Best PlacesSouth Butler, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South Butler, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
South Butler ranks 25,002nd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in South Butler
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.
South Butler's strengths and weaknesses
Where South Butler ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 99% of towns
- QuietBetter than 89% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 88% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 86% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 84% of towns
Where South Butler ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 3% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 5% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 6% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 16% of towns
- School gradeC−, better than only 17% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in South Butler
A household needs to earn about $48,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South Butler home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $72,129, 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 South Butler's effective rate of 0.84%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in South Butler
South Butler runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for South Butler.
Who works in South Butler, and how
Work in South Butler centers on agriculture & forestry and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in South Butler
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across South Butler.
What the weather is like in South Butler, month by month
South Butler sees roughly 80 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 33, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33° | 27° | 21° |
| April | 59° | 48° | 38° |
| July | 83° | 72° | 63° |
| October | 64° | 53° | 44° |
Flying in and out of South Butler
The nearest airport, Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International, is about 38 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Detroit Metro Wayne County, about 79 miles away.
The best schools in and around South Butler
Schools across South Butler average a C−, better than 17% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Jennings Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Litchfield Elementary SchoolF · 7% proficient
Top middle schools
- Quincy Middle SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
- Homer Middle SchoolD− · 17% proficient
Top high schools
- Quincy High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South Butler school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South Butler 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 South Butler against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in South Butler
Is South Butler a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Butler ranks 25,002nd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a strong job market, quiet, and civic engagement, and lowest on education levels 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 South Butler expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $181,639. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $72,129 median income, cost of living beats 50% of towns.
Is South Butler safe?
Yes, South Butler is safer than 68% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $269 per resident a year.
Compare South Butler with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Butler. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South Butler 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.
South Butler detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South Butler: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South Butler: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South Butler: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South Butler: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South Butler 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.