One Michigan Suburb Lands in Top 100 Best Places to Live in USA

Have you ever wondered where the best places to live in the country are? Most people might expect huge cities like New York City, San Francisco or Chicago to be right at the top, but often it's the suburbs around large cities that rank the highest.

How does Michigan fair against the rest of the country, though? Snow or shine, Michigan is a great place to live. Having spent time on the east side and west side, it's tough to choose which suits me better. But I can easily say I enjoyed living in both areas. That's not even accounting for the beauty of the Upper Peninsula.

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Still, there will always be someone out there brave enough to determine what is the best of the best. Thankfully, that person doesn't have to be me. However, Niche makes these kinds of lists all the time, and determining the best places to live in America seems like no easy task. Having ranked more than 50,000 total places to live across the country, making the Top 100 of the list is a true claim to fame. Only one Michigan city can claim that distinction this year.

But, if you were thinking this honor would go to a Detroit or Grand Rapids suburb, you'd be wrong. Niche didn't have to choose between the east or west sides as the best place to live in Michigan as the top choice is smack between them in the suburbs of the state capital, Lansing.

The best place to live in Michigan, and the No. 29 overall place to live in America according to Niche, is Okemos, Michigan.

Okemos sits next to Michigan State University on the east border of East Lansing. It has a population of roughly 25,000 people who have a median household income of $83,000. Rent prices average out just right around the national average in Okemos at $1,135 while home value is a bit over the national average at $277.000.

Okemos ranks highly across the board as it stands out with excellent school options and solid diversity. The city ranks in the top 100 of four national Niche categories and in the top 10 of six categories in the state of Michigan. Okemos takes the top spot in the state not only as the best place to live but also as the best place to raise a family and the best suburb.