San Jose Named One Of Best Places In U.S. To Raise Children
SAN JOSE (KPIX) - The San Jose metropolitan area was ranked second in the country for the best places to raise successful and healthy children by a Brandeis University study that looked at neighborhoods nationwide.
The Child Opportunity Index 2.o looked at a number of factors like poverty and employment rates, high school graduation rates, the quality of schools, and pollution among others.
"Because of the technology here and the all of the companies, the people who come here are more inclined to study and are more worried about education, so I think that helps," said Renata Gigente, a native of Brazil who recently moved to North San Jose from Davis.
Gigente and her husband recently started a family and have been impressed by the schools, parks and libraries in their neighborhood.
"Since the incomes here are high, the schools usually tend to be better," Gigente said.
The study ranked San Jose second behind Madison, Wisconsin. San Francisco came in ninth.
The results for California overall were mixed. While the state had two areas ranked in the top ten, it also had four cities at the bottom -- Bakersfield, Fresno, Stockton and Riverside.
Even within so-called "high opportunity" areas like San Jose, the study's authors acknowledge that there are pockets of poverty where children and their families struggle.
"One of the opportunities -- one of the challenges really -- is taking this relatively good news and saying to ourselves, 'How do we double down on what we've been doing so that we really get every kid across the finish line,'" said Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez.
