Best PlacesMidland County, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Midland 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.
Midland County ranks 483rd of 3,144 U.S. counties 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 Midland 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.
Midland County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Midland County ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 98% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 96% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 96% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 91% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 91% of counties
Where Midland County ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 5% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 10% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 20% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 20% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Midland County
A household needs to earn about $58,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Midland County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $84,927, 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 Midland County's effective rate of 1.41%, 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 Midland County
Midland 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 Midland County.
Who works in Midland County, and how
Work in Midland 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 84%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Midland County
Midland County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and more parkland per resident than 83% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Midland County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Midland County growing, and who is moving in?
Midland County has grown about 1% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Bay City, MI.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Midland County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Midland County, month by month
Midland County sees roughly 84 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 | 57° | 45° | 35° |
| July | 84° | 72° | 60° |
| October | 63° | 52° | 43° |
Flying in and out of Midland County
The nearest airport, MBS International, is about 13 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Detroit Metro Wayne County, about 110 miles away.
The best schools in and around Midland County
Schools across Midland County average a B−, better than 70% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Adams Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Siebert Elementary SchoolA− · 59% proficient
- Woodcrest Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
Top middle schools
- Jefferson Middle SchoolA− · 56% proficient
- Northeast Middle SchoolB · 43% proficient
- Bullock Creek Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Hh Dow High SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Freeland Middle Schoolhigh SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Midland High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Midland County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Midland 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 Midland County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Midland County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 90% of counties and 12% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Midland County
Is Midland County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Midland County ranks 483rd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low crime, health care access, and civic engagement, 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 Midland County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $205,906. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $84,927 median income, cost of living beats 90% of counties.
Is Midland County safe?
Yes, Midland County is safer than 98% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $219 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Midland County?
July highs average about 84 degrees, and January highs near 32 with lows near 19. That works out to about 84 pleasant days a year, more than 45% of counties.
Is Midland County good for families?
Schools beat 70% of counties, crime safety beats 98%, and childcare runs $686 a month.
Compare Midland County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Midland County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Midland 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.
Midland County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Midland County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Midland County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Midland County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Midland County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Midland 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.