Best PlacesWest Kinderhook, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Kinderhook, 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.
West Kinderhook ranks 25,143rd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and car insurance costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in West Kinderhook
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.
West Kinderhook's strengths and weaknesses
Where West Kinderhook ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 91% of towns
- Short commute19.2 minutes each way, better than 90% of towns
- Cheap childcare$576 a month, better than 81% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than 77% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 76% of towns
Where West Kinderhook ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 4% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 21% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 22% of towns
- School gradeC−, better than only 22% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 25% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in West Kinderhook
A household needs to earn about $40,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Kinderhook home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $66,468, 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 West Kinderhook's effective rate of 1.10%, 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 West Kinderhook
West Kinderhook's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for West Kinderhook.
Who works in West Kinderhook, and how
Work in West Kinderhook centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 93%
- Work from home 3%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in West Kinderhook
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across West Kinderhook.
What the weather is like in West Kinderhook, month by month
West Kinderhook sees roughly 82 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 West Kinderhook
The nearest airport, Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International, is about 36 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Detroit Metro Wayne County, about 86 miles away.
The best schools in and around West Kinderhook
Schools across West Kinderhook average a C−, better than 22% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Jennings Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Jefferson Elementary SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Union City Elementary SchoolD+ · 23% proficient
Top middle schools
- Union City Middle SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Legg Middle SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Quincy Middle SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
Top high schools
- Coldwater High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Quincy High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- Union City High SchoolD− · 16% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Kinderhook school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Kinderhook 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 West Kinderhook against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in West Kinderhook
Is West Kinderhook a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Kinderhook ranks 25,143rd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on cell coverage, short commutes, and affordable childcare, and lowest on car insurance costs and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is West Kinderhook expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $146,480. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $66,468 median income, cost of living beats 46% of towns.
Is West Kinderhook safe?
Yes, West Kinderhook is safer than 76% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $249 per resident a year.
Compare West Kinderhook with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Kinderhook. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Kinderhook 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.
West Kinderhook detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Kinderhook: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Kinderhook: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Kinderhook: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Kinderhook: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Kinderhook 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.