Best PlacesFenton, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Fenton, 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.
Fenton ranks 990th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Fenton
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.
Fenton's strengths and weaknesses
Where Fenton ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 97% of cities
- Heat safetyBetter than 89% of cities
- Crime safetyBetter than 89% of cities
- Healthcare accessBetter than 87% of cities
- QuietBetter than 85% of cities
Where Fenton ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 6% of cities
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 7% of cities
- Cell coverageBetter than only 7% of cities
- WalkabilityBetter than only 10% of cities
- TransitBetter than only 13% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Fenton
A household needs to earn about $87,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Fenton home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $104,138, 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 Fenton'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 Fenton
Fenton runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Fenton.
Who works in Fenton, and how
Work in Fenton centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Fenton
Fenton has more restaurants and bars per resident than 70% of cities and more parkland per resident than 82% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Fenton and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Fenton, month by month
Fenton sees roughly 74 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 26° | 18° |
| April | 61° | 47° | 35° |
| July | 86° | 73° | 60° |
| October | 65° | 53° | 42° |
Flying in and out of Fenton
The nearest airport, Bishop International, is about 12 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Detroit Metro Wayne County, about 44 miles away.
The best schools in and around Fenton
Schools across Fenton average a B−, better than 49% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Hartland Round Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Hyatt ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
- Central Elementary SchoolB− · 44% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hartland Farms Intermediate SchoolB+ · 49% proficient
- Highlander Way Middle SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Lake Fenton Middle SchoolB− · 39% proficient
Top high schools
- Hartland High SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Fenton Senior High SchoolB− · 45% proficient
- Howell High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Fenton school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Fenton 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 Fenton against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Fenton suits
Families
Schools land around the 49th percentile and crime safety beats 89%.
Common questions about living in Fenton
Is Fenton a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Fenton ranks 990th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on civic engagement, heat safety, and low crime, and lowest on biking 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 Fenton expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $322,288. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $104,138 median income, cost of living beats 70% of cities.
Is Fenton safe?
Yes, Fenton is safer than 89% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $228 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Fenton?
July highs average about 86 degrees, and January highs near 34 with lows near 18. That works out to about 74 pleasant days a year, more than 34% of cities.
Is Fenton good for families?
Schools beat 49% of cities, crime safety beats 89%, and childcare runs $838 a month.
Compare Fenton with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Fenton. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Fenton 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.
Fenton detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Fenton: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Fenton: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Fenton: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Fenton: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Fenton 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.