Australia’s Best Cities for Families

Do you want to know the best cities in Australia for families? Then you’ve arrived at the right place.

Homeday, a German online real estate platform, conducted an extensive study to determine the best cities for families around the world. Australia was mentioned three times, with three major cities.

Here’s how we’ll break it down for you:

• Main categories: Describes the criteria against which the cities on the list were graded.
• The best cities in Australia for families are revealed.
• Background: A brief explanation of how the study was carried out.

Principal classifications

Homeday chose to rate cities in five categories, each with its own set of criteria:

1. City

• Housing affordability in relation to salary and average house prices.
• Education system: The city’s educational system, with a particular emphasis on mathematics, reading, and science.

• The safety of cities was determined by looking at both crime evidence and public perception of security.

• Affordability is determined by comparing salaries and the cost of living.

• Unemployment: A city’s unemployment rate.

• Pollution: The amount of pollution in the air, noise, and light. Naturally, the lower a city’s pollution level, the higher its score.

• Transportation: The city’s transportation quality, taking into account both road congestion and public transportation.

2. Health and Maternity Law

• National Maternity/Paternity Law: Paid maternity leave is available, as well as full paid parental leave for both maternity and paternity.
• Healthcare quality is measured by the proportion of GDP spent on healthcare as well as the proportion of the population covered by private or public health insurance.

3. Happiness

The overall happiness of the city’s residents, as measured by the World Happiness Report.

4. Activities and Travel

• Airports for children: How child-friendly local airports are, particularly for families with young children.
• Green spaces: The number of green public spaces in a city.
• Activities for children: Considering the number of adventure parks, museums, hotels, and other travel and tourism factors affecting both residents and visitors.

5. Expert Opinion

• Parents were asked what factors contribute to a good family city, as well as how conducive their city is to raising a family.
• Over 30 000 parenting experts and family journalists were polled on how good their city is for raising a family.

The best cities in Australia for families

Homeday’s list included three Australian cities:

Sydney;

• Melbourne, as well as
• Brisbane.
• Sydney

Out of 100 countries, Sydney is ranked 13th.

‘Kid friendly airports,’ ‘Professionals,’ ‘Green Spaces,’ and ‘Activities for kids’ received the four highest scores, which were extremely close to each other. Individual scores were 10.00, 9.35, 9.34, and 9.33, in that order.

The fact that ‘Green spaces’ and ‘Activities for kids’ scored so high should be great news for any parent, because it means that children can be kept occupied for hours while also benefiting from the health benefits of being outside in nature.

Melbourne

Melbourne is only two places lower than Sydney at number 15.

Melbourne scored highest in ‘Professionals’ and second highest in ‘Parents,’ indicating that parenting experts, family journalists, and parents think Melbourne is a great city for families.

The third highest score was obtained for ‘Activities for kids,’ indicating that this is another Australian city with excellent options for entertaining children.

Brisbane

Brisbane came in at number 18, with the highest ‘Cost of living’ score. This is fantastic news for anyone, but especially for families.

Numbers 2 and 3 are ‘Professionals’ and ‘Parents,’ indicating that, as with Melbourne, those in the know best recommend Brisbane.

Looking closer at Brisbane’s scores, you’ll see that Brisbane actually scored really well on a number of factors, including ‘Pollution’, which means the city has little pollution, ‘Safety’ and ‘Overall happiness’.

Background

It’s difficult to find a more comprehensive study for families with children than this one! Homeday interviewed hundreds of parents, thousands of parenting and family experts, and dug deep into statistics and studies.

The first step in their research was to interview parents to determine what makes a city ideal for raising a family. In addition, parents were asked to rate their own cities.

Homeday used this feedback to determine the categories and factors against which thousands of cities around the world were graded. Only the top 100 cities made the final cut.

To round out the study, Homeday polled 30 000 parenting experts and family journalists about how good their own city is for raising a family. Homeday then ranked all of these factors to determine each city’s overall score.

Interested in finding out which other cities made the cut?

Homeday emphasizes that the cities on their list are the best 100 out of thousands, which means that all of the cities found on the list are good places to raise a family.