Should I Move To
Ann Arbor, Michigan comes in at about 122,216 residents. Cost of living comes out moderate — 9% above the national average. Rent typically lands near $1,472/mo, and the median household income is about $78,546. Overall, 54/100 on our composite score, which works out to a C-, putting it at #352 nationally.
UrbRank Score · General
Each dimension scored 0-100 against every other US city.
Based on overall cost of living vs. other US cities.
Inverse of violent + property crime rate per 100,000 residents.
Temperate summers & winters, moderate precipitation.
Walk Score — how feasible daily errands are on foot.
Unemployment rate plus household income vs. national median.
Air quality index (EPA AQS data).
Share of residents 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher.
Cost-of-living index of 109 (with 100 as the US baseline) — that's moderate territory. With median rent at $1,472/mo and median household income at $78,546, housing takes about 22% of gross income — right inside the standard 30%-of-income guideline. Homes typically value around $416,500.
Full cost-of-living breakdown →Expect cold-winter weather — summers near 82°F, winters around 22°F. Rain (and snow, in some seasons) totals about 34 inches annually. A walker's paradise by US standards. Many people here genuinely skip car ownership. On the safer side of the national distribution, though not by a huge margin. AQI is in the moderate range at about 51.
Verdict by lifestyle profile — same data, different priorities.
On the families profile, Ann Arbor sits squarely in the middle. The profile-weighted score is 64/100 — a C+. Its standout dimension is education (99/100); the soft spot is environmental quality (17/100).
Ann Arbor is a tougher sell for retirees. The profile-weighted score is 53/100 — a C-. Its standout dimension is education (99/100); the soft spot is environmental quality (17/100).
Ann Arbor is a tougher sell for remote workers. The profile-weighted score is 49/100 — a D. Its standout dimension is education (99/100); the soft spot is environmental quality (17/100).
On the young professionals profile, Ann Arbor sits squarely in the middle. The profile-weighted score is 63/100 — a C+. Its standout dimension is education (99/100); the soft spot is environmental quality (17/100).
Our overall score for Ann Arbor is 54/100 — a C-, sitting at #352 in the national ranking. It's a weighted average across the seven UrbRank dimensions.
By the composite index, Ann Arbor sits at 109 — moderate, 9% above the national average. Median renter pays around $1,472 a month.
Ann Arbor runs cold-winter on the weather. Summer's near 82°F, winter's near 22°F; 34 inches of precipitation annually.
Walk Score: 90/100. A walker's paradise by US standards. Many people here genuinely skip car ownership.
Roughly 122,216 people live here, with 78% college-educated (bachelor's or higher) among adults 25+ with a median age of 27.
Drop Ann Arbor into the comparison tool with any other US city and you'll get housing costs, salaries, demographics, and quality-of-life data lined up side by side. Profile-specific leaderboards (families, retirees, remote workers, young professionals) are linked from the navigation.
Every US city is scored 0-100 on seven dimensions using public data from the US Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, FBI Crime Data Explorer, EPA Air Quality System, NOAA NCEI, and Walk Score. Each dimension is a percentile rank against every other city — so a score of 80 means the city is in the top 20% nationally on that dimension.
The overall score is a weighted average. Five lifestyle profiles — general, families, retirees, remote workers, young professionals — weight the dimensions differently to reflect what each cares about. Families get more weight on safety and schools; young professionals get more weight on jobs and walkability; retirees get more weight on climate.
Compare Ann Arbor with other Michigan cities scored on UrbRank.
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