Best PlacesOld Saginaw City, Saginaw, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Old Saginaw City, Saginaw, 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.
Old Saginaw City, Saginaw ranks 5,778th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Old Saginaw City, Saginaw
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.
Old Saginaw City, Saginaw's strengths and weaknesses
Where Old Saginaw City, Saginaw ranks high
- Cheap childcare$733 a month, better than 93% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than 86% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 84% of neighborhoods
- Short commute19.4 minutes each way, better than 83% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 72% of neighborhoods
Where Old Saginaw City, Saginaw ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Household income$40,056 median, better than only 5% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Old Saginaw City, Saginaw
A household needs to earn about $18,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Old Saginaw City, Saginaw home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $40,056, 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 Old Saginaw City, Saginaw's effective rate of 1.96%, 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 2 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Old Saginaw City, Saginaw
Old Saginaw City, Saginaw runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Old Saginaw City, Saginaw.
Who works in Old Saginaw City, Saginaw, and how
Work in Old Saginaw City, Saginaw centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in Old Saginaw City, Saginaw
Old Saginaw City, Saginaw has more restaurants and bars per resident than 81% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 87% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Old Saginaw City, Saginaw and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Old Saginaw City, Saginaw, month by month
Old Saginaw City, Saginaw sees roughly 93 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 32, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32° | 26° | 20° |
| April | 57° | 46° | 37° |
| July | 83° | 72° | 62° |
| October | 62° | 52° | 44° |
Flying in and out of Old Saginaw City, Saginaw
The nearest airport, MBS International, is about 10 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Detroit Metro Wayne County, about 89 miles away.
The best schools in and around Old Saginaw City, Saginaw
Schools across Old Saginaw City, Saginaw average a D+, better than 24% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Handley SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
- Merrill Park Elementary SchoolD− · 12% proficient
- Jessie Rouse SchoolD− · 12% proficient
Top middle schools
- White Pine Middle SchoolC · 31% proficient
- Carrollton Middle SchoolF · 12% proficient
- Thompson Middle SchoolF · 7% proficient
Top high schools
- Saginaw Arts And Sciences AcademyA− · 62% proficient
- Arthur Hill High SchoolD− · 16% proficient
- Saginaw High SchoolF · 9% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Old Saginaw City, Saginaw school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Old Saginaw City, Saginaw 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 Old Saginaw City, Saginaw against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Old Saginaw City, Saginaw
Is Old Saginaw City, Saginaw a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Old Saginaw City, Saginaw ranks 5,778th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on affordable childcare, heat safety, and cell coverage, and lowest on a weak job market and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Old Saginaw City, Saginaw expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $58,573. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $40,056 median income, cost of living beats 12% of neighborhoods.
Is Old Saginaw City, Saginaw safe?
Old Saginaw City, Saginaw is safer than 9% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $996 per resident a year.
Compare Old Saginaw City, Saginaw with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Old Saginaw City, Saginaw. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Old Saginaw City, Saginaw 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.
Old Saginaw City, Saginaw detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Old Saginaw City, Saginaw: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Old Saginaw City, Saginaw: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Old Saginaw City, Saginaw: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Old Saginaw City, Saginaw: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Old Saginaw City, Saginaw 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.