Niles composite
56.5 /100
Grade B+ · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Niles vs Traverse City
Niles, MI and Traverse City, MI side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 56.5
- Niles Life Score
- B+
- Niles grade
- 55.2
- Traverse City Life Score
- B
- Traverse City grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Niles scores higher on 5 (cost of living, wages, rent, safety, childcare) and Traverse City on 2 (schools, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Niles vs Traverse City across all seven dimensions (each scored 0–100 as a national percentile, bigger area = stronger overall)
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Niles Traverse City ◗
cost of living
61
51
wages
48
42
rent
66
61
safety
17
17
schools
78
80
childcare
80
79
environment
65
90
Niles and Traverse City differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Niles has a cost-of-living index of 92.4 vs Traverse City's 93.4 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $61,444 in Niles and $61,419 in Traverse City. A 2-bedroom averages $1,184/mo vs $1,224/mo.
How to read this matchup
Reading the Niles vs Traverse City Comparison
Niles (MI) and Traverse City (MI) are assembled here from the same federal data pipeline, BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, FBI Uniform Crime Reports, NCES public-school counts, and EPA environmental indicators, so every number on this page is directly comparable. The overall cost index reads 92.4 for Niles against 93.4 for Traverse City, a 1.0-point gap on a scale where 100 equals the U.S. average. HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent, the figure used to set housing-choice voucher payment standards, is $1,184/mo in Niles and $1,224/mo in Traverse City, a $40/mo difference that compounds to $480 over a year.
On wages, BLS OES reports a median salary of $61,444 across 51,600 jobs in Niles against $61,419 across 62,130 jobs in Traverse City. Adjusted through the BEA cost-of-living lens, $100,000 earned in Niles carries the same local purchasing power as $101,085 in Traverse City - the most honest way to read the salary headline, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 431.4 per 100,000 residents in MI vs 431.4 in MI, with property-crime rates of 1395.3 and 1395.3 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: MI lists 3,399 public schools at a 17.5:1 student-teacher ratio, while MI lists 3,399 schools at 17.5:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. Department of Labor center-based infant care runs $7,444/yr in the Niles area versus $7,444/yr in Traverse City - a line item that shifts the real cost-of-living picture for households with children under five far more than headline RPP does. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Niles and Traverse City are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Traverse City composite
55.2 /100
Grade B · weighted across 7 dims
Cost-of-living gap
-1.0 pts
Niles vs Traverse City BEA RPP
2-bed rent delta
$40 /mo
Traverse City priced higher
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Niles
Niles composite (Grade B+)
Traverse City
Traverse City composite (Grade B)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Niles | Traverse City |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 92.4 | 93.4 |
| Goods | 93.7 | 93.7 |
| Services | 96.0 | 92.4 |
| Rents | 71.6 | 78.1 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Traverse City gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Niles?
$
Equivalent in Traverse City:
$101,085
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Niles: 92.4, Traverse City: 93.4, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Niles | Traverse City |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $816/mo | $904/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $902/mo | $937/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,184/mo | $1,224/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,556/mo | $1,586/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $1,568/mo | $1,720/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Niles | Traverse City |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $61,444 | $61,419 |
| Total Employment | 51,600 | 62,130 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Niles (MI) | Traverse City (MI) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 431.4 | 431.4 |
| Property Crime | 1395.3 | 1395.3 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | MI | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 3,399 | 3,399 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 17.5:1 | 17.5:1 |
| Charter Schools | 10.9% | 10.9% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | MI | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $7,444/yr | $7,444/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $7,636/yr | $7,636/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $7,221/yr | $7,221/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | MI | MI |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 918 | 918 |
| Water Systems | 1,433 | 1,433 |
| Superfund Sites | 90 | 90 |
| Water Violations | 1,000 | 1,000 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Niles | Traverse City |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 41.0 | 38.0 |
| Good Air Days | 83.0% | 88.2% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 1 days | 2 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | MI | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 18/100 | 18/100 |
| Total Violations | 255,201 | 255,201 |
| Health-Based Violations | 31,467 | 31,467 |
| Systems with Violations | 86.1% | 86.1% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | MI | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 0/100 | 0/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| HPSA Designations | 777 | 777 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | MI | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 64/100 | 64/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 49.6 | 49.6 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 49.0 | 49.0 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Niles more expensive than Traverse City? ▼
Niles has a cost of living index of 92.4 compared to Traverse City's 93.4 (national average = 100). Traverse City is 1.0 points above Niles on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Niles and Traverse City? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,184/mo in Niles vs $1,224/mo in Traverse City, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $816/mo to $904/mo.
How do salaries compare between Niles and Traverse City? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $61,444 in Niles and $61,419 in Traverse City, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Niles has the same purchasing power as $101,085 in Traverse City.
Is Niles or Traverse City safer? ▼
At the state level, MI has a violent crime rate of 431.4 per 100,000 residents compared to MI's 431.4 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1395.3 vs 1395.3 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Niles and Traverse City? ▼
MI has 3,399 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 17.5:1, while MI has 3,399 schools at 17.5:1. Charter schools make up 10.9% of MI schools vs 10.9% in MI. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
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Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial