Minneapolis ranked 3rd best city for bringing up babies

Photo: Susan Lesch

Welcome to heaven, babies.

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According to a list compiled by The Street, Minneapolis is the third best city in the nation for rearing children, trailing only Portland, Ore. and a giant golf course in Arizona. Translation: it's time to ignore everything we know about overpopulation and start popping out those babies by the dozen.

The Street talked with experts at Parents and Fit Pregnancy magazines to compile the list, measuring each city by prenatal and infant health care options, safety records, child care, and home prices. Here's what they said about Minneapolis:

It gets awfully cold in the winter, but the $175,000 average home price softens the chill a bit. It should also warm parents' hearts a bit to know their baby will have access to seven city hospitals, including two children's hospitals: Children's Hospitals and Clinics and Shriners Hospitals For Children. The Twin Cities led Fit Pregnancy's survey in access to children's hospitals and fertility clinics, which leads to Minneapolis' low infant and maternal mortality rates.

Minneapolis also has the second-highest number of licensed home day care centers of any city in our survey.

Now, let's just not mention to the folks at The Street that child-care deaths have actually doubled in Minnesota over the past five years.