Michigan: This Is the Best City to Raise a Family in the State
There’s plenty to be said for a city that has lots of fun stuff to do for adults. But, what about if you have kids? That criteria for a great…
Image of a family
There's plenty to be said for a city that has lots of fun stuff to do for adults. But, what about if you have kids? That criteria for a great city changes once little ones come around, but personally, I think many cities in Michigan offer a great place for kids to grow up.
The folks at Niche.com has set out to determine the best city to raise a family in Michigan. "The Best Places to Raise a Family ranking provides a comprehensive assessment of key factors that are meaningful for families," they state in the study. "This grade takes into account key factors, such as the quality of local schools, safety, affordability, and access to family amenities, in an attempt to measure the appeal of an area for families." They added regarding methodology, "The same methodology is used to produce the Good for Families Grade for each ranked place. Statistics are primarily obtained from the U.S. Census and represent the most recent data available."
Niche.com took into great consideration the school districts in these areas, since schools are a major factor when people have kids. "Niche has the most comprehensive data on U.S. schools and neighborhoods," they state on their website. "We rigorously analyze dozens of public data sets and over 100 million reviews and survey responses to help you understand what a place is really like."
So, what's the best city in Michigan to raise a family? They have Okemos at No. 1, which is actually where some of my family members live. "Living in Okemos offers residents a dense suburban feel and most residents own their homes. In Okemos there are a lot of restaurants, coffee shops, and parks," they state, adding that the public schools in Okemos are "highly rated." Find the full list of the best cities in Michigan to raise a family here and read on below for the 50 best public high schools in Michigan.
High school is obviously an important time for learning. Often times, what you learn in K-12 dictates the kind of education you'll get for the rest of your life. As the daughter of a public high school teacher and counselor, I know the importance of high school first hand.
U.S. News & World Report has released its annual list of the 100 best high schools in the nation, and three Michigan high schools are in there. The publication also released a list of the 50 best Michigan high schools for 2022. The rankings were released on Tuesday (April 26), so they're very current. Note that for the rankings, "Schools were required to have assessment data available to be reviewed for a ranking. Some imputations were made, though, for missing data for student body, subgroup level assessment data and graduation rates."
Rankings are based on a variety of factors, such as college readiness (30%), college curriculum breadth (10%), state assessment proficiency (20%), state assessment performance (20%), underserved student performance (10%) and graduation rate (10%). The data is from the 2019-20 school year, and it looks at all public high schools in the state. "With most states closing schools for in-person instruction beginning in March 2020 – typically just before most states conduct assessments – the U.S. Department of Education granted waivers allowing all states to forego state testing for the 2019-2020 school year," the publication states.
So, which schools are the best of the best in Michigan? Read on for the full list of the 50 best high schools in Michigan, with the top three even falling into the category of the top 100 best high schools in the U.S.
The 50 Best Michigan High Schools - Ranked
U.S. News & World Report has released its annual list of the best high schools in Michigan-.
Here's the list, as well as links to find out why each school was chosen!
