Best PlacesMuskegon County, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Muskegon County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Muskegon County ranks 2,057th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It ranks low mainly on car insurance costs and a weak job market. It does better on low disaster risk, which keeps it off the bottom.
The best neighborhoods in Muskegon 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 Muskegon County
The parts of Muskegon 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.
Whitehall & Montague
Crime runs lower, tree cover is thicker, and local pay stretches further.
Norton Shores & Roosevelt Park
Fewer homes sit empty, though fewer households have young kids.
Twin Lake & Holton
It is quieter, though biking is worse.
Fruitport & Ravenna
Prices have run up less, though streets are more car-dependent.
North Muskegon
More adults hold degrees and health care is easier to reach.
Muskegon Heights
Incomes run lower and health outcomes score lower.
Muskegon
Homes cost less, though schools score lower.
Scores across Muskegon County run from about the 2nd to the 86th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Muskegon County's strengths and weaknesses
Muskegon County lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Low disaster risk, heat safety, and fast internet carry most of that.
The one real hole is car insurance costs, near the bottom of the country. A weak job market and the schools also cost it ground. Cost swings more from one part of Muskegon County to another than it does between Muskegon County and its neighbors, which the map below shows.
Where Muskegon County ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 96% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 92% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 92% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 83% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 82% of counties
Where Muskegon County ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 3% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 4% of counties
- School gradeC−, better than only 19% 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 Muskegon County
A household needs to earn about $54,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Muskegon County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $68,110, 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 Muskegon County's effective rate of 1.14%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Muskegon County
Muskegon 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 Muskegon County.
Who works in Muskegon County, and how
Work in Muskegon County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Muskegon County
Muskegon County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 96% of counties and more late-night spots per resident than 69% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Muskegon County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Muskegon County growing, and who is moving in?
Muskegon County has grown about 3% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Grand Rapids, MI.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Muskegon County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Muskegon County, month by month
Muskegon County sees roughly 74 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 28° | 22° |
| April | 59° | 47° | 36° |
| July | 84° | 73° | 62° |
| October | 64° | 54° | 44° |
Flying in and out of Muskegon County
The nearest airport, Muskegon County, is about 5 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 87 miles away.
The best schools in and around Muskegon County
Schools across Muskegon County average a C−, better than 19% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Lake Hills Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Beach Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Whitehall Ealy Elem SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Top middle schools
- North Muskegon Middle SchoolA · 63% proficient
- White Pines Intermediate SchoolA− · 54% proficient
- Whitehall Middle SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top high schools
- North Muskegon High SchoolB+ · 58% proficient
- Mona Shores High SchoolB · 49% proficient
- Grand Haven High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Muskegon County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Muskegon 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 Muskegon County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Muskegon County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 8% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Muskegon County
Is Muskegon County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Muskegon County ranks 2,057th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low disaster risk, heat safety, and fast internet, 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 Muskegon County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $197,450. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $68,110 median income, cost of living beats 54% of counties.
Is Muskegon County safe?
Muskegon County is safer than 21% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $592 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Muskegon County?
July highs average about 84 degrees, and January highs near 35 with lows near 22. That works out to about 74 pleasant days a year, more than 28% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Muskegon County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Whitehall & Montague, Norton Shores & Roosevelt Park, and Twin Lake & Holton. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Muskegon County good for families?
Schools beat 19% of counties, crime safety beats 21%, and childcare runs $601 a month.
Is Muskegon County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 54% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 92% of counties. About 8% of workers already work from home.
Compare Muskegon County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Muskegon County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Muskegon 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.
Muskegon County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Muskegon County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Muskegon County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Muskegon County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Muskegon County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Muskegon 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.