Houghton LakeMI
A town of 5,769, settled in 1875.
Is Houghton Lake a good place to live?
34% of residents are 65 or older in Houghton Lake, where Michigan’s towns sit at 19% and U.S. towns at 18%. We don’t grade Houghton Lake yet; the figures below are still real.
What makes Houghton Lake stand out
Where Houghton Lake beats most towns.
Houghton Lake has grown 55% from 2010 to 2020
3,427 counted in 2010 and 5,294 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Houghton Lake.
A job hub: Houghton Lake has 1.8 jobs for every working resident and draws in 2,341 commuters
One in 4 of Houghton Lake’s working residents works locally. Jobs in Houghton Lake grew by 678 from 2011 to 2021, reaching 2,697. The town’s median household income is recorded as $50,000. The top destinations are Roscommon Township (17%), Denton Township (13%) and Grayling (3%).
| Houghton Lake | Typical Michigan town | Typical U.S. town | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 24% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Median household income | $50,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Zillow puts the typical Houghton Lake home at about $199K
The midpoint rent for Houghton Lake is $827 a month. On the market here: a median 47 days to sell. For households locally, the share who are owner-occupiers is 81%.
| Houghton Lake | Typical Michigan town | Typical U.S. town | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $827 a month | $1,046 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 81% | 84% | 73% |
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Snowy winters and pleasant summers in Houghton Lake
Expect July afternoons of 81° and January nights of 12°, with about 66 inches of snow a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
How healthy Houghton Lake is
Just over four in five adults had a checkup this year in Houghton Lake. Across all 32 CDC measures, Houghton Lake beats Michigan on 3 and trails on 12. Two figures for adults locally: 17% report frequent physical distress, 15% have diabetes.
| Houghton Lake | Typical Michigan town | Typical U.S. town | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 36% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 12% | 12% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 17% | 16% |
| What stands out | Houghton Lake | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 10.2% | 11.9% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 82.3% | 77.6% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 15.8% | 10.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Houghton Lake has a moderate natural-hazard risk, chiefly from inland flooding
Houghton Lake’s FEMA hazard score is 42 of 100. FEMA puts 71% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 10% to cold waves. Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 58% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Protected land: 3.3% of Houghton Lake
3.5 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. Parkland in Houghton Lake adds up to 717 acres. The town’s concentration of trails works out to 0.3 miles per square mile.
| Houghton Lake | Typical Michigan town | Typical U.S. town | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.3% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit | 1 mi | 711 |
| 2. Houghton Lake Public Water Access Site | — | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Everything we know about Houghton Lake
Moving to Houghton Lake: who provides what
Houghton Lake is unincorporated, so Roscommon County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
Every workday, about 2,341 people come to Houghton Lake for work
Where Houghton Lake’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Houghton Lake; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Houghton Lake residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
Houghton Lake’s neighbors
One town shares a border with Houghton Lake.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houghton Lake | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Prudenville | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Houghton Lake and Prudenville aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Houghton Lake with a neighbor →
Questions about Houghton Lake
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Houghton Lake, MI a good place to live?
We don’t grade Houghton Lake yet; the figures below are still real.
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