Traverse City Named One Of America's Best Beach Towns To Live In

TRAVERSE CITY (WWJ) - Michigan is surrounded by water, so it's no surprise the state is home to one of the best beach towns to live in America.

According to personal-finance website WalletHub, Traverse City is the #4 top beach town in the U.S. to call home.

To determine the most livable beachside communities, researchers compared 227 cities across 49 key indicators of livability, including housing costs, share of for-sale waterfront homes, weather, safety, entertainment and recreation opportunities, unemployment rates, and quality of beach water.

Top 20 Best Beach Towns in America

1. 1. Naples, FL
   2. Key West, FL
   3. Eden Prairie, MN
   4. Traverse City, MI
   5. St. Augustine, FL
   6. Charleston, SC
   7. Marco Island, FL
   8. Key Biscayne, FL
   9. Boca Raton, FL
   10. Duluth, MN
   11. Lahaina, HI
   12. Sarasota, FL
   13. Kihei, HI
   14. Jupiter, FL
   15. Stillwater, MN
   16. Chanhassen, MN
   17. Cloquet, MN
   18. Stoughton, WI
   19. Mill Valley, CA
   20. Olathe, KS

Other Michigan beach towns that made the list are Alpena (37), Holland (49), Muskegon (191) and Port Huron (202).

Best vs. Worst
La Porte, Texas, has the lowest median home price as a share of income, 1.80, which is nine times lower than in Malibu, Calif., the city with the highest at 16.19.

Wailuku, Hawaii, has the lowest median annual property taxes, 0.16 percent, which is 23.8 times lower than in Zion, Ill., the city with the highest at 3.80 percent.

Traverse City and Alpena, Mich., have the fewest disaster declarations (since 1953), three each, which is 19.7 times fewer than in seven California cities: Santa Monica, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Santa Fe Springs, Palos Verdes Estates and Malibu, which have the most at 59 each.

Rye, N.Y., has the lowest property crimes per 1,000 residents, 2.99, which is 48.1 times lower than in Myrtle Beach, S.C., the city with the highest at 143.86.

Hermosa Beach, Calif., has the highest walk score, 84, which is 7.6 times higher than in Navarre, Fla., and Mequon, Wis., the cities with the lowest at 11.

Manhattan Beach, Calif. has the most beach volleyball courts (per square root of the population), 0.1166, which is 44.8 times more than in Savannah, Ga., the city with the fewest at 0.0026.

To see the complete results, click here.