Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Iron Mountain gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $193K, 3 years of the Iron Mountain area’s $65K median household income. It grades B overall, ranked 298th of 697 in Michigan. On the plus side, it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 89% of U.S. towns. 43% of working residents work locally in Iron Mountain, where Michigan’s towns sit at 5.9% and U.S. towns at 8%. Iron Mountain's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 95% of U.S. towns. Iron Mountain has 6 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Ardis Furnace and Chapin Mine Steam Pump Engine.
Where Iron Mountain beats most towns.
1.5% of the town is conserved land, across 5 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Iron Mountain is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 8,599 in 1890, a peak of 11,652 in 1930, 7,518 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1897 and 2 maps from 1955 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Iron Mountain, 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 Iron Mountain.
Iron Mountain draws workers from Breitung Township and beyond, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has home values climbing faster than Michigan’s.
The trail density in Iron Mountain is 2.9 miles per square mile. Iron Mountain Park, at 62 acres with 3.1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. 24 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves.
| Iron Mountain | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 2.9 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.5% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Iron Mountain Park | 3.1 mi | 62 |
| 2. Jim and Ida Goulette Park | — | 14 |
| 3. East Side Park | — | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Iron Mountain Public Schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–4 | Grades K–4 | 263 | B− |
| Iron Mountain High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 243 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
7,563 jobs are based in Iron Mountain, 2.5 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 16 minutes, against 24.2 across Michigan.
Iron Mountain’s average trip to work is 16 minutes. Jobs based in Iron Mountain fell to 7,563 in 2021, 632 fewer than in 2011. 14% of Iron Mountain residents live below the poverty line.
| Iron Mountain | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $59,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 83% of U.S. communities. Since 1996, 4 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Iron Mountain.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Home values rose 42% in five years, to about $193K, against 24% across Michigan.
Typical home values rose 6.2% in the year to September 2026.
| Iron Mountain | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $744 a month | $1,047 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 72% | 84% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Against the 8,755 U.S. towns with household incomes like Iron Mountain’s, it is less healthy than 51%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income.
Iron Mountain beats the Michigan average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 29% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Iron Mountain.
| Iron Mountain | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 27% | 23% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 37% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 34% | 36% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Iron Mountain | MI |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 9.6% | 8.1% |
| More adults with heart disease | 8% | 7% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.9% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Iron Mountain has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 80°, January nights drop to 5° and about 61 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Michigan average. 23% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across Michigan.
| Iron Mountain | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 20% | 21% | 22% |
| Median age | 43.5 years | 42.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 23% | 26% | 29% |
48% women, 52% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.5 points. Across Michigan, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Iron Mountain | MI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.6% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.1% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.2% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.8% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 15.1% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.2% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.6% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.4% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.5% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 35.1% | 28% | 26% |
| Some college | 24.1% | 21.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.5% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 15.2% | 19.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7.6% | 12.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
None within 15 miles of Iron Mountain; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Iron Mountain residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
Where Iron Mountain’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
6 places in Iron Mountain on the National Register of Historic Places.
25 notable people were born in Iron Mountain.
City in Michigan, United States
Iron Mountain is a city in and the county seat of Dickinson County, Michigan, United States. The population was 7,518 at the 2020 census, down from 7,624 at the 2010 census. Located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Iron Mountain was named for the valuable iron ore found in the vicinity. Iron Mountain is the principal city of the Iron Mountain micropolitan area, which includes all of Dickinson County and Florence County, Wisconsin. Iron Mountain hosts a few points of interest such as the Millie Hill bat cave and the Chapin Mine Steam Pump Engine, and is located adjacent to the Pine Mountain Jump, one of the largest artificial ski jumps in the world. It shares Woodward Avenue with the neig…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Iron Mountain.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iron Mountain | #298 | B | A− | — | B− | C |
| Breitung Township | #282 | B | B | — | A | C+ |
| Kingsford | #116 | A | A− | — | A | B |
Iron Mountain, Breitung Township and Kingsford report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Iron Mountain with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Iron Mountain grades B overall, better than 62% of U.S. towns and #298 of 697 in Michigan. It grades C for health 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−.
25 notable people were born here, including Robert J. Flaherty and Delaney Schnell.
