Best PlacesGladwin County, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Gladwin 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.
Gladwin County ranks 2,454th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Gladwin 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.
Gladwin County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Gladwin County ranks high
- QuietBetter than 96% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 95% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 89% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 80% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 78% of counties
Where Gladwin County ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 2% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 3% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Short commute29.8 minutes each way, better than only 17% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than only 17% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Gladwin County
A household needs to earn about $44,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Gladwin County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $56,708, 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 Gladwin County's effective rate of 1.03%, 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 Gladwin County
Gladwin 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 Gladwin County.
Who works in Gladwin County, and how
Work in Gladwin County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Gladwin County
Gladwin County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Gladwin County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Gladwin County growing, and who is moving in?
Gladwin County has grown about 2% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Midland, MI.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Gladwin County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Gladwin County, month by month
Gladwin County sees roughly 81 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 Gladwin County
The nearest airport, MBS International, is about 35 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Detroit Metro Wayne County, about 133 miles away.
The best schools in and around Gladwin County
Schools across Gladwin County average a C−, better than 22% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Meridian Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Surline Elementary SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
- Pinconning Central Elementary SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- Gladwin Junior High SchoolB− · 39% proficient
- Pinconning Middle SchoolC− · 29% proficient
- Surline Middle SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Top high schools
- Standishsterling Central Jrsr High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Ogemaw Heights High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- Pinconning High SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Gladwin County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Gladwin 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 Gladwin County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Gladwin County suits
Families
Schools land around the 22nd percentile and crime safety beats 76%.
Common questions about living in Gladwin County
Is Gladwin County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Gladwin County ranks 2,454th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on quiet, low disaster risk, 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 Gladwin County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $162,167. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $56,708 median income, cost of living beats 20% of counties.
Is Gladwin County safe?
Yes, Gladwin County is safer than 76% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $301 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Gladwin County?
July highs average about 84 degrees, and January highs near 32 with lows near 19. That works out to about 81 pleasant days a year, more than 40% of counties.
Is Gladwin County good for families?
Schools beat 22% of counties, crime safety beats 76%, and childcare runs $652 a month.
Compare Gladwin County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Gladwin County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Gladwin 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.
Gladwin County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Gladwin County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Gladwin County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Gladwin County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Gladwin County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Gladwin 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.