Brown CityMI
A town of 1,280, settled in 1879.
Is Brown City a good place to live?
Brown City’s best subject grade is an A+ for cost of living; its weakest is a D for incomes. The biggest park or preserve is Brown City Community Park, at 63 acres. Brown City has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Brown City stand out
Where Brown City beats most towns.
1,280 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
How Brown City grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Brown City is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Brown City: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Brown City, 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Brown City.
Brown City is less healthy than 88% of U.S. towns
A fifth of adults report frequent mental distress in Brown City, above both Michigan’s towns (18%) and U.S. towns (17%). The share of adults in Brown City who have been diagnosed with depression: 30%.
| Brown City | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 15% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 27% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 17% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 25% | 25% |
| What stands out | Brown City | MI |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 14.1% | 10.2% |
| More smokers | 20.1% | 14.6% |
| More adults with COPD | 11% | 8.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
On state tests, Brown City’s schools beat 67% of Michigan districts
Public schools: the Brown City Community Schools. The largest public high school is Brown City High School, with 334 students. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brown City Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 362 | C |
| Brown City High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 334 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
In Brown City, expect snowy winters and pleasant summers
Brown City’s typical July afternoon high comes in at 81°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Brown City has 1.2 jobs for every working resident, and 415 people commute in
19% of residents live below the poverty line in Brown City, above both the Michigan town median (8.9%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). Just 12% of the town’s working residents have a job in town. Jobs in Brown City grew by 129 from 2011 to 2021, reaching 460. For Brown City, the typical journey to work is 32 minutes.
| Brown City | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 19% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $59,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 12% | 5.9% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Brown City faces a low natural-hazard risk, led by cold waves
49% of Brown City’s expected losses from natural hazards come from cold waves, followed by inland flooding at 35%. Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 63% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical home in Brown City: about $228K
Typical home values rose 3.6% in the year to September 2026. The rent at the middle of the market in Brown City is $685 a month. 69% of Brown City households live in a home they own.
| Brown City | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $685 a month | $1,046 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 69% | 84% | 73% |
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Crime reported in Brown City
Its violent offense rate comes in at 6.1 per 1,000 residents. Brown City's reported crime rate is close to Michigan's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts.
| Brown City | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2023) | 6.1 per 1,000 residents | 2 | 1.8 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2023) | 17.7 per 1,000 residents | 10.6 | 13.1 |
Violent crime per 1,000 residents
Property crime per 1,000 residents
FBI crime data, 2023 · crimes reported to police
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Brown City Community Park | — | 63 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Everything we know about Brown City
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Brown City; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Brown City residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
Famous people from Brown City
3 notable people were born in Brown City.
About Brown City
Town in Michigan, United States
Brown City is a town in Lapeer and Sanilac counties in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,302 at the 2020 census. The city is located almost exclusively in Sanilac County, with only a small portion of the city extending into Lapeer County.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Established
- 1879
- Area
- 1.1 sq mi
- Elevation
- 817 ft
- ZIP code
- 48416
Questions about Brown City
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Brown City, MI expensive?
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 A+.
What is Brown City, MI known for?
3 notable people were born here, including Dewayne T. Williams and Paul Muxlow.