Novi Ranks as 5th Best Michigan Town for Young Families

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NerdWallet, a personal finances adviser, released rankings Tuesday for the best towns in Michigan for young families. Novi made it to the fifth spot on that list.

Novi scored 70.2 overall, which is only 3.5 points below Troy, the highest-ranking city.

The analysis, completed for the first time in Michigan, asked three questions:

1. Does the town have good public schools? 
2. Can you afford to live there?
3. Is the town growing and prospering? 

>>Check the chart above to see Novi’s rankings compared to other cities in Michigan that made it onto the list.

Novi ranked just behind Royal Oak and ahead of Ann Arbor. Novi and Troy both scored 10 out of 10 in schools. NerdWallet measured schools’ academic performance with ratings from GreatSchools, a non-profit that compares standardized test scores to the state average.

“Students in Novi performed so well on standardizes tests,” said Mike Anderson, analyst with NerdWallet, who wrote the study.

Another reason Novi ranked high on the list is its economy, he said. For example, families in Novi have an average income that is $23,000 more than families in Ann Arbor.

“Compared to so many other cities on the list, your dollar goes a lot further in Novi,” he said.

The study also looked at a city’s growth by noting the average income and how it grew from 10 years ago. From ’99 to ’11, Novi’s average household income grew 6.5 percent.

“We do that because if income and growth significantly increase over a period of time, it suggests the economy is doing well now and in the coming years,” Anderson said.  

In its analysis, NerdWallet recognized particular programs in Novi like Novi Public Library’s loaning of meters to every Novi family to measure household electricity usage. The study also pointed out that, in 2005, Novi residents signed a petition that successfully brought 14.7 acres of wetlands and woodlands under the protection of the city.

“We try to find out more about the towns and get a sense of what it's like for families there.  So one thing that struck us about Novi were some of the environmental efforts,” he said.

The overall score for each city was derived from:

• GreatSchools city rating: GreatSchools city ratings are calculated by averaging the weighted overall rating for each school in the city (weighted by the number of students enrolled at the school)
• median home value from the U.S. Census (2011 ACS, data set DP04, half-weighted)
• monthly homeowner costs from the U.S. Census (2011 ACS, data set DP04, half-weighted)
• median household income from the U.S. Census (2011 ACS, data set DP03, half-weighted)
• income change between 1999 and 2011 from the U.S. Census (data sets P053 and DP03, half-weighted)

There were 106 Michigan cities and areas designated as places by the U.S. Census included in the analysis. Only places with a population greater than 10,000 were considered. See more details on the rankings.

What makes Novi a great place to live for you? Tell us in the comments.