Measured against area pay, Egelston Township costs less to live in than 66% of U.S. towns
It ranks #198 of 701 in Michigan for affordability. Home prices around Egelston Township have risen about 73% over the past 5 years. Builders were permitted 23 new homes in 2025.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI metro area ($65K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade compares costs with what households across the Muskegon metro earn ($65K, Census 2020–24). The typical home costs 2.5 years of metro income, and 60% of renters pay 30% or more of income for housing.
In dollars
- $1,180a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 93prices across the Muskegon metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 74)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 2.5 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$65K, Muskegon-area income
- 19%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 21%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
What Egelston Township’s housing numbers say
Homes haven’t kept up with new residents
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Egelston Township gained 1,219 residents while 167 new homes were permitted: about 7.3 new residents per new home, against 1.2 across Michigan. New homes ↓
Prices rose faster than Michigan’s over five years
There’s no Zillow index for Egelston Township, so the page uses the federal house price index for the ZIP codes around it, which follows repeat sales of the same homes. It rose 73% over five years, against 52% across Michigan. Price trend ↓
Nearly every household owns
94% of Egelston Township households own their home, against 73% across Michigan. There are only 197 renter households, so rentals are scarce. Property taxes ↓
New building is almost all single-family houses
Of the 229 homes permitted in Egelston Township’s past 10 years, every one was a single-family house. New homes ↓
Written from the data on this page. There’s no Zillow index for Egelston Township, so the typical value is an estimate: the Census median carried forward with the federal house price index; permits are Census figures through 2025; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Egelston Township’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Egelston Township is more affordable than 66% of U.S. towns, #198 of 701 in Michigan. Rent pulls the grade down most; home prices hold it up.
Home prices up 73% in 5 years
The federal house price index for the ZIP codes around Egelston Township rose 73% over the past 5 years, faster than across Michigan (52%). Last year prices rose 5.1%. Carrying the Census median home value forward with that index puts the typical Egelston Township home at roughly $206,000 today.
Carrying the Census median forward with the index puts a typical home at about $206K.
Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (annual) for the ZIP codes around Egelston Township, weighted by land area. It tracks repeat sales of the same homes, so it shows how prices changed, not what homes cost.
A typical home costs 2.5 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Egelston Township’s own median, or type yours.
That covers a typical Egelston Township home, with $35K to spare.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,180 a month here, $110 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Egelston Township’s typical property tax (1.24% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,180
Renters already here pay a median of $1,008, so moving in tends to cost more than staying put.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI MSA): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
23 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 23 new homes in Egelston Township in 2025, all single-family houses, worth about $7.6 million to build. That's 2 per 1,000 residents, about the pace of Michigan as a whole. Over the past 10 years, Egelston Township has permitted 229 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Egelston Township gained 1,219 residents while 167 new homes were permitted: about 7.3 new residents per new home. Population grew faster than building, so existing homes filled up: a sign of tight supply. Across Michigan: 1.2 new residents per new home.
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 13 | 13 | 0 | $4.5 million |
| 2025 | 23 | 23 | 0 | $7.6 million |
| 2024 | 20 | 20 | 0 | $5.8 million |
| 2023 | 16 | 16 | 0 | $4.2 million |
| 2022 | 19 | 19 | 0 | $5 million |
| 2021 | 22 | 22 | 0 | $4.1 million |
| 2020 | 19 | 19 | 0 | $3.2 million |
| 2019 | 25 | 25 | 0 | $4.1 million |
| 2018 | 34 | 34 | 0 | $4.5 million |
| 2017 | 21 | 21 | 0 | $2.6 million |
| 2016 | 30 | 30 | 0 | $3.7 million |
| 2015 | 19 | 19 | 0 | $2.1 million |
| 2014 | 17 | 17 | 0 | $2.1 million |
| 2013 | 8 | 8 | 0 | $842,000 |
| 2012 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $150,000 |
| 2011 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $230,000 |
| 2010 | 10 | 10 | 0 | $998,000 |
| 2009 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $371,000 |
| 2008 | 13 | 13 | 0 | $1.3 million |
| 2007 | 20 | 20 | 0 | $2.2 million |
| 2006 | 22 | 22 | 0 | $2 million |
| 2005 | 32 | 32 | 0 | $2.8 million |
| 2004 | 33 | 31 | 2 | $2.8 million |
| 2003 | 55 | 55 | 0 | $4.6 million |
| 2002 | 33 | 33 | 0 | $2.7 million |
| 2001 | 42 | 42 | 0 | $3.8 million |
| 2000 | 38 | 38 | 0 | $3.5 million |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Property tax runs below the Michigan norm
The median bill is $1,989 (Michigan: $2,904), 1.24% of a home’s value a year, against 1.25% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
The rest of a budget near Egelston Township
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI metro area, or Michigan. Groceries follow the goods price level; nobody publishes them town by town.
| Cost | Here | Compared with | Area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prices overall U.S. = 100 | 93 | MI 96 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 94 | MI 96 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 93 | MI 100 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Other services U.S. = 100 | 100 | MI 101 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Electricity cents per kWh, homes | 23.1¢ | U.S. 18.3¢ | state | EIA, July 2026 |
Price levels: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities 2024 (metro area and state). Electricity: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A.
Egelston Township vs. its neighbors
Zillow publishes no value for Egelston Township. Cedar Creek Township and Sullivan Township and Moorland Township and Muskegon Township have no Zillow value, so they are in the table only.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, latest | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Egelston Township | B+ | — | $160K | 1.24% | $1,180 |
| Muskegon Township | B | — | $150K | 1.30% | $1,270 |
| Moorland Township | B+ | — | $207K | 0.90% | $1,240 |
| Sullivan Township | C | — | $216K | 0.92% | $1,310 |
| Cedar Creek Township | B− | — | $225K | 1.07% | $1,240 |
“—” under Zillow: Zillow publishes no value for that town, so it’s left blank rather than mixed with Census figures.
Questions about the cost of living in Egelston Township
Is Egelston Township expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Egelston Township costs less than 66% of U.S. towns: a B+ for cost of living, #198 of 701 in Michigan. The typical home costs 2.5 years of the median household income of the Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI metro area ($65K).
How much is rent in Egelston Township?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,180 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $1,008 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Egelston Township?
The median bill is $1,989 a year, 1.24% of the median home value (Michigan: $2,904, 1.25%), from the Census 2020–24.
Neighbors talk housing
What Egelston Township buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. Price trend: Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.