What is the cost of living in Muskegon-Norton Shores?

Muskegon-Norton Shores has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 92.5, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 74.2, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,236/month.

What is the median salary in Muskegon-Norton Shores?

The median salary in Muskegon-Norton Shores is $60,860 annually (mean: $63,547). Top occupations include Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Cashiers.

How safe is Muskegon-Norton Shores?

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

What are the schools like in Muskegon-Norton Shores?

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 Muskegon-Norton Shores?

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

Is Muskegon-Norton Shores a good place to relocate?

Muskegon-Norton Shores has a Life Score of 45.6/100 (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 Muskegon-Norton Shores sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Muskegon-Norton Shores ranks #271 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

Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI

LiveAbility 46/100 places Muskegon-Norton Shores #271 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

92.5
Cost index (US=100): $1,236
2BR rent / mo: $60,860
Median salary: 46
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Muskegon-Norton Shores ranks #271 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (46/100), with its strongest marks in low hazard and air quality.

#271
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: 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), Muskegon-Norton Shores ranks #271 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 92.5 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,236/mo, median salary $60,860; LiveAbility Score 46/100, strongest in low hazard and air quality.

Signature: LiveAbility 46/100 places Muskegon-Norton Shores #271 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 92.5 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,236/mo.

LiveAbility 46/100 puts Muskegon-Norton Shores in the bottom third (#271 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Muskegon-Norton Shores area is 53,710.

Muskegon-Norton Shores 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)

46 Top 70% higher than 30% 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

Muskegon-Norton Shores housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Muskegon-Norton Shores MSA; housing RPP 74.2 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,236/mo.

Studio

$866

/month

1 Bedroom

$942

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,236

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,490

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,636

/month

Muskegon-Norton Shores wages and employment

Muskegon-Norton Shores posts 53,710 total employment with median salary $60,860.

Median Salary

$60,860

Mean Salary

$63,547

Total Employment

53,710

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$28,850
Retail Salespersons	$30,570
Cashiers	$28,590
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$34,950
Stockers and Order Fillers	$33,790

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Muskegon-Norton Shores 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 Muskegon-Norton Shores area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$7,444

per year

Toddler (Center)

$7,636

per year

Preschool (Center)

$7,221

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Muskegon-Norton Shores's composite Life Score is 45.6/100 (D), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

60/100

Above average

Wages

26/100

Weak

Rent

59/100

Above average

Crime

18/100

Bottom decile

Schools

78/100

Strong

Childcare

80/100

Elite

Environment

12/100

Bottom decile

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Muskegon-Norton Shores ranks #271 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 46/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Low hazard (82/100)

Low hazard

82
Air quality

81
Cost of living

60
Housing

59
Job market

26
Schools

22
Climate

20
Safety

18

What this shows Muskegon-Norton Shores's strongest dimensions are low hazard and air quality; 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%.

Compare Muskegon-Norton Shores to

Utica-Rome Valdosta Vallejo Victoria Vineland Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk

Metros near Muskegon-Norton Shores on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Muskegon-Norton Shores 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

Muskegon-Norton Shores cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Muskegon-Norton Shores 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 Muskegon-Norton Shores?

Muskegon-Norton Shores runs a $60,860 median salary at a 92.5 cost index, ranking #271 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

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