Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
On cost of living it is strong (A): a typical home costs about $111K, 2.1 years of the county’s $53K median household income. Ironwood’s overall grade of B− puts it better than 53% of U.S. towns, 375th of 697 in Michigan. Incomes are its weak spot — the median household income is $41K, and 17% of residents live below the poverty line. It also trails on health: CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 90% of the country. The town has 6 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Ironwood Carnegie Library and Memorial Building. 33% of working residents work locally in the town, where Michigan’s towns sit at 5.9% and U.S. towns at 8%. Only 5 of the 272 Michigan towns we compare have a lower property crime rate than Ironwood. Only 32 of Michigan’s 1,279 towns score higher on hazard risk.
Figures: home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · health, CDC PLACES · FEMA National Risk Index · National Register of Historic Places · Census LEHD, 2021 · FBI crime data, 2025.
Where Ironwood beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| Widest gap | Ironwood | MI |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 12.8% | 8.1% |
5.2% 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 Ironwood is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for hazard risk (better than 98% of comparable towns) to D− for jobs and income (better than 3%), so the B− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 7,745 in 1890, a peak of 15,739 in 1920, 5,045 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1890 and a map from 1975 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ironwood, 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 Ironwood.
Ironwood gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has homes that are cheap against local pay.
Across 5 parks and preserves: 22 miles of trail. Norrie Park, at 99 acres with 2.7 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Parks and preserves in Ironwood: 5, covering 142 acres.
| Ironwood | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 3.3 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5.2% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Norrie Park | 2.7 mi | 99 |
| 2. Gogebic County Fairgrounds | — | 29 |
| 3. Curry Park | — | 10 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its one school is below. The largest public high school is Luther L Wright K12 School, with 770 students. Public schools: Ironwood Area Schools of Gogebic County.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luther L Wright K12 SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 770 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
At 2.1 years of the county’s $53K median household income, the typical home (about $111K) costs less against local pay than in 94% of Michigan towns; that ratio is one input to its A for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $1,423, against $2,904 across Michigan, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
On the market in Ironwood: a median 44 days to sell. In the year to September 2026, typical home values climbed 8.2%. Ironwood: 72% of households live in a home they own.
| Ironwood | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $622 a month | $1,047 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 72% | 84% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Against the 2,752 U.S. towns with household incomes like Ironwood’s, it is less healthy than 56%, so that grade isn’t only a matter of income.
The share of adults in Ironwood who have obesity: 40%. Among adults in the town, 16% have diabetes and 43% have high blood pressure.
| Ironwood | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 14% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 12% | 12% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 36% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Ironwood | MI |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 12.8% | 8.1% |
| More adults with heart disease | 10.3% | 7% |
| More adults who have had a stroke | 5.1% | 3.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Compared with 96% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage in Ironwood is lower. The town has had 4 paid flood insurance claims since 1996. Expected losses in Ironwood break down as 41% from cold waves and 34% from inland flooding. Households in the town have drawn federal disaster aid in 3 declared disasters, most recently in 2018.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Violent crime is rare: 7 reported in 2025, 1.4 per 1,000 residents.
The property crime rate in Ironwood is 1.2 per 1,000 residents. The level of violent crime in the town is 1.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Ironwood | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.2 per 1,000 residents | 8 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.4 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The median household earns $41,250, against $72,875 across Michigan, one input to its D− for jobs and income.
17% of residents are under 18 in Ironwood. People 65 and older are 28% of residents (19% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 18% of residents (22% statewide). The town’s age of the median resident stands at 47.9 years. The bachelor’s-degree share among adults 25 and older is 23%, against 32% across Michigan.
| Ironwood | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 28% | 19% | 18% |
| Median age | 47.9 years | 42.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 17% | 21% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 23% | 26% | 29% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.7 points. Across Michigan, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Ironwood | MI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 6.7% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.7% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.4% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.7% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.8% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.3% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.8% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.7% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 13.8% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.6% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 35.2% | 28% | 26% |
| Some college | 23% | 21.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.3% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 14.4% | 19.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.4% | 12.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 5,000, single groups can be off by several points
The Ironwood weather station records that 186 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 100% of U.S. towns. The Ironwood weather station records that about 2 days a year reach 90°, fewer than in 96% of U.S. towns.
Ironwood’s typical July afternoon high comes in at 77°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Jobs based here fell from 2,671 in 2011 to 1,914. The average commute for its 1,879 working residents takes 17.9 minutes, against 24.2 across Michigan.
In Ironwood, the average trip to work is 18 minutes. Between 2011 and 2021, jobs in Ironwood dropped by 757, to 1,914. Half the trips to work are shorter than 5 miles. The top destinations are Hurley (8%), Bessemer (7%) and Ironwood Township (5%).
| Ironwood | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 33% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $41,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 17% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
1 within 15 miles of the center of Ironwood
About 2 of every 100 Ironwood residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
6 places in Ironwood on the National Register of Historic Places.
9 notable people were born in Ironwood.
City in Michigan, United States
Ironwood is a city in Gogebic County in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan, about 18 miles (29 km) south of Lake Superior. The city is on US Highway 2 across the Montreal River from Hurley, Wisconsin. It is the westernmost city in Michigan, situated on the same line of longitude (90.2 degrees West) as Clinton, Iowa, and St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 5,045 at the 2020 census, down from 5,387 at the 2010 census. The city is bordered by Ironwood Township to the north, but the two are administered autonomously. While originally an iron mining town, the area is now known for its downhill skiing resorts, including Big Powderhorn, Snowriver, Mount Zion and Whitecap as well…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Ironwood.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ironwood | #375 | B− | A | B+ | B− | D |
| Erwin Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Ironwood Township | — | — | A− | — | B− | C− |
Ironwood Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Ironwood Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. Erwin Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Ironwood with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Ironwood grades B− overall, better than 53% of U.S. towns and #375 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.
9 notable people were born here, including Renee Ellmers and Raymond Joseph Cannon.
