What is the cost of living in Midland?

Midland has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 91.9, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 66.7, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,193/month.

What is the median salary in Midland?

The median salary in Midland is $67,285 annually (mean: $70,392). Top occupations include Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Registered Nurses, Fast Food and Counter Workers.

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

What are the schools like in Midland?

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 Midland?

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

Is Midland a good place to relocate?

Midland has a Life Score of 57.9/100 (C-), 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 an above-average score, Midland outperforms most scored metros on the combined measure.

Where does Midland sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Midland ranks #122 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

Midland, MI

LiveAbility 55.6/100 places Midland #122 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

91.9
Cost index (US=100): $1,193
2BR rent / mo: $67,285
Median salary: 55.6
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Midland ranks #122 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (55.6/100), with its strongest marks in low hazard and job market.

#122
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 (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), Midland ranks #122 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 91.9 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,193/mo, median salary $67,285; LiveAbility Score 55.6/100, strongest in low hazard and job market.

Signature: LiveAbility 55.6/100 places Midland #122 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 91.9 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,193/mo.

LiveAbility 55.6/100 puts Midland in the top third (#122 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Midland area is 29,130.

Midland 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)

56 Top 32% higher than 68% 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

Midland housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Midland MSA; housing RPP 66.7 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,193/mo.

Studio

$907

/month

1 Bedroom

$925

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,193

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,518

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,682

/month

Midland wages and employment

Midland posts 29,130 total employment with median salary $67,285.

Median Salary

$67,285

Mean Salary

$70,392

Total Employment

29,130

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$36,950
Registered Nurses	$86,360
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$28,480
Retail Salespersons	$33,260
Cashiers	$30,280

Schools & Education

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

Infant (Center)

$7,444

per year

Toddler (Center)

$7,636

per year

Preschool (Center)

$7,221

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Midland's composite Life Score is 57.9/100 (C-), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

63/100

Above average

Wages

80/100

Elite

Rent

64/100

Above average

Crime

18/100

Bottom decile

Schools

78/100

Strong

Childcare

81/100

Elite

Environment

11/100

Bottom decile

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Midland ranks #122 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 55.6/100 - a composite of 7 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data (missing dims omitted; remaining weights renormalized). Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Low hazard (82/100)

Low hazard

82
Job market

80
Housing

64
Cost of living

63
Climate

50
Schools

22
Safety

18

What this shows Midland's strongest dimensions are low hazard and job market; its weakest among scored dims is safety at 18/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%; this metro uses 7 of 8 dims with renormalized weights.

Compare Midland to

Salisbury Salt Lake City-Murray San Angelo San Antonio-New Braunfels San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont

Metros near Midland on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Midland 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

Midland cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Midland 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 Midland?

Midland runs a $67,285 median salary at a 91.9 cost index, ranking #122 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

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