Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Reed City gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $202K for a typical one, or 3.5 years of the county’s $58K median household income. It grades C+ overall, 501st among Michigan's 697 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $52K, and 20% of residents live below the poverty line, and its crime rate is higher than 77% of U.S. towns, with 13 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. On the plus side, natural-hazard risk is low. Reed City’s violent crime rate is 5.1 per 1,000 residents, against 1.9 in Michigan’s towns and 1.6 across U.S. towns. Reed City's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 92% of U.S. towns. The biggest park or preserve is Westerburg Park, at 54 acres.
Where Reed City beats most towns.
Where Reed City’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 Reed City is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,091 in 1880, 2,490 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1900 and 2 maps from 1959 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Reed City, 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 Reed City.
Reed City trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, draws workers from Green Township and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
1,968 jobs are based in Reed City, 2.1 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Most working residents leave Reed City for work: only 17% work in town. Jobs based in Reed City grew to 1,968 in 2021, 393 more than in 2011. Reed City’s average trip to work is 21 minutes.
| Reed City | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 17% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Median household income | $52,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Reed City Area Public Schools. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Reed City High School, with 445 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| GT Norman Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 540 | B− |
| Reed City High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 445 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Westerburg Park | 0.5 mi | 54 |
| 2. Rambadt Memorial Park | 0.3 mi | 23 |
| 3. Linear Park | 0.3 mi | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 83% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Reed City reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 77% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 6,566 U.S. towns with household incomes like Reed City’s, it is less healthy than 51%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
Reed City beats the Michigan average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2.
| Reed City | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 27% | 23% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 15% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 25% | 25% |
| What stands out | Reed City | MI |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 14.7% | 10.2% |
| More adults with COPD | 10.1% | 8.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Homes are within reach (about $202K for the typical one, A for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 26 miles.
59% of Reed City households own their home. Typical home values rose 4.4% in the year to September 2026. The median rent in Reed City is $714 a month.
| Reed City | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 59% | 84% | 73% |
| Median rent | $714 a month | $1,047 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Reed City has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 81°, January nights drop to 13° and about 61 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
1 within 15 miles of the center of Reed City
About 4 of every 100 Reed City residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
4 notable people were born in Reed City.
City in Michigan, United States
Reed City is a city in and county seat of Osceola County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,490 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Reed City grades C+ overall, better than 37% of U.S. towns and #501 of 697 in Michigan. It grades C− for health, C− 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 Thomas D. Schall and Harold Cronk.
