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If you’re looking for a great place to live in southeast Michigan, look no further. In this article I am going to talk about the top 5 best places to live in Southeast Michigan. Let’s get into it.
What’s going on everyone! For those of you that don’t know me, my name is Andrew McManamon, I am a licensed real estate professional in the great state of Michigan where I was born and raised. I am going to talk about the top 5 places to live in southeast Michigan.
Before I jump into this top 5 list I want to make sure we are on the same page about where southeast Michigan truly is.
Southeast Michigan is composed of 7 counties: Lenawee, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, Washtenaw, and Wayne. Some sources would even throw Jackson in there as well. Just to put a little perspective on these counties, according to homesnacks census, 3 of these 7 counties were featured on their top 10 best counties to live in Michigan for 2021. Which is pretty impressive since there are 83 counties in the state.
#5 – THE GROSS POINTE(S)
Starting this list off with number five, The Grosse Pointes. I say Grosse Pointes plural, as I will categorize Grosse Pointe Farms, Grosse Pointe Woods, and Grosse Pointe Park altogether, as they are ranked similarly in terms of livability and overall niche grade. Grosse Pointe Farms is ranked #5 of 619 places to retire, #7 of 619 places with the best public schools and #13 of 337 best suburbs to buy a home in Michigan. The population is between 9 and 10 thousand people, and 93% of the population owns their home. The median home value is upwards of $355,000 and the median rent is just over $1,400 with the median household income being over $140,000.
Grosse Pointe woods is ranked #7 of 815 best places to buy a home, #16 of 619 places with the best public schools and #20 of 337 best suburbs to buy a home in Michigan. The population is over 15,000 people, and 90% of the population owns their home. The median home value is upwards of $244,000 and the median rent is just $1,400 with the median household income being over $104,000.
Grosse Pointe Park is ranked #6 of 815 best places to live in Michigan, #10 of 619 places with the best public schools and #6 of 337 best suburbs to buy a home in Michigan. The population is over 11,000 people, and 73% of the population owns their home. The median home value is upwards of $358,000 and the median rent is just $1,100 with the median household income being over $115,000.
Overall, these three places share a crime rating of a B- (according to Niche.com) and offer some of the best public schools in the state, while having enough amenities to keep you busy: waterfront parks, movie theatres, pools, local shops and businesses, all while having an incredible nightlife.
#4 – NORTHVILLE & NOVI
Number four, grouping the city and Northville and Novi together for the sake of closeness. I know the people who have lived or passed through these two locations wouldn’t even put them in the same conversation, but with their close proximity and overall livability rank, it made sense.
Just to put into perspective how different these two places are, Novi has a population of over 60,000 people whereas Northville has a population of over 6,000 people. They both offer a dense suburban feel, but at the end of the day, most people would agree that Novi is a thriving and ever-expanding community that has all the attractions anyone could ever hope for in a city atmosphere. Novi ranks #7 of 815 best places to live in Michigan, and #7 of 337 best suburbs to live in. The median home value is over $322,000 with the median rent being over $1,350.
Whereas, my initial thought of Northville which just so happens to be where my office is, presents itself as this old historic little town with a lot of mom and pop shops. One amazing quality this town has is how much they support local.
During the pandemic, and even to this day, Northville shutdown main street to expand restaurant seating onto the street to keep local restaurants thriving, which isn’t by any means surprising, as Northville tends to do things like that regardless of a pandemic. Northville is ranked #1 of 619 places with the best public schools, and #2 of 815 best places to raise a family in Michigan. The median home value is over $331,000 with the median rent being over $1,200. 82% of the population own their home and bring in a median household income of over $114,000.
#3 – TROY
Moving on to number three, Troy. With Troy being 25 minutes from Detroit, a lot of outsiders would group them together even though they couldn’t be any more different from one another. Troy has a population of over 80,000 people, while being ranked #2 of 815 best places to live in Michigan. The median home value is over $301,000 while the median rent price is just over $1,200 and a household income of over $101,000. The public schools are highly rated and there most definitely isn’t a shortage of amenities in the area. Most residents describe Troy as a diversified community in a friendly environment where you’re guaranteed to find someone just like you.
#2 – BLOOMFIELD TWP
Number two, Bloomfield twp. The sparse suburb feel, with endless amenities such as: golf courses, historic sites, museums, art galleries, and much more, gives Bloomfield twp. a high ranking while being in close proximity of Birmingham, Troy, and west Bloomfield. Bloomfield twp. has a population of over 42,000 people, and is ranked #3 out of 815 best places to live in Michigan, as well as being #3 for the best places to raise a family. Most residents have commented to say they feel very safe in the community, as well as a desirable commute to everything. The median value for a home is over $428,000, and the median rent is well over $1,300.
#1 – ANN ARBOR
And last but not least, Number one, Ann Arbor. A lot of sources have ranked the college town of Ann Arbor as number one and for a lot of reasons such as: being the home of the University of Michigan, a booming economy, a wonderful atmosphere full of events on any given day, along with a small town feel that truly never gets old. Ranked #2 as having the best public schools in America according to niche.com, and ranked #6 for being one of the best cities to live in America. The population in this urban suburban mixed city is over 120,000 people, the median home value is over $323,000, while the rent price is over $1,200.
Of course, the biggest downside to most of the locations on this list is the housing affordability. Which is a given to a certain extent, as most areas that are desirable, safe, well-maintained, and have a booming economy with endless amenities, tend to be a little more expensive to live in. This list took livability, rankings and residents’ opinions into consideration to dial in what areas were more sought after.
If you’re curious about the places with the lowest cost of living in Michigan, I have included a link HERE for a video I created a while back about the top 5 lowest cost of living areas in Michigan. Please keep in mind that a lot of these figures mentioned are based on a pre-pandemic market, and have most definitely seen a substantial amount of inflation due to the unbalanced housing market.
Question of the day, do you think these are the top 5 best places to live in southeast Michigan? Why or why not? Throw your comments below.
Cheers,
Andrew
Andrew McManamon is a Michigan REALTOR® with Signature Sotheby’s International Realty and provides real estate services to Buyers, Sellers and Investors throughout SE Michigan including Livingston County, Oakland County, Washtenaw County, Genesee County & beyond. Andrew has become one of the rising stars of Michigan real estate agents. Prior to his real estate career Andrew was responsible for managing a senior living facility in Brighton, Michigan as a dining supervisor and an activities assistant. Andrew’s passion to help people is unlike any other, and he continues to strive to be best resource he can be. Andrew graduated from Cleary University in Howell, Michigan with a double major and currently resides in White Lake, Michigan.