Five Michigan Cities Rank Among America’s Best for Quality of Life

Five surprising small Michigan cities rank among the top 10% in the nation for quality of life, and four others aren't far behind, according to a new study.

The personal finance website WalletHub recently released its report on the "Best Small Cities in America" for 2025. Researchers considered a variety of metrics to determine which towns excel or lag behind in things like affordability, economic health, education, safety, and quality of life.

Nationwide, more than 1,300 small cities with populations ranging between 25,000 and 100,000 residents were evaluated, including more than three dozen in Michigan.

READ MORE: These Are the 25 Most Dangerous Small Cities in Michigan

Several Michigan towns performed well in the quality of life metric, even if they didn't do so well in the others. This aspect of the WalletHub study considered work hours, commute times, walkability, parks, and the numbers of restaurants, bars and clubs, movie theaters, museums and other attractions per capita in each city, among other things.

According to WalletHub's research, these are the nine small Michigan cities where the quality of life is something to be proud of.

9. Jackson, Michigan

While Jackson's economic health and safety rankings were among some of the lowest in the nation, the city shines when it comes to quality of life.

Jackson's quality of life ranks 9th among Michigan's small cities, good enough for 229th in the nation.

8. Mt. Pleasant, Michigan

Home of Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant comes in 8th for quality of life among Michigan's small cities.

The city ranks 210th for quality of life among more than 1,300 small cities evaluated across the United States.

7. Bay City, Michigan

Bay City boasts the 7th best quality of life in Michigan, and ranks 170th among all of America's small cities.

Read on. Another of Michigan's Tri-Cities ranks even higher.

6. Battle Creek, Michigan

Battle Creek's safety ranking compared to the rest of the nation isn't great (#1,281 out of 1,322), but the city gets good marks when it comes to quality of life.

Battle Creek has the 6th highest quality of life of any small city in Michigan, according to WalletHub, ranking 160th in the nation.

5. Muskegon, Michigan

The remaining five small Michigan cities all rank among the nation's upper 10% when it comes to quality of life.

Muskegon comes in 5th for the state, and 121st nationwide.

4. Flint, Michigan

Yes, really—Flint makes the list.

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While Flint may not perform well in most other metrics, the quality of life for those who call the city home is actually among the 100 best in the country (#86).

That puts Flint at 4th in the state.

3. Saginaw, Michigan

The highest quality of life among Michigan's Tri-Cities can be found in Saginaw, according to WalletHub.

The city barely edges out Flint to rank as having the 3rd best quality of life among Michigan's small cities, and 85th in the nation.

2. Holland, Michigan

This study didn't even take heated streets and sidewalks into consideration, and Holland still ranks as the 2nd best place for quality of life in Michigan.

Compared to the rest of America's small cities, Holland comes in at #47.

1. Kalamazoo, Michigan

Its safety and economic health numbers aren't bragworthy, but Kalamazoo's quality of life sure is.

Kalamazoo has the best quality of life ranking among all of Michigan's small cities, and it's 39th best in the entire country.