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CHICAGO - Washington, D.C., took the No. 1 spot in Parenting Magazine's latest list of the Top U.S. Cities for Families, the publication said Wednesday.

 

The U.S. capital replaced nearby Arlington, Va., which tumbled to No. 70 as a result of changes in the way cities were judged this year.

 

Austin, Texas, took the No. 2 spot and Boston claimed No. 3 on the magazine's list, which considers a variety of factors — including school quality, housing availability, employment rates and the number of registered sex offenders — when ranking municipalities.

 

St. Paul-Minneapolis, Minn.; Des Moines, Iowa; Madison, Wisc.; Honolulu, Haw.; Omaha, Neb.; Seattle, Wash.; and Louisville, Ky., rounded out the Top 10 list, which also weighs health- and child-care availability, commuting times and air quality.

 

A number of cities that ranked high last year slipped this year because the magazine added a "charm and culture index" to its considerations, which editors said in a statement "skewed the rankings higher for cities with more museums, kid-friendly restaurants, performing arts venues."

 

The biggest loser as a result of the change was Scottsdale, Ariz., which went from No. 8 last year to No. 91 this year.

 

The city ranking last on the list was Anaheim, Calif., home — ironically — to the iconic Disneyland family theme park.

 

Five other California cities — Riverside, Bakersfield, Long Beach, Fresno and Los Angeles — joined Anaheim in the bottom 10 of the list, along with Las Vegas, Nev.; Mesa, Ariz.; Arlington, Texas; and Scottsdale.

 

Recession-battered Detroit, Mich., ranked No. 90. You can see the complete list here.

 

(Reporting by James B. Kelleher. Editing by Peter Bohan)

 

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