Best PlacesAllegan County, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Allegan County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Allegan County ranks 834th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $84,628, everyday costs sit below the national average, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are car insurance costs, a weak job market, and state infrastructure.
The best neighborhoods in Allegan County
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
The best areas in Allegan County
The parts of Allegan County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Hamilton
It is quieter, fewer homes sit empty, and prices have run up less.
Wayland, Dorr & Moline
More households have young kids, though tree cover is thinner.
Holland
More adults hold degrees and biking is better.
Plainwell & Otsego
Streets are more walkable.
Allegan
Crime runs higher and fewer residents vote.
Fennville
Advertised internet is slower and local pay stretches less far.
Shelbyville
Scores close to Fennville, except that commutes are longer here.
Pullman & South Haven
Health care is harder to reach and schools score lower.
Scores across Allegan County run from about the 5th to the 90th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Allegan County's strengths and weaknesses
Allegan County lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Low crime, low disaster risk, and civic engagement carry most of that.
The drawbacks are real but narrow. Car insurance costs, a weak job market, and state infrastructure hold the score down. Cost swings more from one part of Allegan County to another than it does between Allegan County and its neighbors, which the map below shows.
Where Allegan County ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 96% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 94% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 92% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 91% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 88% of counties
Where Allegan County ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 5% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 14% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 20% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 20% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 20% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Allegan County
A household needs to earn about $75,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Allegan County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $84,628, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Allegan County's effective rate of 1.04%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Allegan County
Allegan County's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Allegan County.
Who works in Allegan County, and how
Work in Allegan County centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Allegan County
Allegan County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Allegan County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Allegan County growing, and who is moving in?
Allegan County has grown about 8% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Grand Rapids, MI.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Allegan County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Allegan County, month by month
Allegan County sees roughly 73 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 28° | 21° |
| April | 59° | 47° | 37° |
| July | 84° | 73° | 61° |
| October | 64° | 54° | 44° |
Flying in and out of Allegan County
The nearest airport, Gerald R Ford International, is about 26 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 105 miles away.
The best schools in and around Allegan County
Schools across Allegan County average a C, better than 42% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Sandyview Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Lakewood Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Adams Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
Top middle schools
- Byron Center West Middle SchoolA · 59% proficient
- Kraft Meadows Intermediate SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Duncan Lake Middle SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
Top high schools
- Byron Center High SchoolB+ · 56% proficient
- Hudsonville High SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Saugatuck High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Allegan County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Allegan County measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Allegan County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Allegan County suits
Families
Schools land around the 42nd percentile and crime safety beats 96%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 85% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 10% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Allegan County
Is Allegan County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Allegan County ranks 834th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low crime, low disaster risk, and civic engagement, and lowest on car insurance costs and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Allegan County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $276,614. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $84,628 median income, cost of living beats 85% of counties.
Is Allegan County safe?
Yes, Allegan County is safer than 96% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $247 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Allegan County?
July highs average about 84 degrees, and January highs near 35 with lows near 21. That works out to about 73 pleasant days a year, more than 26% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Allegan County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Hamilton, Wayland, Dorr & Moline, and Holland. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Allegan County good for families?
Schools beat 42% of counties, crime safety beats 96%, and childcare runs $603 a month.
Is Allegan County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 85% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 88% of counties. About 10% of workers already work from home.
Compare Allegan County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Allegan County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Allegan County represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Allegan County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Allegan County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Allegan County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Allegan County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Allegan County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Allegan County detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.