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Best Life magazine picks Honolulu as the best place to raise a family while Forbes favors the Indianapolis suburb of Hamilton County, Indiana. To further add confusion, Money magazine and CNN laud the virtues of Middleton, Wisconsin.

The first two locations seem to have very little in common. The first pick makes the grade because of its low rate of unemployment, its ideal climate and the fact that schools spend almost $9,000 per pupil. But Honolulu has a high cost of living--178.4 compared to a US average of 100. And the median price of a home there is a whopping $926,300.

By contrast, the median value of a home in Noblesville, Indiana is $203,600. Its violent crime rate is 3, compared to Honolulu's 6 and its median income is $33,531 to Honolulu's $26,784. Middleton, Wisconsin falls between the two extremes, with a median home value of $475,000 and a cost-of-living index of 117.4.

So what's the ideal place to raise your family? It depends. On your job, your priorities and your income. For some people it's schools. For others it's the proximity to the great outdoors. In fact, there is no ideal, one-size-fits-all place to raise a family, but if you're considering pulling up stakes, there are a number of factors to consider.

• Homeownership rates: High rates point to a population with a vested interest in maintaining a town's living standards.
• Schools: How much do local schools spend per pupil? What's the graduation rate? The average scores on standardized tests?
• Climate: If rain depresses you, perhaps you'd best avoid the Pacific Northwest. Similarly, warm weather lovers won't love the harsh winters in cities like Minneapolis, while those who hate the heat will find Florida intolerable.
• Crime: Look for trends as well as recent statistics. Is the crime rate going down or up? Websites like the Bureau of Justice can help you out here.
• Cost of living: How far can you stretch your paycheck? Check out this cost of living calculator before you move.
• Commuting time: With the price of gas these days, this is no small factor. And it's not just a matter of miles; the more time you spend in the car, the less time you spend with your family.

Another key factor is the size of the town. Look at the populations of the three "ideal" locations discussed above: Honolulu is a city with a population of more than 377,000; Noblesville has a population of 40,115 and little Middleton has a population below 17,000.

In fact, each list is biased towards a certain type of community. The first favors cities; the second like suburbs and the third looks at small towns. In many ways it's like comparing apples to oranges to peaches. With those factors in mind, here's a snapshot of some of America's most family friendly places to live, a combination of cities, suburbs and small towns.

Albuquerque, New Mexico
With 280 sunny days per year, the climate of this southwestern town couldn't be more attractive--if you like that sort of thing. The average commute is 23 minutes long compared to the national average of 27.4. The median household income and per capita income--at $44,404 and $24,239 respectively--are in line with the national average. The cost of living index is 96 and the median value of a home is $276,300. The unemployment rate is 3.1 percent, compared to a national average of 4.6 percent.

Ann Arbor
30.07 percent of Ann Arbor's students go on to graduate college with a four-year degree. That's twice the national average of 15.16 percent. The average commute is 22 minutes and the cost of living is 99. The median value of a home is $312,200, but the unemployment rate is 4.80 percent, with job growth of -0.70 percent.

Apple Valley, Minnesota
If winter's not your thing, avoid Apple Valley with its average January low of 2.4 degrees. The median value of a home is $320,000 and more than 85 percent of the population is a homeowner, the national average is 64 percent. The cost of living is 109 and 30.32 percent of its students eventually graduate with four-year degrees.

Austin, Texas
This college town has an unemployment rate of 3 percent, an overall cost-of-living index of 96 and a median home value of $312,500. Austin only spends an average of $5,274 per pupil, compared to the national average of $6,058. But 27 percent of its students go on to pursue four-year degrees. It's sunny here 228 days of the year, but it's also hot--the average July day is 95.2 degrees while the national average is 86.5.

Charlottesville, Virginia
Renters make up 56.60 percent of the population here at the home of the University of Virginia. The average SAT score of 1,098 is among the best in the nation; its high school graduation rate is 82.22 percent and 20.26 percent of its graduates go on to attain four-year degrees. Unemployment is at 2.7. The cost of living is 104 and the median home price is $382,800. The average commute is 18 minutes, nine minutes shorter than the national average.

Claremont, California
The city of trees and PhDs, has great public schools with a graduation rate of 92.33 percent, but its proximity to Los Angeles makes its air quality low--despite its renown as Tree City USA. Cost of living is 143 to the national average of 100 and the median home value is $649,900, about three times the national average. The unemployment rate is a low 2.2 percent. Income per capita is $32,727, with a median household income of $72,123.

Colorado Springs, Colorado
The cost of living here is 8.52 percent lower than the national average and the city boasts a 3.6 percent unemployment rate. Per capita income is $26,206, with a median household income of $52,195. Winters are long with an average January low of 16.4 degrees, but summers are relatively cool and dry with an average July high of 84 degrees. The median home cost is $258,100. The high school graduation rate is 91.29 percent, compared to a national average of 79.62.

Elkridge, Maryland -
Situated between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., Elkridge has a 90 percent graduation rate as befits its location in Howard County, one of the smartest counties in the country with an average SAT score of 1,113. Unemployment here is only 2.6 percent. Income per capita is $32,444, while median household income is $76,97. But living here isn't cheap: Elkridge's cost of living is 30.59 percent higher than the US average and the median home cost is $573,500.

Hillsborough, New Jersey
Somerset County, where Hillsborough is located was listed as #16 on the Forbes list while Money and CNN placed the township 23rd on its list of 100 best places to live for 2007. The area is booming with economic opportunities thanks to a number of pharmaceutical companies in the vicinity and its proximity to New York City. The median family income here is $107,601. The average home price is $359,352. The cost of living is 134; the national average is 100. The average commute is 34 minutes.

Horsham, Pennsylvania
The median household income in this suburb of Philadelphia is $64,905, $20,000 over the national average. The median home price is $286,500 and the cost of living here is 2.19 percent higher than the national average. The school system spends $7,793 per pupil--$6,058 is the national average--and Horsham's graduation rate is 92 percent. The crime rate here is low, 1 out of a scale of 10. Commuters spend 28 minutes getting to work, which is the US average.

Jupiter Island, Florida
This pristine island on Florida's east coast is situated in one of the cleanest counties in the country with 354 clean air days per year. Unemployment here is only 3 percent but the cost of living is on the high side; overall, it costs 21.47 percent more to live here than the national average. The high school graduation rate is 96 percent. The average high temperature in July is 90 degrees, while the January low is a balmy 55. Home prices are on the high side: $483,800 is the median value and home values have depreciated -3.84 percent over the last year.

Madison, Wisconsin
It costs 6.54 percent less to live here than the US average. It also snows about 38 inches a year, 13 more than the national average. The median home price is $257,400, the unemployment rate is 3.6 percent and the median household income is $48,751. Madison's high school graduation rate is just shy of 93 percent, with 28 percent of its graduates achieving four-year degrees.

Milton, Massachusetts
Milton residents get the best of both worlds: The town is only eight miles from Boston and it borders a 7,000-acre park that offers hiking, swimming and skiing. But commuters spend an average of 33 minutes driving to work; its cost of living is 32 percent higher than the US average; and the median home cost in Milton is $524,000. 95 percent of Milton's students graduate high school and 30 percent go on to get four-year degrees.

Naperville, Illinois
Naperville has a crime rate of 1 on a scale of 1 to 10, pretty good for a city with a population of more than 100,000. Naperville also has a 96 percent high school graduation rate, a thriving downtown and a 3.3 percent rate of unemployment. But workers here spend an average of 37 minutes one way to get to work, that's 10 minutes more than the national average. Also, the median home price is $518,200 and the cost of living here is 26.56 percent above the national average.

Northbrook, Ohio
At 4.9 percent, this Cincinnati suburb's unemployment rate tops the US average of 4.6 percent, but experts predict jobs will increase by 23 percent over the next 10 years. And the median price of a home here is $120,000, a little more than half the US average. The cost of living here is low, too--33 percent less than the national average. But Northbrook schools have only a 75 percent graduation rate.

Plano, Texas
Not everyone can take the heat of the climate here in this suburb of Dallas; the average high temperature in July approaches 96 degrees. But Plano's schools graduate 95 percent of its students and 36 percent of them go on to attain four-year degrees. The cost of living here is 5 percent below the US average and the unemployment rate is 3.4 percent. Median home value is $265,000. But it takes 30 minutes for Plano residents to get to work.

Raleigh, North Carolina
Median family income in this city in North Carolina's Research Triangle is almost $53,000 compared to a national average of $44,000. The median home value is $360,000 and the cost of living exceeds the national average by about 6 percent. Workers spend about 24 minutes a day to get to work. The graduation rate is 88 percent with 34 percent of those graduates going on to achieve four-year degrees. Job growth in Raleigh is predicted to expand by 27 percent over the next four years, more than twice the US average of 12 percent. But violent crime here is at 5 on a scale of 1 to 10--the US average is 3--and property crime is rated a 6.

Suwanee, Georgia
This Atlanta suburb boasts a 93 percent graduation rate and 33 percent of those graduates receive four-year degrees. Cost of living here is 2 percent above the national average and the median house cost is $349,900. Suwanee has 500 acres of parkland thanks to a voter-approved initiative to preserve and create open space. But traffic isn't so good: It takes Suwanee residents an average of 34 minutes to get to work each day, that's one way.

Virginia Beach, Virginia
The unemployment rate here is only 2.5 percent, which compares favorably to the national average of 4.6. The cost of living exceeds the US average by 8.74 percent and the median cost of a home is $391,700. There is, of course, a beach but it can get humid here in the summer, which gives Virginia Beach a comfort rating of 35 out of 100. 90 percent of the district's students graduate high school and 19 percent of them go on to get four-year degrees.

Wichita, Kansas MSN ranked Wichita
number one for real estate bargains thanks to the $131,210 median price of a house here. The cost of living here is also low, 26 percent below the US average. The city's unemployment rate is 4.6 percent, the national average, but employment is predicted to grow by more than 30 percent over the next 10 years. But violent crime here rates a 7 on a scale from 1 to 10. That's four points above the national average.