Do You Live in One of These Best Cities to Raise the Next Rock Star

Music makes the world go around and everyone knows by now that children who learn an instrument do better in math and in school, in general. Exposing your child to an instrument at a very early age has many other developmental benefits.

But what if you want to nurture your baby to become the next Jimi Hendrix or Janis Joplin (besides the dying at age 27 part)?

There are certain cities that are havens for the type of culture, programs and music lessons available.

“When you look at children ages two to nine, one of the breakthroughs in that area is music’s benefit for language development,” explained Mary Luehrisen, executive director of the nonprofit National Association of Music Merchants Foundation.”Growing up in a musically rich environment is often advantageous for children’s language development.”

Researchers at Care.com have investigated The Best Cities to Raise the Next Rock Star. They analysts ranked 111 major cities based on the amount of music lessons available in an area (as reported by Care.com music tutors) compared to the number of children under 18 in the area.

You can find your city’s rank in each category here.

Top 5
1. Gainesville, FL
2. Tallahassee, FL
3. Ann Arbor, MI
4. Athens, GA
5. Fort Collins, CO

Bottom 5
We Don’t Got The Beat
107. Honolulu, HI
108. Bakersfield, CA
109. Buffalo, NY
110. Memphis, TN
111. Fresno, CA

photo: suzanne gipson