Relatively low child care costs and above average access to recreation centers put Benton County at the top of one online financial advisory firm’s rankings for best places to raise a family in the state. 

The rankings, put out by SmartAsset, are part of an interactive tool intended to help families determine where to settle down and buy a home in each state. It looked at housing prices, student standardized test scores, the number of recreation and community centers per 1,000 residents and the cost of child care. 

Franklin County came in at No. 24 in the state. While it had comparable metrics for schools and child care, it was noted for a lack of community and recreation centers. 

And neither county fared well nationally – Benton County came in at No. 1,066 and Franklin No. 2,432.  

The top place in the country to raise a family is Oconee County in Georgia. SmartAsset gave it a 10 out of 10 score for schools and child care costs.