Best PlacesJenison, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Jenison, 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.
Jenison ranks 468th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and car insurance costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Jenison
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.
Jenison's strengths and weaknesses
Where Jenison ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 99% of cities
- Voter turnoutBetter than 98% of cities
- Healthcare accessBetter than 91% of cities
- Disaster safetyBetter than 89% of cities
- Low vacancyBetter than 86% of cities
Where Jenison ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 10% of cities
- WalkabilityBetter than only 11% of cities
- TransitBetter than only 13% of cities
- Local economyBetter than only 15% of cities
- Nice weatherabout 69 pleasant days a year, better than only 24% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Jenison
A household needs to earn about $86,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Jenison home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $105,415, 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 Jenison's effective rate of 0.97%, 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 Jenison
Jenison's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Jenison.
Who works in Jenison, and how
Work in Jenison centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Jenison
Jenison has more parkland per resident than 90% of cities. That concentrates in some parts of Jenison and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Jenison, month by month
Jenison sees roughly 69 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 19. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 26° | 19° |
| April | 60° | 47° | 36° |
| July | 85° | 74° | 62° |
| October | 64° | 53° | 42° |
Flying in and out of Jenison
The nearest airport, Gerald R Ford International, is about 16 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 105 miles away.
The best schools in and around Jenison
Schools across Jenison average a B+, better than 69% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Bauerwood SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Park Elemementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Georgetown Elementary SchoolA− · 57% proficient
Top middle schools
- Jenison Junior High SchoolA− · 53% proficient
- Baldwin Street Middle SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Riley Street Middle SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- Jenison International AcademyB+ · 58% proficient
- Jenison High SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Hudsonville High SchoolB · 46% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Jenison school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Jenison 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 Jenison against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Jenison suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 73% of cities, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 12% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Jenison
Is Jenison a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Jenison ranks 468th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on low crime, civic engagement, and health care access, and lowest on car insurance costs and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Jenison expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $320,454. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $105,415 median income, cost of living beats 73% of cities.
Is Jenison safe?
Yes, Jenison is safer than 99% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $160 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Jenison?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 34 with lows near 19. That works out to about 69 pleasant days a year, more than 24% of cities.
Is Jenison good for families?
Schools beat 69% of cities, crime safety beats 99%, and childcare runs $741 a month.
Compare Jenison with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Jenison. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Jenison 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.
Jenison detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Jenison: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Jenison: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Jenison: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Jenison: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Jenison 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.