Best Places to Raise Kids: The 15 Most Family-Friendly Philly Suburbs

Warwick

Population: 14,437
School district: Central Bucks
Average SAT scores: 550 math / 571 reading / 557 writing
Crime rate: .34 violent crimes per 1,000; 7.34 nonviolent per 1,000
Median home price: $390,000

When the city is too congested and the suburbs are too, well, suburb-y, Warwick’s unique brand of farm-fresh suburbia, in a pastoral swath of Bucks County, offers an atmosphere that’s tight-knit without being suffocatingly cul-de-sac. Years ago, Warwick’s families kept to themselves in rural neighborhoods, but the recent establishment of a Little League and a heavy community-events schedule (Colonial reenactments!) have the township pulling together a bit more tightly. “Warwick Day” comes complete with Pollyanna-esque pie-baking competitions, and parents swap war stories at local pub the Jamison Pour House while the kids hang out in the gaming room. The township’s most singular feature may be its proximity to Ross Hill Farm, perhaps the most notable pig farm in the region and the host of an annual “Piggypalooza.” (What kid doesn’t love a good pig?) The only real downside: the distance from Philly (23 miles, but an hour’s drive). But Helene Gold, a former local PTA president who commutes to the city daily, says it’s manageable: “That’s the trade-off. I drive far to work so my kids can have the childhood I wanted to give them.”

 To read about Upper Makefield, click here.