Best PlacesSt. Joseph County, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in St. Joseph 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.
St. Joseph County ranks 1,344th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and car insurance costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in St. Joseph 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 St. Joseph County
The parts of St. Joseph 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.
Three Rivers
Local pay stretches further, more adults hold degrees, and tree cover is thicker.
Centreville
It is quieter, though streets are more car-dependent.
Sturgis
More households have young kids, though prices have run up more.
White Pigeon & Constantine
Homes cost less and fewer homes sit empty.
Mendon
Incomes run lower.
Scores across St. Joseph County run from about the 11th to the 71st percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
St. Joseph County's strengths and weaknesses
Where St. Joseph County ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 95% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 93% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 88% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 84% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 80% of counties
Where St. Joseph County ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 5% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 9% of counties
- School gradeD+, better than only 17% 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 St. Joseph County
A household needs to earn about $51,000 a year to comfortably buy the median St. Joseph County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $68,746, 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 St. Joseph County's effective rate of 1.07%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in St. Joseph County
St. Joseph 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 St. Joseph County.
Who works in St. Joseph County, and how
Work in St. Joseph County centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in St. Joseph County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across St. Joseph County.
Is St. Joseph County growing, and who is moving in?
St. Joseph County has held roughly flat in population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from South Bend, IN.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving St. Joseph County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in St. Joseph County, month by month
St. Joseph County sees roughly 77 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 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° | 39° |
| July | 84° | 73° | 64° |
| October | 64° | 54° | 45° |
Flying in and out of St. Joseph County
The nearest airport, Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International, is about 24 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Detroit Metro Wayne County, about 114 miles away.
The best schools in and around St. Joseph County
Schools across St. Joseph County average a D+, better than 17% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Indian Lake Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Norton Elementary SchoolB− · 44% proficient
- Andrews Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- Vicksburg Middle SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Three Rivers Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Constantine Middle SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
Top high schools
- Vicksburg High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
- Three Rivers High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Centreville Jr Sr High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every St. Joseph County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
St. Joseph 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 St. Joseph County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who St. Joseph County suits
Families
Schools land around the 17th percentile and crime safety beats 95%.
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 8% already work from home.
Common questions about living in St. Joseph County
Is St. Joseph County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, St. Joseph County ranks 1,344th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low crime, low disaster risk, 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 St. Joseph County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $189,283. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $68,746 median income, cost of living beats 49% of counties.
Is St. Joseph County safe?
Yes, St. Joseph County is safer than 95% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $248 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in St. Joseph County?
July highs average about 84 degrees, and January highs near 33 with lows near 21. That works out to about 77 pleasant days a year, more than 33% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in St. Joseph County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Three Rivers, Centreville, and Sturgis. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare St. Joseph County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to St. Joseph County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in St. Joseph 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.
St. Joseph County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for St. Joseph County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in St. Joseph County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of St. Joseph County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in St. Joseph County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
St. Joseph 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.