Affordable housing and a low cost of living earned Worcester a top ten spot recent list of Best Cities to Raise a Family, putting it well above most of America’s 100 largest metro areas.Besides being an inexpensive city, Worcester’s proximity to Boston and Hartford and neighboring cities like Marlborough, Shrews bury and Box borough helped the city gain its top spot.Forbes ranked these areas based on several criteria including median income, cost of living, housing affordability, commute time, percentage home-owners, crime, and education. Here’s Worcester’s numbers: Median Income: 14 Cost of Living Index: 71 Housing Affordability: 23 Commuting: 17 Pct. Owning Homes: 20 (70.3%) Crime: 17 Education: 62 “It’s a continued national acknowledgement of the strengths Worcester has as a market. It’s a place to live and a place to invest,” said Tim McGourthy, Worcester’s Economic Development Director. “It’s been identified nationally for its income, meaning that the dollars you ...