Rock Hill Named Best City to Raise Kids

Rock Hill is the best place to raise kids in South Carolina for the second straight year according to Business Week magazine. Rock Hill is only 20 miles south of Charlotte, and has warm weather and some of the best public schools in the state. Rock Hill is also home to Winthrop University, a four-year liberal arts college that was ranked the eighth-best public university in the Southeast by U.S. News & World Report in 2006.

Affordable, safe, and family-friendly are the key words to describe the criteria that was used to select Business Weeks’ picks for top cities in this year's report.

The selections were limited to towns that have at least 45,000 residents and a median income of between $40,000 and $125,000. The data that were used included school performance, number of schools, household expenditures, crime rates, air quality, job growth, family income, museums, parks, theaters, other amenities, and diversity.

Affordability, safety, and school test scores were given the greatest weight in the poll. The use of this set of criteria and how it was weighted is indicative of the things that are important in choosing a community in which to raise a family.

Chuck Webb, Wilkinson & Associates, www.ChuckWebb.net, 704-724-2454