Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 23/100
F
Median home value$121,700
Detroit $249,700
Median rent$1,063/mo
Detroit $1,207/mo
Cost-burdened households39%
Detroit 29%
Pontiac
Oakland County62,104 residentsPontiac City School District
44
D
Suburbgrade score
52nd of 54 Detroit suburbs. Strongest on cost of living, held back by employment & income.
44
Detroit median 58
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Pontiac yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 44 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Pontiac is like to live in, by category
Bars show Pontiac against Detroit. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 25/100
F
Within-state proficiency11th pct
Detroit median 46th pct
Student–teacher ratio17.5
Detroit median 16.8
Graduation rate64%
Detroit median 87%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 80/100
B+
Housing cost index80
Detroit 100
Eff. tax rate0.97%
Detroit 1.27%
Local sales tax6.00%
Detroit median 6.00%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 68/100
B−
Mean commute21.2 min
Detroit 26.0 min
Under 30 minutes72%
Detroit 61%
Transit stops / sq mi9.9
Detroit median 7.8 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 60/100
C
Restaurants & cafés10
Detroit median 59 · within 2 miles
Groceries4
Detroit median 6 · within 2 miles
Parks78
Detroit median 61 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 17/100
F
Median household income$44,329
Detroit $76,664
Unemployment10%
Detroit 6.4%
Professional occupations23%
Detroit 43%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
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No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Pontiac yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Pontiac on employment & income
Pontiac's weakest grade is F. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbEmploymentOverall
Beverly Hills9 mi from PontiacA 80 B+ Berkley12 mi from PontiacA− 78 B+ Rochester9 mi from PontiacB 72 B− Birmingham8 mi from PontiacB 77 B Royal Oak12 mi from PontiacB 76 B Ferndale15 mi from PontiacB 66 C+ Median household income: ACS 2020–24 · Unemployment: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Pontiac
Is Pontiac, MI a good place to live?
Pontiac scores 44 out of 100, 52nd of 54 Detroit suburbs. It is strongest on cost of living and weakest on employment & income. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Pontiac expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades B+. The median home is $121,700, 51% below the Detroit median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.97%. $1,063/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Pontiac?
Schools grade F. The districts serving Pontiac sit at the 11th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 64% graduation rate and a 17.5 student–teacher ratio. Pontiac is served by Pontiac City School District. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Pontiac?
The mean commute is 21.2 min, with 72% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 4.8% working from home. Transit density is 9.9 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Pontiac?
Within two miles there are 4 groceries, 10 restaurants and cafés and 78 parks, which grades C on amenities.
Are the homes in Pontiac old or new?
The median home in Pontiac was built in 1961 — older than the Detroit median of 1968. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 66% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.