Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Ann Arbor is a city of 122,233, and it grades B+ overall, ranked 203rd of 697 in Michigan. Its schools rank ahead of 91% of Michigan towns and residents are healthier than 90% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The trade-off: homes are expensive, about $517K for a typical one and 5.8 times the Ann Arbor metro’s $89K median household income. 78% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Ann Arbor, above both the Michigan town median (26%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%). Few places in the country are easier to get around without a car. Its National Register listings include Ann Arbor Central Fire Station and Judge Robert S. Wilson House.
Where Ann Arbor beats most towns.
President's House, University Of Michigan
Its 35 National Register listings are more than in 98% of Michigan towns with a listing.
Census counts: 5,097 in 1860, 123,851 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1835 and 4 maps from 1902 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Ann Arbor is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 99% of comparable towns) to D− for cost of living (better than 5%), so the B+ overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Ann Arbor. Close and well known come first.
Big drawin town Stadium & arenaMichigan Stadium
Big draw35 mi Stadium & arenaFord Field
35 mi Stadium & arenaComerica Park
4 mi Park & preserveDomino's Farms
26 mi MuseumThe Henry Ford1.8M visitors a year
35 mi TheatreFox TheatreMichigan Stadium: Lectrician2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ford Field: Unknown, CC BY 2.5 · Comerica Park: City of Detroit, Public domain · Domino's Farms: Dwight Burdette, CC BY 3.0 · The Henry Ford: Alvintrusty, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fox Theatre: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ann Arbor, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Ann Arbor.
Ann Arbor is shaped by its college students, draws workers from Ypsilanti Township and beyond and is one of Michigan’s best towns for the outdoors.
The median property tax bill is $7,636, against $2,904 across Michigan, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Values rose 3% in the 12 months to September 2026. Ann Arbor’s midpoint rent is $1,649 a month. On top of that, 60% of renter households spend 30% or more of their income on rent in the town.
| Ann Arbor | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 46% | 84% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,649 a month | $1,045 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 60% | 45% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
That grade comes with a D− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $517K.
The public schools here belong to the Ann Arbor Public Schools. Three of its 44 schools are shown below, with the reason for each. 6 public schools serve Ann Arbor, with 3,081 students in all.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slauson Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 729 | A+ |
| Huron High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,696 | A+ |
| Ann Arbor STEAM at Northside SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 614 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
Its A+ for the outdoors ranks #11 of 701 in Michigan.
The biggest place to walk is Bird Hills Nature Area, 144 acres with 4.6 miles of trail. Walkers can cover 93 miles of trail in 144 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Nichols Arboretum | 8.7 mi | 139 |
| 2. Nelson Meade County Farm Park | 5 mi | 117 |
| 3. Bird Hills Nature Area | 4.6 mi | 144 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
93,882 jobs are based in Ann Arbor, 2.6 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. 28.7% of workers work from home, against 13.5% across Michigan.
Between 2011 and 2021, jobs in Ann Arbor dropped by 14,100, to 93,882. In Ann Arbor, nearly a quarter of residents live below the poverty line. The top destinations are Pittsfield Township (4%), Ann Arbor Township (3%) and Detroit (3%). The mean commuting time for Ann Arbor comes to 20 minutes.
| Ann Arbor | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 48% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 24% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Its widest gap with Michigan is stroke: 1.9% of its 107,002 adults have had a stroke, against 3.7% statewide.
For adults in Ann Arbor, the share who report frequent mental distress is 18%. Among 701 Michigan towns, just 2 have a lower share of adults who have high blood pressure than Ann Arbor. In Ann Arbor, 6.4% of adults have diabetes, and 28% sleep under 7 hours. CDC measures, 32 in all: Ann Arbor beats Michigan on 18 and trails on 5.
| Ann Arbor | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 36% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 6.4% | 12% | 12% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 34% | 36% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Ann Arbor | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had a stroke | 1.9% | 3.7% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 3.7% | 7% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 10.1% | 8.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
For Ann Arbor, the risk rating from FEMA is 15 of 100. 34 flood insurance claims have been paid locally since 1980. Of the losses FEMA expects in the town, 45% come from inland flooding and 25% from tornadoes. Federal aid has come to Ann Arbor households in 5 declared disasters; the latest was in 2026.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The violent offense rate in Ann Arbor is 2.9 per 1,000 residents. The level of property crime locally is 16.9 per 1,000 residents.
| Ann Arbor | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 16.9 per 1,000 residents | 7.8 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.9 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expect July afternoons of 83° and January nights of 16°, with about 61 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
4 within 15 miles of the center of Ann Arbor
College town 35 of every 100 Ann Arbor residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
13.4% of the town is conserved land, across 144 parks and preserves.
35 places in Ann Arbor on the National Register of Historic Places.
51 notable people were born in Ann Arbor.
City in Michigan, United States
Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States. The county seat, it had a population of 123,851 in 2020, making it the fifth most populous city in Michigan. The city is home to the University of Michigan, the oldest university in the state. Its economy is primarily focused on high technology, with numerous startup companies drawn to the area due to the university's robust research and development activities. Founded in 1824 with American settlers from the East Coast, it was incorporated as a city in 1851. Located on the Huron River, Ann Arbor is the principal city of its metropolitan area, and it is also included in the Detroit–Warren–Ann Arbor combined statistical area an…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Ann Arbor.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ann Arbor | #203 | B+ | D− | C | A | A |
| Ann Arbor Township | #36 | A | D | — | A | A+ |
| Scio Township | #56 | A | D | — | A | A+ |
| Pittsfield Township | #218 | B+ | D | C | A | A |
| Barton Hills | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Ann Arbor Township and Scio Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Barton Hills isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Ann Arbor with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Ann Arbor grades B+ overall, better than 74% of U.S. towns and #203 of 697 in Michigan. It grades A for health, C for safety and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
51 notable people were born here, including Samuel C. C. Ting and Eric Betzig.
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}