Best PlacesPort Sheldon, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Port Sheldon, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Port Sheldon ranks 4,853rd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Port Sheldon
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.
Port Sheldon's strengths and weaknesses
Where Port Sheldon ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 99% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 98% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than 97% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than 90% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 89% of towns
Where Port Sheldon ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 2% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 5% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 15% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 22% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Port Sheldon
A household needs to earn about $119,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Port Sheldon home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $105,413, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Port Sheldon's effective rate of 0.92%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in Port Sheldon
Port Sheldon runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Port Sheldon.
Who works in Port Sheldon, and how
Work in Port Sheldon centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Port Sheldon
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Port Sheldon.
What the weather is like in Port Sheldon, month by month
Port Sheldon sees roughly 72 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 28° | 21° |
| April | 59° | 47° | 37° |
| July | 84° | 73° | 61° |
| October | 64° | 54° | 44° |
Flying in and out of Port Sheldon
The nearest airport, Muskegon County, is about 19 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 86 miles away.
The best schools in and around Port Sheldon
Schools across Port Sheldon average a B, better than 70% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Rosy Mound SchoolA+ · 83% proficient
- Lakeshore Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Mary A White SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lakeshore Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
- White Pines Intermediate SchoolA− · 54% proficient
- Harbor Lights Middle SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top high schools
- West Ottawa High School CampusB− · 43% proficient
- Grand Haven High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Port Sheldon school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Port Sheldon 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 Port Sheldon against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Port Sheldon
Is Port Sheldon a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Port Sheldon ranks 4,853rd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on civic engagement, low crime, and health care access, and lowest on a weak job market and car insurance costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Port Sheldon expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $447,564. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $105,413 median income, cost of living beats 88% of towns.
Is Port Sheldon safe?
Yes, Port Sheldon is safer than 98% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $147 per resident a year.
Compare Port Sheldon with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Port Sheldon. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Port Sheldon 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.
Port Sheldon detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Port Sheldon: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Port Sheldon: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Port Sheldon: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Port Sheldon: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Port Sheldon 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.