What is the cost of living in Traverse City?

Traverse City has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 93.4, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 78.1, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,224/month.

What is the median salary in Traverse City?

The median salary in Traverse City is $61,419 annually (mean: $64,925). Top occupations include Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses, Cashiers.

How safe is Traverse City?

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

What are the schools like in Traverse City?

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 Traverse City?

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

Is Traverse City a good place to relocate?

Traverse City has a Life Score of 47.5/100 (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 Traverse City sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Traverse City ranks #264 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

Traverse City, MI

LiveAbility 46.8/100 places Traverse City #264 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

93.4
Cost index (US=100): $1,224
2BR rent / mo: $61,419
Median salary: 46.8
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Traverse City ranks #264 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (46.8/100), with its strongest marks in low hazard and air quality.

#264
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 (17/100). 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), Traverse City ranks #264 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 93.4 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,224/mo, median salary $61,419; LiveAbility Score 46.8/100, strongest in low hazard and air quality.

Signature: LiveAbility 46.8/100 places Traverse City #264 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 93.4 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,224/mo.

LiveAbility 46.8/100 puts Traverse City in the bottom third (#264 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Traverse City area is 62,130.

Traverse City 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 68% higher than 32% 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

Traverse City housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Traverse City MSA; housing RPP 78.1 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,224/mo.

Studio

$904

/month

1 Bedroom

$937

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,224

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,586

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,720

/month

Traverse City wages and employment

Traverse City posts 62,130 total employment with median salary $61,419.

Median Salary

$61,419

Mean Salary

$64,925

Total Employment

62,130

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Retail Salespersons	$34,540
Registered Nurses	$83,690
Cashiers	$30,920
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$28,560
Office Clerks, General	$44,470

Schools & Education

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

Infant (Center)

$7,444

per year

Toddler (Center)

$7,636

per year

Preschool (Center)

$7,221

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Traverse City's composite Life Score is 47.5/100 (D), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

51/100

Average

Wages

42/100

Below average

Rent

61/100

Above average

Crime

17/100

Bottom decile

Schools

80/100

Elite

Childcare

79/100

Strong

Environment

12/100

Bottom decile

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Traverse City ranks #264 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 46.8/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Low hazard (81/100)

Low hazard

81
Air quality

79
Housing

61
Cost of living

51
Job market

42
Schools

21
Climate

20
Safety

17

What this shows Traverse City's strongest dimensions are low hazard and air quality; its weakest among scored dims is safety at 17/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Traverse City to

Sheboygan Sherman-Denison Shreveport-Bossier City Sierra Vista-Douglas Sioux City Sioux Falls

Metros near Traverse City on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Traverse City 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

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

Traverse City runs a $61,419 median salary at a 93.4 cost index, ranking #264 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

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