Measured against area pay, Garfield Township costs less to live in than 79% of U.S. towns
Home prices around Garfield Township have risen about 64% over the past 5 years. Builders were permitted 1 new home in 2025.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Bay City, MI metro area ($62K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade compares costs with what households across the Bay City metro earn ($62K, Census 2020–24). The typical home costs 2.7 years of metro income, and 0% of renters pay 30% or more of income for housing.
In dollars
- $1,070a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 92prices across the Bay City metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 67)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 2.7 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$62K, Bay City-area income
- 13%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
What stands out about housing in Garfield Township
What’s behind Garfield Township’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Garfield Township is more affordable than 79% of U.S. towns. Property tax pulls the grade down most; the share of households paying 30%+ for housing holds it up.
Home prices up 64% in 5 years
The federal house price index for the ZIP codes around Garfield Township rose 64% over the past 5 years, faster than across Michigan (52%). Last year prices rose 4.3%. Carrying the Census median home value forward with that index puts the typical Garfield Township home at roughly $221,000 today.
Carrying the Census median forward with the index puts a typical home at about $221K.
Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (annual) for the ZIP codes around Garfield 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 2.7 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Garfield Township’s own median, or type yours.
That covers a typical Garfield Township home, with $8K to spare.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,070 a month here, $330 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Garfield Township’s typical property tax (1.30% 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 $1,070
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Bay City, MI MSA): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
1 new home permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 1 new home in Garfield Township in 2025. That's 0.6 per 1,000 residents, slower than across Michigan (2.3). Over the past 10 years, Garfield Township has permitted 17 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Garfield Township's population fell by 50 even though 15 new homes were permitted. Homes are holding fewer people: households are getting smaller, or more homes are used part of the year. 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) | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2025 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $246,000 |
| 2024 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $246,000 |
| 2023 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $246,000 |
| 2022 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $492,000 |
| 2021 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $492,000 |
| 2020 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $492,000 |
| 2019 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $492,000 |
| 2018 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $492,000 |
| 2017 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $492,000 |
| 2016 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $492,000 |
| 2015 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $492,000 |
| 2014 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $235,000 |
| 2013 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2012 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2011 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $403,000 |
| 2010 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $72,000 |
| 2009 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $108,000 |
| 2008 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $195,000 |
| 2007 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $390,000 |
| 2006 | 14 | 14 | 0 | $1.1 million |
| 2005 | 13 | 13 | 0 | $2.1 million |
| 2004 | 14 | 14 | 0 | $2.3 million |
| 2003 | 9 | 9 | 0 | $1.4 million |
| 2002 | 8 | 8 | 0 | $600,000 |
| 2001 | 13 | 13 | 0 | $1.2 million |
| 2000 | 8 | 8 | 0 | $1.3 million |
Garfield Township's permit office didn't report to the Census in 2025, so the 2025 figures are Census estimates.
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Low tax bills, but a high tax rate
The median bill is $2,188, under the Michigan median of $2,904, because homes cost less. As a share of value it’s 1.30% 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 Garfield Township
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the Bay City, 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 | 92 | MI 96 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 94 | MI 96 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 95 | 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.
Garfield Township vs. its neighbors
Zillow publishes no value for Garfield Township. Beaver Township and Mount Forest Township and Mills Township and Fraser 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garfield Township | A− | — | $168K | 1.30% | $1,070 |
| Fraser Township | B+ | — | $163K | 1.38% | $1,020 |
| Mount Forest Township | B− | — | $188K | 1.12% | $1,120 |
| Beaver Township | C+ | — | $194K | 1.36% | $1,130 |
| Mills Township | B | — | $180K | 1.38% | $1,340 |
“—” 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 Garfield Township
Is Garfield Township expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Garfield Township costs less than 79% of U.S. towns: an A− for cost of living. The typical home costs 2.7 years of the median household income of the Bay City, MI metro area ($62K).
How much is rent in Garfield Township?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,070 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in.
What are property taxes in Garfield Township?
The median bill is $2,188 a year, 1.30% of the median home value (Michigan: $2,904, 1.25%), from the Census 2020–24.
Neighbors talk housing
What Garfield 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.