Best PlacesMacomb County, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Macomb County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Macomb County ranks 1,150th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $86,383, everyday costs sit below the national average, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are car insurance costs, a weak job market, and property taxes.
The best neighborhoods in Macomb 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.
The best areas in Macomb County
The parts of Macomb County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Macomb
Incomes run higher, local pay stretches further, and crime runs lower.
Utica & Washington
Schools score higher, though homes cost more.
New Baltimore
Biking is worse and transit reaches fewer jobs.
Clinton Township
Fewer households have young kids.
Sterling Heights
It is noisier.
St. Clair Shores
Streets are more walkable and prices have run up less.
Harrison Township & Mount Clemens
Scores close to St. Clair Shores, except that health care is harder to reach here.
Warren
Fewer adults hold degrees and fewer residents vote.
Roseville, Eastpointe & Troy
Macomb County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 2% of the country and others in the top 6%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Macomb County's strengths and weaknesses
Macomb County lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Few empty homes is the standout, in the top 2% of counties. Transit and biking follow.
The one real hole is car insurance costs, near the bottom of the country. A weak job market and property taxes also cost it ground. Cost swings more from one part of Macomb County to another than it does between Macomb County and its neighbors, which the map below shows.
Where Macomb County ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of counties
- TransitBetter than 94% of counties
- BikingBetter than 93% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 92% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 92% of counties
Where Macomb County ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 1% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 4% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 15% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 16% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 20% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Macomb County
A household needs to earn about $72,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Macomb County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $86,383, 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 Macomb County's effective rate of 1.30%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Macomb County
Macomb County'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 Macomb County.
Who works in Macomb County, and how
Work in Macomb County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Macomb County
Macomb County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Macomb County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Macomb County growing, and who is moving in?
Macomb County has grown about 3% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Detroit, MI metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Macomb County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Macomb County, month by month
Macomb County sees roughly 73 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 27° | 20° |
| April | 59° | 47° | 35° |
| July | 85° | 74° | 62° |
| October | 65° | 54° | 44° |
Flying in and out of Macomb County
Detroit Metro Wayne County sits about 33 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 16.3 million passengers in 2025, with 168 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Macomb County
Schools across Macomb County average a C−, better than 30% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Orville C Krause Elementary SchoolA · 64% proficient
- Messmore Elementary SchoolA− · 62% proficient
- Hampton Elementary SchoolA− · 59% proficient
Top middle schools
- Middle School Mathematics Science Technology CenterA+ · 74% proficient
- Armada Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
- Malow Junior High SchoolB · 47% proficient
Top high schools
- International Academy Of MacombA · 78% proficient
- Stoney Creek High SchoolB+ · 56% proficient
- Hart Middle SchoolB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Macomb County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Macomb 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 Macomb County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Macomb County suits
Families
Schools land around the 30th percentile and crime safety beats 60%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 79% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 14% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Macomb County
Is Macomb County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Macomb County ranks 1,150th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on few empty homes, transit, and biking, and lowest on car insurance costs and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Macomb County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $259,259. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $86,383 median income, cost of living beats 79% of counties.
Is Macomb County safe?
Yes, Macomb County is safer than 60% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $360 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Macomb County?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 35 with lows near 20. That works out to about 73 pleasant days a year, more than 27% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Macomb County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Macomb, Utica & Washington, and New Baltimore. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Macomb County good for families?
Schools beat 30% of counties, crime safety beats 60%, and childcare runs $860 a month.
Is Macomb County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 79% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 78% of counties. About 14% of workers already work from home.
Compare Macomb County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Macomb County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Macomb 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.
Macomb County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Macomb County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Macomb County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Macomb County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Macomb County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Macomb 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.