Living in Van Buren, MI
Suburb in Michigan
Van Buren is a suburb in Michigan, home to about 30,000 people, with 2.4 million living within 31 mi. Day to day, a car is essential. Life moves at a relaxed pace, and homes are mostly apartments.
Is Van Buren a good place to live? Pros and cons
👍 Pros
- Strong healthcare: 6 top-rated (4–5★) hospitals within 31 mi
- Affordable housing: a typical 3-bedroom home is about $279k and rents for $1,720 a month
- Low natural disaster risk: 5 federally declared disasters since 2000
- Easy flying: DTW is 7 mi away
👎 Cons
- Cloudier than most places
- Weaker public schools: test results below the US average
- Quieter on culture: few museums and attractions nearby
Whether it's a good place for you depends on what you value. Take the quiz to see how Van Buren ranks against your own priorities.
Key facts
Living in Van Buren: common questions
What is the cost of living in Van Buren?
A typical 3-bedroom home is worth about $279k, and a 3-bedroom rents for about $1,720 a month including utilities. Overall living costs are close to the US average (index 101, where the US is 100).
What are taxes like in Van Buren?
Michigan collects about $1,246 in state income tax per resident, and homeowners here pay about 1.34% of their home's value in property tax each year.
Is Van Buren safe?
Violent crime is well below the national rate (0.7× in FBI 2019 data).
How are the schools in Van Buren?
Public schools in Van Buren test below the US average in math and reading (2018–19 state tests, put on one national scale with NAEP), with about 19 students per teacher.
What is the weather like in Van Buren?
Van Buren has cold winters: winter days average around 36°F and summer days around 84°F, with roughly 45″ of snow a year.
Does Van Buren get natural disasters?
Natural disaster risk is low, mainly from flooding, cold waves and tornadoes: 5 federally declared disasters have hit the county since 2000, and FEMA expects about 0.52 deaths or injuries per 100,000 residents a year.
What is the nearest major airport to Van Buren?
The nearest major airport is DTW, about 7 mi away.
How Van Buren scores
Each bar compares Van Buren with the other 1,990 places in Best Life Fit Me. A dot shows where it sits between two ends, such as major metro and small town; neither end is better. Coloured bars run from poor (red) to excellent (green).
Places like Van Buren
These places have the most similar overall profile across all 24 aspects.
The circle is each place's all-round score out of 100: the average of its 15 quality scores, from red (poor) to green (excellent).
Nearby
See all the best places to live in Michigan.
Is Van Buren right for you?
Answer 27 quick questions and see how it ranks against your priorities.