Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Iron River gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $125K, 2.2 years of the county’s $56K median household income. It grades B overall, ranked 288th of 697 in Michigan. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $54K, and 21% of residents live below the poverty line, and CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 87% of the country. On the plus side, natural-hazard risk is low. Iron River’s typical journey to work is 11 minutes, where Michigan’s towns sit at 25 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. Its National Register listings include Central School and Isaac W. Byers House. Iron River's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 100% of U.S. towns.
Where Iron River beats most towns.
Alexander MacKinnon House
Its 38 National Register listings are more than in 99% of Michigan towns with a listing.
Census counts: 1,117 in 1890, a peak of 4,665 in 1930, 3,007 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1911 and 3 maps from 1898 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Iron River is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for cost of living (better than 97% of comparable towns) to D for jobs and income (better than 11%), so the B overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Iron River, 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 River.
Iron River has a shorter frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns, has homes that are cheap against local pay and sees little violent crime.
Trails run 7.9 miles in 7 parks and preserves. For Iron River, the density of trails is 1.2 miles per square mile. Parks and preserves locally: 7, covering 15 acres.
| Iron River | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.3% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bachman Park | — | 4 |
| 2. Nanaimo Park | — | 3 |
| 3. Ice Lake Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Public schools: the West Iron County Public Schools. The largest public high school is West Iron County Middle High School, with 407 students. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stambaugh Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 353 | A− |
| West Iron County Middle High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 407 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
At 2.2 years of the county’s $56K median household income, the typical home (about $125K) costs less against local pay than in 93% of Michigan towns; that ratio is one input to its A+ for cost of living. Home values rose 42% in five years, to about $125K, against 24% across Michigan.
Zillow values the typical Iron River home at about $125,000, up 5.2% in a year, 53% below the Michigan typical home. 70% of households live in a home they own in the town.
| Iron River | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $486 a month | $1,047 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 70% | 84% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Among adults in Iron River, 41% have obesity. In Iron River, 42% of adults have high blood pressure, and 19% smoke cigarettes.
| Iron River | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 36% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 15% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 12% | 12% |
| What stands out | Iron River | MI |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 11.9% | 8.1% |
| More adults with heart disease | 9.6% | 7% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 13.6% | 10.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
On expected storm and flood damage, Iron River sits below 90% of U.S. communities. FEMA puts nearly four fifths of the town’s expected hazard losses down to cold waves, and 13% to inland flooding.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Stambaugh 2sse weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 95 days, shorter than in 99% of U.S. towns. The Stambaugh 2sse weather station records that about 2 days a year reach 90°, fewer than in 96% of U.S. towns.
Summer afternoons peak near 78° in July, and January nights bottom out around 3°; snowfall runs to about 67 inches a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 1,078 working residents takes 11.3 minutes, against 24.2 across Michigan.
Iron River had 1,294 jobs in 2021, up 230 from 2011. Roughly one working resident in three has a job in Iron River itself. The top destinations are Crystal Falls (7%), Kingsford (6%) and Iron Mountain (5%). For half of commuters, work is under 14 miles away.
| Iron River | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 30% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Median household income | $54,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 14% | 10% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Violent crime is rare: 5 reported in 2025, 1.7 per 1,000 residents.
In Iron River, the violent offense rate is 1.7 per 1,000 residents. Iron River’s property crime rate stands at 6.3 per 1,000 residents.
| Iron River | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 6.3 per 1,000 residents | 8 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.7 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
None within 15 miles of Iron River; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Iron River residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
38 places in Iron River on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Iron River.
City in Michigan, United States
Iron River is a city in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the largest city in Iron County. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 3,007. The city is situated at the southeast corner of Iron River Township, though it is administratively autonomous.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Iron River.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iron River | #288 | B | A+ | B | B+ | D |
| Iron River Township | — | — | A | — | B+ | C− |
| Stambaugh Township | — | — | B− | — | B+ | C− |
| Caspian | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Bates Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Iron River Township and Stambaugh Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Iron River Township and Stambaugh Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Caspian and Bates Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Iron River with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Iron River grades B overall, better than 63% of U.S. towns and #288 of 697 in Michigan. It grades D for health, B for safety and B+ for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
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+.
4 notable people were born here, including Nick Baumgartner and Dan Benishek.
