Best PlacesMackinac County, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Mackinac 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.
Mackinac County ranks 2,621st of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Mackinac 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.
Mackinac County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Mackinac County ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 99% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 88% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 83% of counties
- TransitBetter than 78% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 78% of counties
Where Mackinac County ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 1% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 4% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 4% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 9% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Mackinac County
A household needs to earn about $56,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Mackinac County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $65,085, 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 Mackinac County's effective rate of 0.89%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Mackinac County
Mackinac 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 Mackinac County.
Who works in Mackinac County, and how
Work in Mackinac County centers on public administration and retail trade. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 73%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 17%
Life in Mackinac County
Mackinac County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 92% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Mackinac County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Mackinac County growing, and who is moving in?
Mackinac County has grown about 1% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Luce County, MI.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Mackinac County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Mackinac County, month by month
Mackinac County sees roughly 105 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 76 degrees. January highs sit near 29, with lows near 16. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29° | 22° | 16° |
| April | 47° | 37° | 30° |
| July | 76° | 67° | 58° |
| October | 57° | 49° | 42° |
Flying in and out of Mackinac County
The nearest airport, Chippewa County International, is about 26 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 258 miles away.
The best schools in and around Mackinac County
Schools across Mackinac County average a C−, better than 21% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- St Ignace Elementarymiddle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Three Lakes AcademyD+ · 25% proficient
- Gros Cap SchoolD · 17% proficient
Top high schools
- Cheboygan Area High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- Lasalle High SchoolD · 22% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Mackinac County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Mackinac 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 Mackinac County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Mackinac County
Is Mackinac County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Mackinac County ranks 2,621st of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low disaster risk, tree cover, and health care access, 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 Mackinac County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $213,218. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $65,085 median income, cost of living beats 34% of counties.
Is Mackinac County safe?
Mackinac County is safer than 9% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $697 per resident a year.
Compare Mackinac County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Mackinac County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Mackinac 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.
Mackinac County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Mackinac County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Mackinac County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Mackinac County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Mackinac County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Mackinac 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.