Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
2.5 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Michigan town.
Trash day: look up yoursIshpeming gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $201K, 3.1 years of the Marquette area’s $65K median household income. It grades B− overall, 366th of 697 graded towns in Michigan. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $53K, and 19% of residents live below the poverty line. On the plus side, it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 82% of U.S. towns. Ishpeming’s trail density is 7.7 miles per square mile, where Michigan’s towns sit at 0.3 and U.S. towns at 0.4. Ishpeming's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 99% of U.S. towns. Ishpeming has 6 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Cliffs Shaft Mine and Mather Inn.
Where Ishpeming beats most towns.
Mather Inn
Census counts: 6,039 in 1880, a peak of 13,255 in 1900, 6,140 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 2 maps from 1952 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Ishpeming is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ishpeming, 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 Ishpeming.
Ishpeming has a shorter frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and trades workers with Marquette and other neighbors.
More trails than any other town in Michigan. Walkers can cover 72 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. Ishpeming has one park or preserve, 4 acres in all.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. RAMBA Trailhead - The HOB | 0.3 mi | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The public schools here belong to the Ishpeming Public School District No. 1. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. The 4 public schools in Ishpeming teach 612 students between them.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birchview SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 233 | B |
| Ishpeming High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 172 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
Against the 6,711 U.S. towns with household incomes like Ishpeming’s, it is healthier than 61%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income.
In Ishpeming, 31% of adults sleep under 7 hours, and 17% smoke cigarettes. 29% of Ishpeming adults have been diagnosed with depression, above both the Michigan town median (27%) and the median of U.S. towns (23%). For adults in the town, the share who have obesity is 40%.
| Ishpeming | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 27% | 23% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 34% | 36% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 15% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Ishpeming | MI |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 16.9% | 10.2% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.8% | 8.1% |
| More adults with heart disease | 7.9% | 7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Of the losses FEMA expects in Ishpeming, 51% come from cold waves and 31% from inland flooding. Compared with 72% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage in the town is lower. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Ishpeming after 4 declared disasters, most recently in 2026.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Home values rose 49% in five years, to about $201K, against 24% across Michigan.
Homes in Ishpeming are typically worth about $201,000, up 8.4% in a year, 24% below the Michigan typical home. For Ishpeming, the midpoint rent is $733 a month. Also worth knowing: in Ishpeming, 70% of households are owner-occupiers.
| Ishpeming | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $733 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
The Marquette weather station, 7 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 129 days, shorter than in 97% of U.S. towns. The Marquette weather station, 7 miles away, records that 197 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 100% of U.S. towns.
The July high for Ishpeming comes to 77°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Ishpeming has about as many jobs (2,764) as working residents, but only 600 people both live and work here. Jobs based here grew from 1,674 in 2011 to 2,764.
The top destinations are Marquette (26%), Negaunee (5%) and Ishpeming Township (4%). The town’s typical journey to work is 19 minutes. Since 2011, Ishpeming has added 1,090 jobs, to 2,764 in 2021. Half of commuters travel less than 13 miles.
| Ishpeming | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 25% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $53,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 7.5% | 10% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Adults 35 to 64 are 32% of residents (38% statewide). Michigan has 32% of adults 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or more; here it is 27%. Among residents in Ishpeming, 17% are 65 or older.
| Ishpeming | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 34.8 years | 42.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 25% | 21% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 17% | 19% | 18% |
55% women, 45% men
About 80 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2.8 points). Across Michigan, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Ishpeming | MI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.7% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 13.1% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 10% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.9% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.4% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.1% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 9.7% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.9% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.2% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.3% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 30.9% | 28% | 26% |
| Some college | 23.8% | 21.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 14% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.4% | 19.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7.5% | 12.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Reported crimes fell from 64 to 36 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate in Ishpeming is 3.9 per 1,000 residents. The violent crime rate in the town is 1.9 per 1,000 residents.
| Ishpeming | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.9 per 1,000 residents | 8 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.9 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
1 within 15 miles of the center of Ishpeming
About 4 of every 100 Ishpeming residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
6 places in Ishpeming on the National Register of Historic Places.
7 notable people were born in Ishpeming.
City in Michigan, United States
Ishpeming ( ISH-pə-ming) is a city in Marquette County, Michigan, United States. Located in the Upper Peninsula, the population was 6,140 at the 2020 census, less than it was in the 1950s and 1960s when the iron ore mines employed more workers. A statue of a Native American figure, erected in 1884 in the small town square, is referred to as Old Ish. Ishpeming Township is located to the northwest of the city but is administratively autonomous. Ishpeming is considered the birthplace of organized skiing in the United States and is home to the National Ski Hall of Fame. The city was also prominently featured in the 2010 documentary Catfish. The name Ishpeming comes from Ojibwa ishpiming 'above.…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Ishpeming.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ishpeming | #366 | B− | A− | B | B− | C |
| Ishpeming Township | #119 | A− | A | — | B+ | B |
| Tilden Township | — | — | A | — | B+ | C+ |
| Negaunee | #144 | A− | B | — | A | B+ |
| West Ishpeming | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Tilden Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Ishpeming Township, Tilden Township and Negaunee report no FBI crime data of their own. West Ishpeming isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Ishpeming with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Ishpeming grades B− overall, better than 54% of U.S. towns and #366 of 697 in Michigan. It grades C for health, B for safety and B− for schools, and has the most trail per square mile in the state. 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−.
7 notable people were born here, including Glenn Theodore Seaborg and Kelly Johnson.
