Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Cadillac gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $235K for a typical one, or 3.8 years of the Cadillac area’s $62K median household income. It grades C overall, 514th among Michigan's 697 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $52K, and 18% of residents live below the poverty line, and it reports more crime per resident than 81% of U.S. towns, including 43 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. On the plus side, it has 8 miles of trail. 39% of working residents work locally in Cadillac, where Michigan’s towns sit at 5.9% and U.S. towns at 8%. On walkability, just 83 of Michigan’s 1,279 towns do better. Cadillac has 9 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Shay Locomotive and Cobbs and Mitchell Building.
Where Cadillac beats most towns.
Census counts: 2,213 in 1880, 10,371 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 2 maps from 1954 on.
9 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Cadillac is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Cadillac, 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 Cadillac.
Cadillac draws workers from Haring Township and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
6,892 jobs are based in Cadillac, 1.9 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 13.7 minutes, against 24.2 across Michigan.
About one in 3 of Cadillac’s working residents works in town. Cadillac’s average trip to work is 14 minutes. Jobs based in Cadillac fell to 6,892 in 2021, 674 fewer than in 2011.
| Cadillac | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 14 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $52,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 9.4% | 10% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Cadillac Area Public Schools. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Cadillac Senior High School, with 903 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 563 | A− |
| Cadillac Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 903 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
The trail density in Cadillac is 0.8 miles per square mile. William Mitchell State Park, at 111 acres with 1.7 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. William Mitchell State Park | 1.7 mi | 111 |
| 2. Kenwood Heritage Park | 0.9 mi | 91 |
| 3. Diggins Hill Community Park | 0.7 mi | 30 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 92% of U.S. communities. Since 2008, 5 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Cadillac.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Cadillac reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 81% report less.
| Cadillac | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.1 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 18.7 per 1,000 residents | 7.8 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 6,388 U.S. towns with household incomes like Cadillac’s, it is healthier than 53%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
Cadillac beats the Michigan average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5. 29% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Cadillac.
| Cadillac | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 27% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 19% | 19% |
| What stands out | Cadillac | MI |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 13.6% | 10.2% |
| More adults with COPD | 10.2% | 8.1% |
| More smokers | 17.8% | 14.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Cadillac has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 80°, January nights drop to 12° and about 74 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Typical home values rose 5.4% in the year to September 2026. 69% of Cadillac households own their home.
| Cadillac | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 69% | 84% | 73% |
| Median rent | $842 a month | $1,047 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
None within 15 miles of Cadillac; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Cadillac residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
Where Cadillac’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
9 places in Cadillac on the National Register of Historic Places.
7 notable people were born in Cadillac.
City in Michigan, United States
Cadillac ( KAD-ə-lak) is a city in and seat of government of Wexford County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 10,371 at the 2020 census, making it the second most-populated city in the Northern Michigan region, after Traverse City. Cadillac was settled as early as 1871 and formerly known as the village of Clam Lake before incorporating as a city in 1877. The city is located upon the shores of Lake Cadillac, connected by the Clam Lake Canal to Lake Mitchell. The Clam River, which begins in Cadillac, is part of the Muskegon River watershed. Cadillac is the junction of three major highways: US Highway 131, M-55, and M-115. The geographic center of Michigan is approximately five…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Cadillac.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cadillac | #514 | C | B | C− | B+ | C− |
| Haring Township | #302 | B | B+ | — | B+ | C |
| Clam Lake Township | — | — | C+ | — | B+ | C |
| Cherry Grove Township | — | — | C | — | B+ | C |
Clam Lake Township and Cherry Grove Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Haring Township, Clam Lake Township and Cherry Grove Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Cadillac with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Cadillac grades C overall, better than 34% of U.S. towns and #514 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.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
7 notable people were born here, including Jan Harold Brunvand and Adolph Wolgast.
