	67	32
50	Lincoln Park, Michigan	Toledo, Ohio	24	5	21	60	32

About Anja Solum, CEPF

Anja Solum is a certified educator in personal finance and the Data Journalism Manager at MoneyGeek. For over six years, she has produced data analyses and studies for agency and in-house teams across multiple verticals.

Solum holds a bachelor's degree in communication arts from Florida International University. She's passionate about using data to tell compelling, informed stories that empower readers.

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sources

American Community Survey. "American Community Survey 1-Year Data (2005-2022)." Accessed October 12, 2023.