Best PlacesMilwood, Kalamazoo, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Milwood, Kalamazoo, 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.
Milwood, Kalamazoo ranks 3,529th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and car insurance costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Milwood, Kalamazoo
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.
Milwood, Kalamazoo's strengths and weaknesses
Where Milwood, Kalamazoo ranks high
- Cheap childcare$732 a month, better than 93% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than 86% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than 84% of neighborhoods
- Short commute21.0 minutes each way, better than 74% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than 69% of neighborhoods
Where Milwood, Kalamazoo ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 9% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than only 11% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 15% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 25% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than only 27% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Milwood, Kalamazoo
A household needs to earn about $54,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Milwood, Kalamazoo home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $70,163, 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 Milwood, Kalamazoo's effective rate of 1.55%, 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 Milwood, Kalamazoo
Milwood, Kalamazoo runs younger 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 Milwood, Kalamazoo.
Who works in Milwood, Kalamazoo, and how
Work in Milwood, Kalamazoo centers on retail trade 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 82%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Milwood, Kalamazoo
Milwood, Kalamazoo has more restaurants and bars per resident than 73% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 92% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Milwood, Kalamazoo and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Milwood, Kalamazoo, month by month
Milwood, Kalamazoo sees roughly 79 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 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 | 62° | 49° | 37° |
| July | 86° | 74° | 62° |
| October | 66° | 54° | 43° |
Flying in and out of Milwood, Kalamazoo
The nearest airport, Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International, is about 2 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Detroit Metro Wayne County, about 113 miles away.
The best schools in and around Milwood, Kalamazoo
Schools across Milwood, Kalamazoo average a B−, better than 65% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Stem AcademyB · 50% proficient
- Amberly Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Central Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Portage North Middle SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Milwood Magnet SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Comstock Middle SchoolF · 10% proficient
Top high schools
- Loy Norrix High SchoolA− · 63% proficient
- Portage Northern High SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Comstock High SchoolD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Milwood, Kalamazoo school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Milwood, Kalamazoo 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 Milwood, Kalamazoo against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Milwood, Kalamazoo
Is Milwood, Kalamazoo a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Milwood, Kalamazoo ranks 3,529th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on affordable childcare, heat safety, 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 Milwood, Kalamazoo expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $188,101. The overall cost of living runs about 25% below the national average. Set against a $70,163 median income, cost of living beats 65% of neighborhoods.
Is Milwood, Kalamazoo safe?
Milwood, Kalamazoo is safer than 50% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $495 per resident a year.
Compare Milwood, Kalamazoo with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Milwood, Kalamazoo. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Milwood, Kalamazoo 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.
Milwood, Kalamazoo detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Milwood, Kalamazoo: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Milwood, Kalamazoo: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Milwood, Kalamazoo: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Milwood, Kalamazoo: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Milwood, Kalamazoo 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.