So much for California dreamin’ if you’re raising a child on your own. The Golden State can be a nightmare for single parents, according to a new report.
NewHomesMate, a marketplace for new-construction homes down South, analyzed factors like housing prices, the cost of raising a kid and the percentage of unmarried adults to determine which of the top 50 most-populated American cities are the best spots for single parents to raise families.
Ranking as the absolute worst: Los Angeles, due to its high housing costs compared to the typical household income. The median home price in the City of Angels was $1.2 million last month, according to Realtor.com. That’s nearly 30 times its 2021 average household income of $39,378, as reported by the US Census Bureau.
What the West Coast state has in tacos, surf and sunshine lacks in affordability and social opportunity, the study says.
Bakersfield, Long Beach and San Jose — all also in California — come in second, third and fourth-lowest. NewHomesMate sourced World Population Review and SmartAsset.com to find that just 27.3% of San Jose’s adult population is single and its annual cost of raising a child is a whopping $33,228.
Two more California cities linger closely behind, with Fresno at sixth from the bottom and San Diego at eighth.
As for where New York falls on the list, it sits neatly as the 10th-least desirable places for solo parents. The Big Apple has a $27,449 annual cost of raising a child supported by an average income of $43,952 in 2021.
Making them even less affordable, the notoriously pricey five boroughs had a median home price of $785,000 in the second quarter of this year, according to the brokerage Douglas Elliman.
But New Yorkers are still defensive of their gritty and expensive concrete jungle.
“[It’s] the best city to live in if you’re a single parent,” said Adjina Dekidjiev, a broker with Coldwell Banker Warburg. She noted that real estate pros must consider fair housing laws when commenting on familial matters.
“Kids raised in New York are exposed to so much the city has to offer — the bad and the good — that they develop a resiliency and tough spirit that’s unique to New York,” she said.
So, according to the study, where are the best places for single parents to set their sights on?
The top three are Atlanta and Washington, DC and Minneapolis — as 56% of the chilly Minnesota city’s adult population is single.
Surprisingly, Seattle ranks fourth despite its notoriously high housing costs. Coming in fifth is Baltimore, where the median home price was a mere $200,000 last month.