Here Are The 10 Best Places In Indiana To Raise A Family

Madison is considered to be both a rural retreat and a romantic getaway. It's the perfect small and cozy town for a couple who wants to settle down, be in love, and start a family. In fact, Madison is considered one of the most popular historic river towns in the Midwest.

Zionsville makes the list because it's the safest place in Indiana. One study found Zionsville to have the fewest number of property crimes and violent crimes per 100,000 people when compared to any other city or town in the state. The only downside to Zionsville is the high safety ranking tends to make purchasing a house in the area more costly. Meaning Zionsville may be less than ideal for a low income family. Did you know that President Lincoln made his very first train stop in Zionsville to give a speech right before his inauguration? Neat!

New Whiteland is an ideal choice if you are someone who waited a little later in life to start having children. I know that isn’t really ideal because it seems to be a "thing" to start popping out kids in Indiana between 16-18 and not stopping until you're about 25. But, the average age of a resident in New Whiteland is 33 which makes it a great town for someone who decided to go through additional schooling before having children. In the 2012, there were only roughly 150 people arrested during the entire year in this town. Even in previous years, arrests in the town tend to stay under 200 for the entire year. The biggest downside to this town is gun permits constantly being on the rise which is only a downside if you have an issue with guns. It's worth noting that you're not allowed to carry guns in parks in this town which is very appealing to parents with young children and just another reason I included it on this list.

Whether or not you choose to raise a family in Carmel really boils down to whether or not you can afford to do so. The unfortunate truth is Carmel is known for being one of the more expensive places to live in Indiana. The average household income in Carmel is 123% higher than the rest of the state if that paints a better picture for you. However, that doesn't make it any less of an ideal place to live and raise a family. In fact, Money Magazine named Carmel as the number one best place to live in the United States in 2012.

Batesville received an "A" grade for education, community, housing, and access to day cares. It received a "B" for crime and safety, access to libraries, and access to grocery stores. Batesville is known for being ideally located between Louisville, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis. Home to both Batesville Casket Company and Hill-Rom the economy of the city is booming making it a great place for you to raise a family and secure a job.

Fishers is an ideal place to raise a family because of how highly rated the schools are. There's also a nice balance of recreational activities which will help keep your children physically active. During the fall, there's a community event called "Glow in the Park" which lets families watch free movies at the park. The only downside is the cost of housing is slightly higher than the state average. However, the motto you get what you pay for applies here.

Granger has a 0% poverty rate for families with young children. More than 50% of the residents in this town have at least a bachelor’s degree. It's considered a medium-income community.

Valparaiso is a town that comes highly recommended by some of our readers. This is why I decided to include it. It's a small and comfortable town that has fantastic schools. It's also significantly more affordable than some of the other towns and cities on this list. You're also pretty close to Chicago if you fancy a trip!

Dugger is a fairly small town with less than 1,000 people. It was settled back in the 1800’s and it's a very comfortable coal mining town. The residents agree that it's a very helpful and generous town where the entire community pitches in and helps any time something goes wrong making it a very safe and secure place to raise a family.