What is the cost of living in Flint?

Flint has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 93.0, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 74.0, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,033/month.

What is the median salary in Flint?

The median salary in Flint is $62,289 annually (mean: $65,895). Top occupations include Fast Food and Counter Workers, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Retail Salespersons.

The violent crime rate in the Flint area is 431 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1395 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Flint?

The state of MI has 3,399 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 17.5:1. Charter schools make up 10.9% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Flint?

Infant center-based childcare in the Flint area averages $7,444 per year. Preschool averages $7,221/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Flint a good place to relocate?

Flint has a Life Score of 54.1/100 (D), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a middle-of-the-pack score, where the composite lands for most US metros; look at individual dimensions to see the real trade-offs.

Where does Flint sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Flint ranks #168 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Flint, MI

LiveAbility 53/100 places Flint #168 of 387 (middle third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

93.0
Cost index (US=100): $1,033
2BR rent / mo: $62,289
Median salary: 53
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Flint ranks #168 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (53/100), with its strongest marks in housing and low hazard.

#168
of 387 US metros · Above median: 10,140,459
metro-area population: 431
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 3,399
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: safety (19/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Flint ranks #168 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 93.0 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,033/mo, median salary $62,289; LiveAbility Score 53/100, strongest in housing and low hazard.

Signature: LiveAbility 53/100 places Flint #168 of 387 (middle third).

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 93.0 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,033/mo.

LiveAbility 53/100 keeps Flint in the middle third (#168 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Flint area is 121,050.

Flint vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

53 Top 44% higher than 56% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Flint housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Flint MSA; housing RPP 74.0 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,033/mo.

Studio

$731

/month

1 Bedroom

$856

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,033

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,272

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,497

/month

Flint wages and employment

Flint posts 121,050 total employment with median salary $62,289.

Median Salary

$62,289

Mean Salary

$65,895

Total Employment

121,050

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$28,330
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$34,740
Retail Salespersons	$34,320
Registered Nurses	$97,780
Stockers and Order Fillers	$37,800

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Flint area from NCES.

Schools

3,399

Enrollment

1,376,868

Student:Teacher

17.5:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Flint area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$7,444

per year

Toddler (Center)

$7,636

per year

Preschool (Center)

$7,221

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Flint's composite Life Score is 54.1/100 (D), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

54/100

Average

Wages

50/100

Average

Rent

91/100

Elite

Crime

19/100

Bottom decile

Schools

76/100

Strong

Childcare

82/100

Elite

Environment

10/100

Bottom decile

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Flint ranks #168 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 53/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Housing (91/100)

Housing

91
Low hazard

84
Air quality

62
Cost of living

54
Job market

50
Climate

30
Schools

24
Safety

19

What this shows Flint's strongest dimensions are housing and low hazard; its weakest among scored dims is safety at 19/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Flint to

Mount Vernon-Anacortes Muncie Muskegon-Norton Shores Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach Napa Naples-Marco Island

Metros near Flint on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Flint on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Flint cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Flint wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Flint?

Flint runs a $62,289 median salary at a 93.0 cost index, ranking #168 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Flint's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Flint head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Flint
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.