Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Hastings gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $240K, 2.9 years of the Grand Rapids metro’s $83K median household income. It grades B overall, 315th among Michigan's 697 graded towns. On the plus side, it has 15 miles of trail. Hastings’ trail density is 2.8 miles per square mile, where Michigan’s towns sit at 0.3 and U.S. towns at 0.4. On history, just 93 of Michigan’s 1,279 towns do better. The biggest place to walk is Fish Hatchery Park, 40 acres with 1 miles of trail.
Where Hastings beats most towns.
Daniel Striker House8.5% of the town is conserved land, across 7 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Hastings is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,793 in 1870, 7,514 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1892 and 2 maps from 1951 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Hastings, 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 Hastings.
Hastings trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and trades workers with Grand Rapids and other neighbors.
In the comparison, Hastings comes against 4.4% in Michigan’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Fish Hatchery Park | 1 mi | 40 |
| 2. Bliss Riverfront Park | 0.5 mi | 13 |
| 3. Tyden Park | — | 11 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Hastings Area School District. Two of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Hastings High School, with 804 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hastings Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 584 | B |
| Hastings High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 804 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 78% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 12 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Hastings.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Hastings’ violent crime rate is 3.9 per 1,000 residents.
| Hastings | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.9 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 16.5 per 1,000 residents | 7.8 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Hastings has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 17° and about 68 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Hastings has about as many jobs (3,619) as working residents, but only 661 people both live and work here. Jobs based here fell from 4,904 in 2011 to 3,619.
About one in 5 of Hastings’s working residents works in town. Jobs based in Hastings fell to 3,619 in 2021, 1,285 fewer than in 2011. The median household income in Hastings is $58,000.
| Hastings | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 21% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Median household income | $58,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Adults 18 to 34 are 28% of residents (22% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 32% of residents (38% statewide). 19% of residents are under 18 in Hastings. 25% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across Michigan.
| Hastings | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 37.5 years | 42.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 19% | 21% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 21% | 19% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 25% | 26% | 29% |
54% women, 46% men
About 84 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2.6 points). Across Michigan, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Hastings | MI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.4% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.2% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 11.7% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 16.4% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 8.5% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14.5% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 9.2% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.7% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.2% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 8.2% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 38.7% | 28% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.6% | 21.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.2% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 18.1% | 19.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7.2% | 12.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Homes are within reach (about $240K for the typical one, A− for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 21 miles.
The typical Hastings home is worth about $240,000, up 3.2% in a year, 9% below the Michigan typical home.
| Hastings | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $745 a month | $1,047 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 74% | 84% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Against the 8,442 U.S. towns with household incomes like Hastings’s, it is healthier than 79%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
Hastings beats the Michigan average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 27% of Hastings adults have been diagnosed with depression.
| Hastings | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 27% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 12% | 12% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 36% | 35% |
| What stands out | Hastings | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 7.3% | 8.7% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 12.8% | 10.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
None within 15 miles of Hastings; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Hastings residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
3 places in Hastings on the National Register of Historic Places.
8 notable people were born in Hastings.
2 towns share a border with Hastings.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hastings | #315 | B | A− | C | B+ | B− |
| Rutland Township | #289 | B | B+ | — | B+ | B− |
| Hastings Township | #229 | B+ | A− | — | B+ | B− |
Rutland Township and Hastings Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Hastings with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Hastings grades B overall, better than 60% of U.S. towns and #315 of 697 in Michigan. It grades B− for health, C for safety and B+ for schools.
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−.
8 notable people were born here, including Mary Cynthia Dickerson and Gordon Johncock.
