Florida's top 10 communities for kids

WINDERMERE, Fla. -- July 6, 2005 -- Location is always important when buying a house, especially for homebuyers choosing a home and community for their family and children. While quality public schools are an important consideration, many parents and demographers list six criteria that define a town as best for families with children.

Dr. Andrew Schiller, a specialist in American demographics and creator of the NeighborhoodScout search engine, analyzed government data to identify the Florida communities with the best overall combination of attributes parents and researchers cite as important. He combined data from the National Center for Education Statistics, the U.S. Bureau of the Census, the FBI, the U.S. Justice Department and the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight to create a list of the top 10 Florida communities for families with children.

"We were looking for those very select communities that have both quality public schools and an exceptional family-friendly environment -- not towns that may excel at one or two criteria but are lacking in other ways," says Schiller.

The criteria used included quality public schools, safety from crime, a high proportion of families with children in the community, many adults with college degrees or advanced degrees, many families who own their homes and homes that are predominantly single-family residences, regardless of the setting being urban, suburban or rural.

Schiller's top 10 list in Florida includes:

1. Windermere

2. Boca Raton

3. Winter Springs

4. Key Biscayne

5. Longwood

6. Orange Park

7. Fort Lauderdale (chiefly west of the Florida Turnpike)

8. Jupiter

9. Oviedo

10. Naples

The top towns range in price, setting and location, and are located from the Jacksonville area to South Florida. The panhandle was included in the research, though no towns made the top ten.

© 2005 FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®