What is the cost of living in Kalamazoo-Portage?

Kalamazoo-Portage has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 94.8, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 81.6, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,162/month.

What is the median salary in Kalamazoo-Portage?

The median salary in Kalamazoo-Portage is $64,013 annually (mean: $67,843). Top occupations include Registered Nurses, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons.

How safe is Kalamazoo-Portage?

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

What are the schools like in Kalamazoo-Portage?

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 Kalamazoo-Portage?

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

Is Kalamazoo-Portage a good place to relocate?

Kalamazoo-Portage has a Life Score of 52.1/100 (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 Kalamazoo-Portage sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Kalamazoo-Portage ranks #259 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

Kalamazoo-Portage, MI

LiveAbility 47.1/100 places Kalamazoo-Portage #259 of 387 (middle third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

94.8
Cost index (US=100): $1,162
2BR rent / mo: $64,013
Median salary: 47.1
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Kalamazoo-Portage ranks #259 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (47.1/100), with its strongest marks in low hazard and housing.

#259
of 387 US metros · Near median: 10,140,459
metro-area population: 431
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 3,399
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: climate (18/100). 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), Kalamazoo-Portage ranks #259 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 94.8 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,162/mo, median salary $64,013; LiveAbility Score 47.1/100, strongest in low hazard and housing.

Signature: LiveAbility 47.1/100 places Kalamazoo-Portage #259 of 387 (middle third).

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 94.8 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,162/mo.

LiveAbility 47.1/100 puts Kalamazoo-Portage in the bottom third (#259 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Kalamazoo-Portage area is 114,320.

Kalamazoo-Portage 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)

47 Top 67% higher than 33% 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

Kalamazoo-Portage housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Kalamazoo-Portage MSA; housing RPP 81.6 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,162/mo.

Studio

$838

/month

1 Bedroom

$998

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,162

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,531

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,571

/month

Kalamazoo-Portage wages and employment

Kalamazoo-Portage posts 114,320 total employment with median salary $64,013.

Median Salary

$64,013

Mean Salary

$67,843

Total Employment

114,320

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Registered Nurses	$88,200
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$28,790
Retail Salespersons	$33,660
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators	$38,880
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand	$44,350

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Kalamazoo-Portage 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 Kalamazoo-Portage area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$7,444

per year

Toddler (Center)

$7,636

per year

Preschool (Center)

$7,221

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Kalamazoo-Portage's composite Life Score is 52.1/100 (D), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

44/100

Below average

Wages

64/100

Above average

Rent

72/100

Strong

Crime

19/100

Bottom decile

Schools

77/100

Strong

Childcare

81/100

Elite

Environment

11/100

Bottom decile

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Kalamazoo-Portage ranks #259 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 47.1/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Low hazard (83/100)

Low hazard

83
Housing

72
Job market

64
Cost of living

44
Air quality

41
Schools

23
Safety

19
Climate

18

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

Compare Kalamazoo-Portage to

Jackson Jackson Jacksonville Jacksonville Janesville-Beloit Jefferson City

Metros near Kalamazoo-Portage on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Kalamazoo-Portage 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

Kalamazoo-Portage cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Kalamazoo-Portage 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 Kalamazoo-Portage?

Kalamazoo-Portage runs a $64,013 median salary at a 94.8 cost index, ranking #259 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Kalamazoo-Portage's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Kalamazoo-Portage head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Kalamazoo-Portage
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.