Best PlacesArenac County, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Arenac County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Arenac County ranks 2,424th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Arenac 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.
Arenac County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Arenac County ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 96% of counties
- QuietBetter than 83% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 82% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 82% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 77% of counties
Where Arenac County ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 1% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 2% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 10% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 13% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Arenac County
A household needs to earn about $39,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Arenac County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $58,334, 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 Arenac County's effective rate of 0.99%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Arenac County
Arenac County runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Arenac County.
Who works in Arenac County, and how
Work in Arenac County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Arenac County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Arenac County.
Is Arenac County growing, and who is moving in?
Arenac County has lost about 2% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Bay City, MI.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Arenac County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Arenac County, month by month
Arenac County sees roughly 84 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 32, with lows near 19. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32° | 25° | 19° |
| April | 57° | 45° | 35° |
| July | 84° | 72° | 60° |
| October | 63° | 52° | 43° |
Flying in and out of Arenac County
The nearest airport, MBS International, is about 37 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Detroit Metro Wayne County, about 129 miles away.
The best schools in and around Arenac County
Schools across Arenac County average a C+, better than 55% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Au Gressims Elementary SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Clara B Bolen Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Standishsterling Central Elementary SchoolB− · 41% proficient
Top middle schools
- Tawas Area Middle SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
- Pinconning Middle SchoolC− · 29% proficient
- Au Gressims Middle SchoolD · 20% proficient
Top high schools
- Au Gressims High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Standishsterling Central Jrsr High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Tawas Area High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Arenac County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Arenac 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 Arenac County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Arenac County
Is Arenac County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Arenac County ranks 2,424th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low disaster risk, quiet, and civic engagement, and lowest on a weak job market and car insurance costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Arenac County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $146,161. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $58,334 median income, cost of living beats 28% of counties.
Is Arenac County safe?
Yes, Arenac County is safer than 67% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $318 per resident a year.
Compare Arenac County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Arenac County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Arenac 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.
Arenac County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Arenac County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Arenac County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Arenac County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Arenac County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Arenac 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.