Best PlacesDowntown Michigan City, Michigan City, IN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Downtown Michigan City, Michigan City, 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.
Downtown Michigan City, Michigan City ranks 5,146th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Downtown Michigan City, Michigan City
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.
Downtown Michigan City, Michigan City's strengths and weaknesses
Where Downtown Michigan City, Michigan City ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 85% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than 80% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$878 a month, better than 79% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 74% of neighborhoods
Where Downtown Michigan City, Michigan City ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than only 12% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 15% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Downtown Michigan City, Michigan City
A household needs to earn about $31,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Downtown Michigan City, Michigan City home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $61,404, 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 Downtown Michigan City, Michigan City's effective rate of 0.76%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Downtown Michigan City, Michigan City
Downtown Michigan City, Michigan City runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Downtown Michigan City, Michigan City.
Who works in Downtown Michigan City, Michigan City, and how
Work in Downtown Michigan City, Michigan City 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 94%
- Work from home 3%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Downtown Michigan City, Michigan City
Downtown Michigan City, Michigan City has more restaurants and bars per resident than 78% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 94% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Downtown Michigan City, Michigan City and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Downtown Michigan City, Michigan City, month by month
Downtown Michigan City, Michigan City sees roughly 80 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 28° | 22° |
| April | 58° | 47° | 39° |
| July | 81° | 72° | 63° |
| October | 63° | 53° | 45° |
Flying in and out of Downtown Michigan City, Michigan City
The nearest airport, South Bend International, is about 30 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago Midway International, about 44 miles away.
The best schools in and around Downtown Michigan City, Michigan City
Schools across Downtown Michigan City, Michigan City average a D+, better than 21% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Knapp Elementary SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Marsh Elementary SchoolD+ · 23% proficient
- Pine Elementary SchoolD · 20% proficient
Top middle schools
- Barker Middle SchoolD · 24% proficient
- Martin T Krueger Middle SchoolD− · 16% proficient
Top high schools
- Michigan City High SchoolD · 21% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Downtown Michigan City, Michigan City school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Downtown Michigan City, Michigan City 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 Downtown Michigan City, Michigan City against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Downtown Michigan City, Michigan City
Is Downtown Michigan City, Michigan City a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Downtown Michigan City, Michigan City ranks 5,146th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, cell coverage, and state infrastructure, and lowest on a weak job market and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Downtown Michigan City, Michigan City expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $119,444. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $61,404 median income, cost of living beats 36% of neighborhoods.
Is Downtown Michigan City, Michigan City safe?
Downtown Michigan City, Michigan City is safer than 15% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $664 per resident a year.
Compare Downtown Michigan City, Michigan City with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Downtown Michigan City, Michigan City. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Downtown Michigan City, Michigan City 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.
Downtown Michigan City, Michigan City detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Downtown Michigan City, Michigan City: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Downtown Michigan City, Michigan City: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Downtown Michigan City, Michigan City: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Downtown Michigan City, Michigan City: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Downtown Michigan City, Michigan City 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.
- 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.