Best PlacesEaton Rapids, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Eaton Rapids, 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.
Eaton Rapids ranks 12,970th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and car insurance costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Eaton Rapids
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.
Eaton Rapids' strengths and weaknesses
Where Eaton Rapids ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 95% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 89% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 88% of towns
- BikingBetter than 84% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 83% of towns
Where Eaton Rapids ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 4% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 19% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 22% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 27% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than only 29% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Eaton Rapids
A household needs to earn about $57,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Eaton Rapids home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $79,986, 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 Eaton Rapids' effective rate of 1.20%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Eaton Rapids
Eaton Rapids'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 Eaton Rapids.
Who works in Eaton Rapids, and how
Work in Eaton Rapids centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Eaton Rapids
Eaton Rapids has more parkland per resident than 91% of towns. That concentrates in some parts of Eaton Rapids and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Eaton Rapids, month by month
Eaton Rapids sees roughly 78 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 33, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33° | 26° | 20° |
| April | 58° | 47° | 37° |
| July | 83° | 72° | 62° |
| October | 63° | 52° | 43° |
Flying in and out of Eaton Rapids
The nearest airport, Capital Region International, is about 19 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Detroit Metro Wayne County, about 70 miles away.
The best schools in and around Eaton Rapids
Schools across Eaton Rapids average a C+, better than 46% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- North Aurelius Elementary SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Lockwood Elementary SchoolC · 31% proficient
- Island City AcademyC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mason Middle SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Charlotte Upper Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Leslie Middle SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
Top high schools
- Holt Senior High SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Eaton Rapids High SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Mason High SchoolB · 48% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Eaton Rapids school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Eaton Rapids 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 Eaton Rapids against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Eaton Rapids
Is Eaton Rapids a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Eaton Rapids ranks 12,970th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on civic engagement, walkability, and heat safety, and lowest on car insurance costs and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Eaton Rapids expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $207,055. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $79,986 median income, cost of living beats 66% of towns.
Is Eaton Rapids safe?
Yes, Eaton Rapids is safer than 81% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $244 per resident a year.
Compare Eaton Rapids with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Eaton Rapids. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Eaton Rapids 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.
Eaton Rapids detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Eaton Rapids: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Eaton Rapids: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Eaton Rapids: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Eaton Rapids: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Eaton Rapids 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.