3 Michigan Cities Land Among America’s Best Up & Coming Cities

For the most part, people have a sense of pride about the state and city that they were born in and sometimes the city that they currently live in. Pride is a huge part of who we are as humans and can create allegiances and connections, other times it can cause problems. Michigan has seen this as cities like Kalamazoo, Flint, Grand Rapids, Detroit, Lansing, and others all debate who is the best.

Well, here's newsflash for all of us, they are all great at something which means that none of them are really better than the others. If you're looking for a smaller city that still has life, you may be drawn to Kalamazoo or Flint while those looking for the big city living will most likely migrate towards Grand Rapids or Detroit. It doesn't mean that any of these are worse than the others, just that they fit your preferences.

Humans have a tendency to compare almost everything, which means there are rankings out there for just about anything in the world. Cities are no different but as mentioned before, you may think one city is better than another because of how it suits you and your interests. So, how do Michigan cities rank amongst others around the country?

Up and coming is a phrase that you will hear be used until the end of time because a lot of people are always looking for the next best thing. Everyone has gotten a taste of Miami, Houston, Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago, and other big cities, they are now looking for smaller and quieter places that are more affordable and Michigan should favor well when you evaluate the criteria presented.

Real Estate Witch put together a list of the metro cities that Americans are looking to move to the most. The factors that used to compile the list include:

• Unemployment rate (20%)
• Percent of population with a bachelor’s degree or higher (20%)
• Median age (20%)
• Walkability (10%)
• Bikeability (10%)
• Median household income (5%)
• Home-value-to-income ratio (5%)
• Home price (2.5%)
• Home value change, past 12 months (2.5%)
• Home value change, past five years (2.5%)
• Home value projection, next 12 months (2.5%)

Three cities from the State of Michigan were mentioned on the list and some of the results may be surprising. Firstly, those three metro cities from Michigan that made the list are Ann Arbor, Lansing, and Michigan. They placed 7th, 20th, and 29th on the list respectively as they have very favorable statistics.

Ann Arbor

The downtown area of Ann Arbor is a great place to shop and dine, made even better by its walkability. With an extensive network of sidewalks and trails, the entire city has an above-average walkability score of 52, compared to 40 nationwide, along with a bike score of 71 with other 90 miles of bike lanes. The University of Michigan is an attraction in and of itself. The campus has museums, art galleries, and the largest stadium in the U.S. — and the third largest in the world.

Lansing

Michigan’s capital city is home to fantastic cultural performances, college sporting events, and outdoor recreational opportunities that are easy to enjoy thanks to a cost of living that is significantly lower than in other parts of the United States. The typical home price in Lansing is $231,338, which is 36% lower than the national average of $359,892. That’s led to a home-price-to-income ratio of 3.3, which is the fifth lowest among the top 50 cities. The one blemish the city has is that 4.4% of residents don't have a college degree.

Kalamazoo

Real Estate Witch didn't give a paragraph rundown of Kalamazoo and how it got its ranking on this list but here are the city's statistics for each category:

• median age: 35
• median household income: $67,191
• typical home price: $263,202
• home price to income ratio: 3.9
• home value change last 12 months: 3.49%
• home value change last 5 years: 43.75%
• home value projection next 12 months: 0%
• adults with bachelor's degrees: 42.60%
• walk score: 47
• bike score: 50
• unemployment rate: 4.70%

What this says to me is that if you're living in one of these cities than you should stay put and expect to see some new neighbors coming in soon. This also says that Michigan as a whole is one of the best states to live in as we have cities on all of the relevant up and coming lists.