Best PlacesMarlette, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Marlette, 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.
Marlette ranks 27,598th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and car insurance costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Marlette
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.
Marlette's strengths and weaknesses
Where Marlette ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 95% of towns
- Cheap childcare$573 a month, better than 81% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 81% of towns
- BikingBetter than 81% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 80% of towns
Where Marlette ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 2% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 17% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 22% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 22% of towns
- Household income$57,150 median, better than only 22% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Marlette
A household needs to earn about $44,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Marlette home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $57,150, 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 Marlette's effective rate of 0.83%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Marlette
Marlette'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 Marlette.
Who works in Marlette, and how
Work in Marlette centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Marlette
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Marlette.
What the weather is like in Marlette, month by month
Marlette sees roughly 77 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 | 58° | 46° | 36° |
| July | 84° | 72° | 61° |
| October | 63° | 52° | 43° |
Flying in and out of Marlette
The nearest airport, Bishop International, is about 43 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Detroit Metro Wayne County, about 79 miles away.
The best schools in and around Marlette
Schools across Marlette average a C+, better than 45% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Marlette ElementaryC+ · 38% proficient
- Sandusky Elementary SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Kingston Elementary SchoolC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- Sandusky Juniorsenior High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Kingston High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Marlette Jrsr High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Marlette school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Marlette 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 Marlette against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Marlette
Is Marlette a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Marlette ranks 27,598th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on walkability, affordable childcare, and a stable housing market, 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 Marlette expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $168,757. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $57,150 median income, cost of living beats 31% of towns.
Is Marlette safe?
Yes, Marlette is safer than 73% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $267 per resident a year.
Compare Marlette with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Marlette. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Marlette 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.
Marlette detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Marlette: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Marlette: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Marlette: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Marlette: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Marlette 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.