Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 9,304, settled in 1853. 77% more nonprofits per person than the typical Michigan town.
Trash & recyclingAlma gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $165K, 2.6 years of the Alma area’s $64K median household income. It grades C+ overall, 511th among Michigan's 697 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $53K, and 22% of residents live below the poverty line. On the plus side, it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 88% of U.S. towns. 22% of residents live below the poverty line in Alma, against 8.9% in Michigan’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. On hazard risk, just 93 of Michigan’s 1,279 towns do worse. Alma is home to Alma College.
Where Alma beats most towns.
Census counts: 402 in 1870, 9,488 in 2020. The archive holds 27 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 2 maps from 1935 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Alma is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Alma, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Alma.
Alma draws workers from Mount Pleasant and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Michigan (mostly inland flooding).
5.4 miles of trail in 13 parks and preserves. Alma’s trail density is 0.9 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Pine River Park, 63 acres with 4.7 miles of trail.
| Alma | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.9% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Pine River Park | 4.7 mi | 63 |
| 2. Euclid Ball Fields | — | 16 |
| 3. Wright Park | 0.1 mi | 10 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Alma Public Schools. Two of its 8 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Alma Senior High School, with 552 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donald L Pavlik Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 457 | B− |
| Alma Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 552 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
4,857 jobs are based in Alma, 1.7 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
About one in 4 of Alma’s working residents works in town. The average trip to work in Alma is 19 minutes. Since 2011, Alma has lost 265 jobs, to 4,857 in 2021.
| Alma | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 24% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $53,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
At 2.6 years of the Alma area’s $64K median household income, the typical home (about $165K) costs less against local pay than in 83% of Michigan towns; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living.
66% of Alma households own their home. Typical home values rose 5.1% in the year to September 2026.
| Alma | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 66% | 84% | 73% |
| Median rent | $836 a month | $1,047 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Adults 18 to 34 are 33% of residents (22% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 30% of residents (38% statewide). 19% of residents are under 18 in Alma. 28% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across Michigan.
| Alma | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 33.1 years | 42.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 19% | 21% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 18% | 19% | 18% |
54% women, 46% men
About 86 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2.3 points). Across Michigan, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Alma | MI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.3% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 20.9% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.4% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.3% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 8.9% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 9.8% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.8% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.7% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.9% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 35.7% | 28% | 26% |
| Some college | 25.6% | 21.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 5.8% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 17.2% | 19.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.8% | 12.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Reported crimes fell from 176 to 107 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Alma has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 16° and about 39 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 6,882 U.S. towns with household incomes like Alma’s, it is healthier than 75%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
Alma beats the Michigan average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2.
| Alma | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 27% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 32% | 33% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 34% | 36% |
| What stands out | Alma | MI |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 13.2% | 10.2% |
| Fewer adults getting cholesterol checked | 84.4% | 87.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 93% of Michigan towns, with expected losses of about $433 per resident a year; that rating is what its C+ for hazard risk is built on.
Since 1986, 20 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Alma.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Alma
College town 18 of every 100 Alma residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
2 places in Alma on the National Register of Historic Places.
10 notable people were born in Alma.
City in Michigan, United States
Alma is the largest city in Gratiot County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 9,488 at the 2020 census. It was incorporated as the Village of Alma in 1872 and became a city in 1905. Alma hosts the annual Highland Festival on Memorial Day weekend. It brings members of Scottish clans and interested onlookers together for a weekend of Highland dancing, bagpipes, kilts, and camaraderie. Alma College, a small liberal-arts institution of approximately 1,300 students, is located in town and focuses on multidisciplinary learning in a residential setting.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Alma.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alma | #511 | C+ | B+ | C | B− | C+ |
| Pine River Township | — | — | A | — | B− | C |
| Arcada Township | — | — | B+ | — | B | C+ |
| St. Louis | #507 | C+ | B+ | B+ | C+ | D |
Pine River Township and Arcada Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Pine River Township and Arcada Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Alma with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Alma grades C+ overall, better than 35% of U.S. towns and #511 of 697 in Michigan. It grades C+ for health, C for safety and B− for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
10 notable people were born here, including Betty Mahmoody and Gary E. Luck.
