6 Reasons Greater Lansing Is The Best Place To Live in Michigan in 2018
We first took a look at the best places to live in Michigan in 2018. Two years later, we’ve returned to this list to see how Greater Lansing has held up. Greater Lansing is still one of the best places to live in Michigan in 2020, with now even more reasons to call the Capital City your home.
Area residents will tell you already that Greater Lansing is the best place to live in Michigan, but others have taken notice as well. With awards across the board for homeowners at every stage of life, Greater Lansing has won a top spot amongst Michigan’s best places to live. Whether you want to buy your first home, raise a family, or retire, you can find the perfect place in Greater Lansing.
8 Reasons Greater Lansing Is The Best Place To Live In Michigan
1. Lansing: #1 Best Affordable Place To Live in America in 2018
No matter where you are in life, you want to save money for the things that really matter. Out of 2,000 cities across America surveyed, Lansing is the number one best place to save money.
Livability studied housing prices, buying power, median household income, amenities, and a variety of other metrics to determine which American cities were the best and most affordable places to live. With low rent and house prices, low unemployment, high median household income and plenty of entertainment, it’s easy to see why Lansing residents are staying happy while saving money.
2. East Lansing: #53 Top 100 Places to Live in America in 2019
In 2019, Livability updated their information and took another look at the places Americans most want to live. For the 6th year of their study, Livability made some changes. To reflect homebuyers’ desire for affordability, they capped the median home value at $250,000. Since very expensive neighborhoods are likely to have an unfair advantage, this helps to even the playing field. They also increased the population cap from 350,000 to 1,000,000 to accommodate bigger cities.
With tough competition, including analysis of over 1,000 of America’s most beloved city, East Lansing made the cut at #53. Livability awarded this suburb of Greater Lansing one of the best places to live in 2019, citing its “strong economy and impressive infrastructure” among many other winning attributes.
3. Okemos: #17 Best Places To Live in Michigan in 2019
Website AreaVibes.com specializes in a city’s livability, and awards cities and towns a Livability Score to help residents find their ideal home. This score takes a wide variety of factors into account, including nearby amenities, cost of living, crime rates, education, employment, housing and weather. With all of this in mind, Okemos came in at #17 as one of the best places to live in Michigan in 2019. This is one of the many awards given to Greater Lansing’s east side, thanks in large part to high income, high home values, low crime and the many amenities nearby at Michigan State University.
4. East Lansing: #40 Safest Cities To Retire in America in 2018
At different stages of life, homeowners look for different things. When it’s time to retire, you want to be secure and safe. The low crime rate and thriving retirement-age community in East Lansing makes it one of the top safest cities to retire in 2018.
Security Choice studied nearly 500 cities and urban areas, comparing crime rates, average retirement age, how many citizens were 65 or older, and other metrics to get their top 100. East Lansing came in at #40, proving Greater Lansing is home to residents of all ages.
5. Okemos: #1 Best Place To Raise A Family In Michigan In 2019
Okemos moved up two spots in this survey, going from Niche’s third best place to raise a family in Michigan to the first in 2019. Niche compared 13 data points concerning families, including educational, economic, and recreational factors. Boasting one of the best public school systems in the state, low crime rates, high median household income, and dozens of parks and recreational areas, Okemos was the best in the state.
This year, Okemos wasn’t the only Greater Lansing Community to make the list. Hastlett also made the list, coming in at #19.
6. Lansing: #21 Cities with the Lowest Cost of Living in America in 2019
For those looking to save money while enjoying a fun and exciting town, there’s more evidence to choose Lansing, MI. While winning first in Livability’s most affordable cities survey in 2018 (see above), it also placed 21st on Niche’s list of American cities with the lowest cost of living in 2019. The study examined key factors determining the cost of living in a city, including housing costs, food, fuel costs, and median tax rates, and compared towns and cities from all across America.
7. Haslett: #16 Best Places to Live in Michigan
In 2019, Money Inc. took a look at the best places to live in Michigan, comparing locations by median home price as well as amenities, schools, commuting distance, job opportunities and more. Haslett made the list at the #16 best place to live in Michigan. “Just $177,000 will get you a good-sized family home in this charming community,” Money Inc. explains. “Even if we put the attractive house prices to one side, there’s a lot to like about Haslett: crime, poverty, and unemployment rates are all reassuringly low, while at $63,140, the average household income is correspondingly high. Residents enjoy access to a top-rated school system, walkable streets, and numerous bike trails.”
8. Okemos: #1 Best Place to Live in Michigan
This Greater Lansing community gets another award by making it to the top of Money Inc’s Best Places to Live in Michigan list, beating out beloved contenders like beautiful Ann Arbor and high-priced suburbs of Greater Detroit. Money Inc’s reasoning is clear; “For just $213,600, you can enjoy the privilege of living in a city where 43% of the population have a masters degree (and another 31% have a bachelors degree), where kids get to attend some of the best schools in the state, where the streets are safe, the parks are bountiful, the amenities are numerous, and the average income is a whopping $74,568. With attractions like this, it’s no surprise Okemos ranks as the #1 best place to live in Michigan.”
With options for affordability, exceptional schools, great places to raise a family, and all-round amazing places to live, it’s no wonder that Greater Lansing is still the best place to live in Michigan in 2020. While nothing could replace Lansing in the hearts of residents, we’re glad to see visitors and house-hunters taking notice as well.