Earlier this month, NerdWallet named the ten best cities for young families in Michigan.

The list considered: home affordability, prosperity and growth, quality of education, and family friendliness.

Byron Center ranked third. Hudsonville, Grandville and Rockford all made the top 20.

173 cities were evaluated for the list. Only cities with a population of at least 5,000 were considered.

The average population of the top ten is 9,086. The average median home value of the top ten is $152,520.

Methodology

  • Home affordability (30%). Average of median home value and median selected monthly owner costs.
  • Growth and prosperity (20%). 10% growth in family income from 1999 to 2013. 10% median family income in 2013.
  • Family friendliness (30%). 21% the percentage of families with a child under 18. 9% the percentage of families in poverty with at least one child under 5.
  • Educational quality (20%). Schools ranked from 1 to 10 based on evaluations from GreatSchools.org.

NerdWallet highlighted Byron Center's location between Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo, its annual Byron Days Festival, Kent Trails, and Houseman’s Ice Cream in downtown Byron Center.

Freeland was the top-rated city. Lambertville ranked second.

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