DOWNEY −  A recent study ranking the best U.S. cities for young families placed Downey among the best in southeast Los Angeles County. 

Conducted and released by rental search site Apartment List last month, the report gave Downey a B+ grade, ranking the city 111th out of 474 cities nationwide.

According to Andrew Woo, data specialist for the San Francisco-based company, the study focused on four factors important to young families -- safety, housing costs, school quality, and child friendliness. 

"We used FBI data to rank cities by the number of violent crimes and property crimes per 100,000 residents," Woo said. "And we used census data to calculate the percentage of renter income required to rent a two-bedroom apartment [in each city]."

Downey shined brightest in school quality, scoring a 88% for excellence in educational achievement, but the study revealed what all residents of L.A. County already know -- housing costs are high.

Nonetheless, Downey managed to outperform many local cities in the study, including Whittier, which was ranked at #133, Norwalk (#162), and Lakewood (#196). The only neighboring city to exceed Downey was Bellflower, which  received an A- grade and ranked at #82 for access to good schools, parks, and cheaper rent.

Nationwide, Allen, Texas ranked #1 overall while the only California city to crack into the top 10 was San Ramon.