The 10 Cheapest Places To Live In Michigan For 2021

The 10 Cheapest Places To Live In Michigan For 2021

Located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Ishpeming is the Great Lakes State’s most affordable city for 2021. This little city in Marquette County crushed our HomeSnack’s snackabiliy scale by earning a 9/10 for affordability. This first place could not have been accomplished without great jobs and a strong economy.

Word on the street is Ishpeming is popular with kayakers, hikers, and skiers. ‘Old Ish’ is home to the National Ski Hall of Fame. We think those activities are a great way to wind down after a long day of working to pay for Ishpeming’s low cost of living.

Just around the bend from Ishpeming, on the Upper Peninsula/Wisconsin border, is our second most affordable city in Michigan: Iron Mountain. The median income, here, is close to $46,000 with average home prices up around $49,364. So it’s no surprise that Ishpeming scored off our charts in terms of snackability. They are the 13th most affordable city when we looked at home price to income ratio.

While Iron Mountain is known for it’s pasties, Bocce Ball Tournaments, World Cup Ski Jumps, and Italian Cuisine, major employers in manufacturing, retail, and education have been keeping the economy in this Dickinson County city moving in the right direction.

Alpena ranks as the third cheapest city in Michigan, thanks in no small part to the uber-affordability of rent. The median rent in Alpena is a measly $620. Unfortunately, the median income in Alpena is a bit lower than the statewide average, so the city only ranks #66.0 in terms of income to rent ratio. If you’re outdoorsy, though, you’ll hardly need cash to have a good time in Alpena. Your options include a wildlife sanctuary, a marine sanctuary, and a state park, so your entertainment budget could be close to zilch in Alpena.

Alpena is located in the Lower Peninsula area of northeastern Michigan.

Flushing is a suburb of Flint, and it’s hard to find a more affordable spot in Michigan. Note that you won’t have to sacrifice your security for savings either, because Flushing’s overall crime rate is 60% below the national average.

The cost of living in Flushing is about 10% lower than the national average, but in terms of housing, it’s much cheaper. Homes in Flushing go for a median price of $120,300, a 5% increase from last year. Even better, the median household income in Flushing is up 10% to $62,197, making the city that much more affordable.

Another great thing about Flushing is that you can fill your schedule without spending a dime. There are loads of parks, but chief among them is Riverview Park, which hosts events like concerts, movies, and art in the park, as well as a slew of other festivals.

If you want to give Flushing a try, the median rent is an inexpensive $739.

Where the thumb meets the hand on ‘The Mitten,’ is our fifth most affordable city in Michigan for 2021, Bay City.

You don’t have to live on ramen noodles or the McDonald’s dollar menu to be able to afford this little city in Bay County. Bay city is the 14th most affordable city in terms of home price to income ratio. Bay City’s jobs in healthcare, manufacturing, and education are keeping the real estate agents, here, very happy. They are also keeping the city’s median household income close to $37,893/year.

Kudos to to the affordable Bay City for keeping their residents employed and their economy strong.

Where the UP meets Wisconsin on the Green Bay is our sixth most affordable city in The Wolverine State: Menominee.

This Yooper city is home to the greatest percentage of young folks concentrated into one city on our list. And if we’ve learned anything about Millenials, they know a good deal.

So what’s drawing the ‘youngins’? Probably outdoor recreation opportunities and fishing. In terms of what’s bringing all the cheddar to make this Northern Michigan city so affordable, they can thank jobs in ship building, auto part and airplane manufacturing, and healthcare.

Next up on our list of Michigan’s least expensive places to live is Owosso, a city of 14,536 located about 35 miles northeast of Lansing.

The median home price in Owosso is a shockingly low $84,300, especially when you consider it relative to the median household income here, $45,203. If you just want to get a taste of Owosso to see how you like it, rent is also quite affordable at around $731.

It’s not just a low cost of living in Owosso, either. The city also has incredibly safe streets and plenty of fun stuff to do.

Downtown Owosso has a range of dining options that includes the #1 tea room in Michigan, tasty fried chicken joints, and everything in between. Small, locally-owned shops dot the downtown area, so you have somewhere to spend all that money you’ll save living here!

And last but not least, our eighth most affordable city in Michigan for 2021 is Wayne.

Wayne is a super cool, super affordable Detroit-burb. Wayne is so cool and affordable, that it’s cheaper to buy a home, here, than rent. That’s because Wayne’s residents want you to call their city home.

Wayne’s median household income is close to $46,875/year. We’re pretty sure this has something to do with Ford Motor company, Wayne Stamping and Assembly, and the Michigan Assembly Plant in this city’s backyard.

Where South Bedford Road meets Avenue A is our ninth most affordable city in Michigan for 2021, Springfield. This city in Calhoun County iis an ideal destination when you’re trying find that affordable big town feel. And while you’re deciding what home to buy, Springfield has great deals. They are the 22nd cheapest place to buy based on home price to income ratio.

It’s also a great city when you’re looking for those affordable staycations to keep your budget in check. Springfield currently has four major parks within their city limits, and they are only a short drive from Fort Custer State Recreation Area.

Right smack dab in the center of Warren, Michigan is our tenth most affordable city in ‘The Mitten’: Center Line. This little Michigan gem is 28th when it comes to home price to income ratio. Once a sinking swamp, Center Line’s economy is now supported by jobs in manufacturing, retail, and education.

Michigan’s ‘other’ cities could learn a lot from Center Line. This city in Macomb County is working hard to bring their city “Out of the Past and Into the Future.”

How We Determined The Most Affordable Places To Live In The Wolverine State For 2021

The two most important things to think about when it comes to being able to afford if you can live comes down to:

1. How much do money do I make?
2. How much do I have spend to live there?

You need to understand your costs in the context of how much money you make.

For example, if the median household earns $100,000 and spends $40,000 on housing it’s actually cheaper to live there than a place with a median income of $50,000 and housing costs of $21,000. You might spend more on housing, but you have more money overall to play with.

With that example in mind, we derived several statistics from the latest Census American Community Survey 2015-2019 around incomes and costs. They are:

• Median Home Price / Median Income (lower is better)
• Median Income / Median Rent (Higher is better)
• Median Home Price

We added simply median home price because high home prices generally correlate with higher expenses for all costs related to homes (heating, electricity, etc).

You can then compare these metrics in each of the places in Michigan to figure out which is the least expensive.

What you are left with is a “Cost of Living Index” by taking the average rank of each of these metrics for each city.

So we used that cost of living index in order to rank all of the 148 places in Michigan that have more than 5,000 people.

The place with the lowest cost of living in Michigan according to the data is Ishpeming. You can download the data here.