Best PlacesLake Orion, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Lake Orion, 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.
Lake Orion ranks 396th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and car insurance costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Lake Orion
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.
Lake Orion's strengths and weaknesses
Where Lake Orion ranks high
- QuietBetter than 95% of cities
- Heat safetyBetter than 95% of cities
- Voter turnoutBetter than 94% of cities
- Crime safetyBetter than 91% of cities
- Healthcare accessBetter than 90% of cities
Where Lake Orion ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 6% of cities
- TransitBetter than only 13% of cities
- WalkabilityBetter than only 18% of cities
- Local economyBetter than only 28% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than only 31% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Lake Orion
A household needs to earn about $107,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Lake Orion home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $122,535, 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 Lake Orion's effective rate of 1.21%, 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 Lake Orion
Lake Orion'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 Lake Orion.
Who works in Lake Orion, and how
Work in Lake Orion centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 21%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Lake Orion
Lake Orion has more restaurants and bars per resident than 74% of cities and more parkland per resident than 86% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Lake Orion and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Lake Orion, month by month
Lake Orion sees roughly 97 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 33, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33° | 26° | 18° |
| April | 60° | 47° | 35° |
| July | 85° | 74° | 62° |
| October | 64° | 53° | 43° |
Flying in and out of Lake Orion
The nearest airport, Bishop International, is about 28 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Detroit Metro Wayne County, about 38 miles away.
The best schools in and around Lake Orion
Schools across Lake Orion average a B, better than 64% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Webber SchoolA · 64% proficient
- Delta Kelly Elementary SchoolA− · 61% proficient
- Paint Creek Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Oakview Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
- Scripps Middle SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Waldon Middle SchoolB · 45% proficient
Top high schools
- Rochester Adams High SchoolA− · 62% proficient
- Van Hoosen Middle SchoolB+ · 58% proficient
- Lake Orion Community High SchoolB+ · 54% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Lake Orion school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Lake Orion 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 Lake Orion against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Lake Orion suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 81% of cities and 21% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 58% of cities, health care access beats 90%, and it is quieter than 95%.
Common questions about living in Lake Orion
Is Lake Orion a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Lake Orion ranks 396th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on quiet, heat safety, and civic engagement, and lowest on car insurance costs and transit. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Lake Orion expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $385,824. The overall cost of living runs about 0% above the national average. Set against a $122,535 median income, cost of living beats 81% of cities.
Is Lake Orion safe?
Yes, Lake Orion is safer than 91% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $218 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Lake Orion?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 33 with lows near 18. That works out to about 97 pleasant days a year, more than 58% of cities.
Is Lake Orion good for families?
Schools beat 64% of cities, crime safety beats 91%, and childcare runs $916 a month.
Compare Lake Orion with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Lake Orion. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Lake Orion 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.
Lake Orion detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Lake Orion: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Lake Orion: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Lake Orion: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Lake Orion: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Lake Orion 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.