Photo: Robert Franklin · CC BY 4.0Measured against area pay, Niles Township costs less to live in than 62% of U.S. towns
It ranks #239 of 701 in Michigan for affordability. Home prices around Niles Township have risen about 53% over the past 5 years. Builders were permitted 15 new homes in 2025.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Niles, MI metro area ($65K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade compares costs with what households across the Niles metro earn ($65K, Census 2020–24). The typical home costs 2.6 years of metro income, and 57% of renters pay 30% or more of income for housing.
In dollars
- $1,120a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 92prices across the Niles metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 72)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 2.6 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$65K, Niles-area income
- 18%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 57%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across Michigan: 50%Census 2020–24
- 19%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
What kind of housing town is Niles Township?
Read from the numbers below. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Niles Township’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Niles Township is more affordable than 62% of U.S. towns, #239 of 701 in Michigan. Rent pulls the grade down most; home prices hold it up.
Home prices up 53% in 5 years
The federal house price index for the ZIP codes around Niles Township rose 53% over the past 5 years, about the same as across Michigan. Last year prices rose 1.1%. Carrying the Census median home value forward with that index puts the typical Niles Township home at roughly $202,000 today.
Carrying the Census median forward with the index puts a typical home at about $202K.
Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (annual) for the ZIP codes around Niles Township, weighted by land area. It tracks repeat sales of the same homes, so it shows how prices changed, not what homes cost.
A typical home costs 2.6 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Niles Township’s own median, or type yours.
That covers a typical Niles Township home, with $47K to spare.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,120 a month here, $110 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Niles Township’s typical property tax (1.01% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,120
Renters already here pay a median of $981, so moving in tends to cost more than staying put.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Niles, MI MSA): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
15 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 15 new homes in Niles Township in 2025, all single-family houses, worth about $4.6 million to build. That's 1 per 1,000 residents, slower than across Michigan (2.3). Over the past 10 years, Niles Township has permitted 231 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Niles Township gained 253 residents while 106 new homes were permitted: about 2.4 new residents per new home, more than across Michigan (1.2): growth outpaced building.
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 16 | 16 | 0 | $5.9 million |
| 2025 | 15 | 15 | 0 | $4.6 million |
| 2024 | 26 | 26 | 0 | $6.8 million |
| 2023 | 40 | 40 | 0 | $10 million |
| 2022 | 19 | 17 | 2 | $6 million |
| 2021 | 29 | 29 | 0 | $6.1 million |
| 2020 | 28 | 28 | 0 | $6.5 million |
| 2019 | 25 | 20 | 5 | $5.2 million |
| 2018 | 15 | 15 | 0 | $4.7 million |
| 2017 | 18 | 18 | 0 | $5.5 million |
| 2016 | 16 | 16 | 0 | $3.1 million |
| 2015 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $1.1 million |
| 2014 | 9 | 9 | 0 | $2.3 million |
| 2013 | 5 | 5 | 0 | $919,000 |
| 2012 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $238,000 |
| 2011 | 8 | 8 | 0 | $1.9 million |
| 2010 | 4 | 4 | 0 | $1 million |
| 2009 | 5 | 5 | 0 | $1 million |
| 2008 | 22 | 22 | 0 | $4.5 million |
| 2007 | 38 | 38 | 0 | $2.3 million |
| 2006 | 37 | 37 | 0 | $6.2 million |
| 2005 | 54 | 54 | 0 | $9.1 million |
| 2004 | 56 | 56 | 0 | $9.4 million |
| 2003 | 57 | 57 | 0 | $9.6 million |
| 2002 | 53 | 53 | 0 | $7.8 million |
| 2001 | 52 | 34 | 18 | $6 million |
| 2000 | 49 | 35 | 14 | $5.9 million |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Property tax runs below the Michigan norm
The median bill is $1,750 (Michigan: $2,904), 1.01% of a home’s value a year, against 1.25% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
The rest of a budget near Niles Township
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the Niles, MI metro area, or Michigan. Groceries follow the goods price level; nobody publishes them town by town.
| Cost | Here | Compared with | Area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prices overall U.S. = 100 | 92 | MI 96 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 94 | MI 96 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 96 | MI 100 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Other services U.S. = 100 | 100 | MI 101 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Electricity cents per kWh, homes | 23.1¢ | U.S. 18.3¢ | state | EIA, July 2026 |
Price levels: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities 2024 (metro area and state). Electricity: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A.
Niles Township vs. its neighbors
Zillow publishes no value for Niles Township. Milton Township and Bertrand Township and Berrien Township and Clay Township and Howard Township and Buchanan Township have no Zillow value, so they are in the table only.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, latest | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Niles Township | B | — | $173K | 1.01% | $1,120 |
| Niles | B+ | $213K | $135K | 1.12% | $1,130 |
| Bertrand Township | B− | — | $297K | 0.85% | $1,110 |
| Buchanan Township | B | — | $194K | 1.06% | $1,070 |
| Howard Township | A− | — | $200K | 0.98% | $1,110 |
| Clay Township | C+ | — | $226K | 0.93% | $1,490 |
| Milton Township | B | — | $300K | 0.87% | $1,130 |
| Berrien Township | B− | — | $253K | 1.00% | $1,200 |
“—” under Zillow: Zillow publishes no value for that town, so it’s left blank rather than mixed with Census figures.
Questions about the cost of living in Niles Township
Is Niles Township expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Niles Township costs less than 62% of U.S. towns: a B for cost of living, #239 of 701 in Michigan. The typical home costs 2.6 years of the median household income of the Niles, MI metro area ($65K).
How much is rent in Niles Township?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,120 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $981 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Niles Township?
The median bill is $1,750 a year, 1.01% of the median home value (Michigan: $2,904, 1.25%), from the Census 2020–24.
Neighbors talk housing
What Niles Township buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. Price trend: Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.