U.S. News & World Report: Ann Arbor tops list of best cities in Michigan

Ann Arbor's Violin Monster at the 2021 Ann Arbor Art Fair. (Meredith Bruckner, Sarah Parlette, WDIV)

ANN ARBOR – Tree Town is already known as a great city for retirees and a top city in the United States but now it can also boast of being the best place to live in Michigan.

U.S. News & World Report recently named Ann Arbor as the top Mitten city on its Best Places to Live in Michigan in 2022-2023 list.

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Cities were ranked based on factors including average salary, unemployment rate, annual housing costs and median household income, air quality, healthcare quality, desirability, commute times and quality education.

Data for each factor came from the U.S. Census, surveys, the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports and the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Take a look at Ann Arbor’s full profile here.

Here are the top 6 cities and how they compare:

CityOverall ScoreQuality of Life Value DesirabilityNet MigrationJob Market
1. Ann Arbor6.686.54.94.66.7
2. Grand Rapids6.67.18.24.95.35.6
3. Kalamazoo6.46.5855.15.7
4. Lansing6.26.57.54.25.16
5. Detroit66.27.54.64.85.1
6. Flint5.75.87.44.54.84.6

About the Author:

Sarah has worked for WDIV since June 2018. She covers community events, good eats and small businesses in Ann Arbor and has a Master's degree in Applied Linguistics from Grand Valley State University.