What is the cost of living in Lansing-East Lansing?

Lansing-East Lansing has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 95.0, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 83.5, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,268/month.

What is the median salary in Lansing-East Lansing?

The median salary in Lansing-East Lansing is $66,647 annually (mean: $70,343). Top occupations include Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators, Office Clerks, General, Fast Food and Counter Workers.

How safe is Lansing-East Lansing?

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

What are the schools like in Lansing-East Lansing?

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 Lansing-East Lansing?

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

Is Lansing-East Lansing a good place to relocate?

Lansing-East Lansing has a Life Score of 51.4/100 (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 Lansing-East Lansing sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Lansing-East Lansing ranks #229 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

Lansing-East Lansing, MI

LiveAbility 49/100 places Lansing-East Lansing #229 of 387 (middle third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

95.0
Cost index (US=100): $1,268
2BR rent / mo: $66,647
Median salary: 49
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Lansing-East Lansing ranks #229 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (49/100), with its strongest marks in low hazard and job market.

#229
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), Lansing-East Lansing ranks #229 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 95.0 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,268/mo, median salary $66,647; LiveAbility Score 49/100, strongest in low hazard and job market.

Signature: LiveAbility 49/100 places Lansing-East Lansing #229 of 387 (middle third).

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 95.0 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,268/mo.

LiveAbility 49/100 keeps Lansing-East Lansing in the middle third (#229 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Lansing-East Lansing area is 207,670.

Lansing-East Lansing 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)

49 Top 59% higher than 41% 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

Lansing-East Lansing housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Lansing-East Lansing MSA; housing RPP 83.5 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,268/mo.

Studio

$973

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,012

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,268

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,627

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,679

/month

Lansing-East Lansing wages and employment

Lansing-East Lansing posts 207,670 total employment with median salary $66,647.

Median Salary

$66,647

Mean Salary

$70,343

Total Employment

207,670

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators	$55,120
Office Clerks, General	$45,830
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$28,640
Retail Salespersons	$33,840
General and Operations Managers	$119,140

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Lansing-East Lansing 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 Lansing-East Lansing area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$7,444

per year

Toddler (Center)

$7,636

per year

Preschool (Center)

$7,221

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Lansing-East Lansing's composite Life Score is 51.4/100 (D), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

43/100

Below average

Wages

75/100

Strong

Rent

55/100

Above average

Crime

18/100

Bottom decile

Schools

77/100

Strong

Childcare

81/100

Elite

Environment

11/100

Bottom decile

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Lansing-East Lansing ranks #229 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 49/100 - 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
Job market

75
Air quality

71
Housing

55
Cost of living

43
Schools

23
Safety

18
Climate

18

What this shows Lansing-East Lansing's strongest dimensions are low hazard and job market; 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 Lansing-East Lansing to

Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands Huntington-Ashland Huntsville Idaho Falls Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood

Metros near Lansing-East Lansing on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Lansing-East Lansing 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

Lansing-East Lansing cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Lansing-East Lansing 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 Lansing-East Lansing?

Lansing-East Lansing runs a $66,647 median salary at a 95.0 cost index, ranking #229 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

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