Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,461, settled in 1824.
Because it does well by almost any measure. Dexter earns an A, 35th among Michigan's 697 graded towns. Residents are healthier than 98% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates, the median household earns $107K, and its schools outperform 95% of the state's. The exception is cost of living: homes are expensive, about $509K for a typical one and 5.7 times the Ann Arbor metro’s $89K median household income. 70% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Dexter, above both Michigan’s towns (26%) and U.S. towns (29%). On civic life, just 99 of Michigan’s 1,265 towns do better. James Litchfield House is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Dexter beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Dexter Early Elementary Complex | PK–2 | 734 |
| Wylie Elementary School | 3–4 | 486 |
| Mill Creek Middle School | 7–8 | 525 |
Census counts: 850 in 1850, a low of 587 in 1920, 4,500 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1856 and 5 maps from 1902 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Dexter is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Dexter. Close and well known come first.
Big draw8 mi Stadium & arenaMichigan Stadium
33 mi MuseumThe Henry Ford1.8M visitors a year
10 mi Park & preserveDomino's Farms
14 mi LandmarkYpsilanti Water Tower30 mi MuseumMarvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum
8 mi TheatreMichigan TheaterMichigan Stadium: Lectrician2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · The Henry Ford: Alvintrusty, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Domino's Farms: Dwight Burdette, CC BY 3.0 · Ypsilanti Water Tower: Dwight Burdette, CC BY 3.0 · Michigan Theater: mrkumm, CC BY 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Dexter, 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 Dexter.
Dexter has schools in the top 5% of Michigan, has less tooth loss than most of Michigan and has home values lagging Michigan’s.
At about $509K, home values are up 4% in five years, against a rise of 24% across Michigan. The median property tax bill is $6,552, against $2,904 across Michigan, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The median rent in Dexter is $1,761 a month. The typical Dexter home is worth about $509,000, up 3.6% in a year, 93% above the Michigan typical home.
| Dexter | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,761 a month | $1,045 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 77% | 84% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its A+ ranks #26 of the 699 Michigan towns we grade for schools. Its A+ for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $509K.
Its public schools are run by the Dexter Community School District. Three of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dexter Early Elementary ComplexLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–2 | Grades PK–2 | 734 | – |
| Dexter Alternative SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 13 | – |
| Mill Creek Middle SchoolTop results in townGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 525 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Michigan is tooth loss: 3.3% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 10.2% statewide.
13% of adults get no exercise outside work in Dexter. Dexter beats the Michigan average on 24 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 8.6% of adults smoke cigarettes in Dexter.
| Dexter | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 25% | 25% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 37% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 14% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 8.6% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Dexter | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 3.3% | 10.2% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.5% | 15.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.9% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 89% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Dexter has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 16° and about 33 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
26.9% of workers work from home, against 13.5% across Michigan.
27% of Dexter workers work from home. Among 701 Michigan towns, just 1 have a lower share of residents below the poverty line than Dexter. Most working residents leave Dexter for work: only 9% work in town.
| Dexter | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 27% | 10% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 0.8% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $107,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
0.4 miles of trail in 9 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Dexter Huron Metropolitan Park, at 51 acres.
| Dexter | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 6.4% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Dexter Huron Metropolitan Park | — | 51 |
| 2. Mill Creek Park | — | 25 |
| 3. Dexter Crossing Community Space | — | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
4 within 15 miles of the center of Dexter
About 5 of every 100 Dexter residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Michigan.
4,067 counted in 2010 and 4,500 in 2020; an estimated 4,461 in 2025.
Growth has leveled off: within 1% of 2020, after 10.6% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
5 notable people were born in Dexter.
City in Michigan, United States
Dexter is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 4,500. Established as a village in 1830, Dexter was incorporated as a city in 2014. It lies approximately nine miles northwest of Ann Arbor, the county seat of Washtenaw County, and 40 miles west of Detroit, the largest city in the state.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Dexter.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dexter | #35 | A | D | — | A+ | A+ |
| Scio Township | #56 | A | D | — | A | A+ |
| Webster Township | #103 | A | D | — | A+ | A+ |
Dexter, Scio Township and Webster Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Dexter with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Dexter grades A overall, better than 95% of U.S. towns and #35 of 697 in Michigan. It grades A+ for health and A+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
5 notable people were born here, including Katharine Dexter McCormick and Royal S. Copeland.
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