Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Linden grades A overall, ranked 99th of 697 in Michigan, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Crime is low: it reports less per resident than 89% of U.S. towns and its schools rank ahead of 85% of Michigan towns. It also does better than most on health: residents are healthier than 70% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. A typical home there costs about $342K, 5.5 years of the Flint metro’s $62K median household income. Linden’s trail density is 1.4 miles per square mile, above both the Michigan town median (0.3) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). Linden has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Linden Mill and Bridge Street-Broad Street Historic District.
Where Linden beats most towns.
Linden Mill| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Hyatt Elementary | PK–3 | 351 |
| Linden Elementary School | PK–3 | 295 |
Where Linden’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Linden is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 271 in 1860, 4,142 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1890 and 5 maps from 1922 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Linden, 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 Linden.
Linden has less food insecurity than most of Michigan and sees little violent crime.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Eagle's Wooden Park | 0.4 mi | 5 |
| 2. Kimble-Sharp Gazebo Park | 0.1 mi | 2 |
| 3. Triangle Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Linden Community Schools. One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hyatt ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–3 | Grades PK–3 | 351 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
Violent crime is rare: 5 reported in 2025, 1.2 per 1,000 residents.
At 2.1 per 1,000 residents, Linden’s property crime rate is against 8 in Michigan’s towns and 9.9 across U.S. towns.
| Linden | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.1 per 1,000 residents | 8 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.2 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Most working residents leave Linden for work: only 3% work in town. Linden’s average trip to work is 30 minutes. Since 2011, Linden has added 107 jobs, to 794 in 2021.
| Linden | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 4.4% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.6% | 5.9% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
The median rent in Linden is $809 a month. Typical home values rose 4.6% in the year to September 2026. 91% of Linden households own their home.
| Linden | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 91% | 84% | 73% |
| Median rent | $809 a month | $1,047 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its widest gap with Michigan is food insecurity: 9.9% of its 3,261 adults worry about having enough food, against 15.4% statewide.
Linden beats the Michigan average on 9 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 13% of adults smoke cigarettes in Linden.
| Linden | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 14% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 9.9% | 14% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 19% | 19% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 27% | 23% |
| What stands out | Linden | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.9% | 15.4% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5.7% | 8.7% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.7% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Linden has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 16° and about 52 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 67% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Michigan average. 27% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across Michigan.
| Linden | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 37.7 years | 42.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 17% | 19% | 18% |
56% women, 44% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±7.7 points. Across Michigan, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Linden | MI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 15.3% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.1% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.9% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 17.1% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.2% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 17.8% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 8.1% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.5% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.9% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.5% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 25.7% | 28% | 26% |
| Some college | 26.5% | 21.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 18% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 17.5% | 19.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9.7% | 12.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,200, single groups can be off by several points
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Linden. Close and well known come first.
Big draw38 mi Stadium & arenaMichigan Stadium
35 mi Park & preserveDomino's Farms29 mi MuseumMarvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum
40 mi Zoo & aquariumDetroit Zoo
36 mi MuseumEli and Edythe Broad Art Museum150K visitors a year
15 mi MuseumSloan MuseumMichigan Stadium: Lectrician2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Domino's Farms: Dwight Burdette, CC BY 3.0 · Detroit Zoo: WMrapids, CC0 · Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum: Dj1997, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Sloan Museum: Amancour, CC BY-SA 4.0
3 within 15 miles of the center of Linden
About 5 of every 100 Linden residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Michigan.
2 places in Linden on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Michigan, United States
Linden is a city in southern Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Its population was 4,142 at the 2020 census. It is a part of the Fenton urban area just south of the Flint metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Linden grades A overall, better than 87% of U.S. towns and #99 of 697 in Michigan. It grades B+ for health, A for safety and A for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
