Lansing, the state capital · Photo: Andrew Martin · CC BY 3.0How Michigan stacks up
In Michigan, the trade-off is clear: relatively little exposure to natural disasters on one side, slow growth (+2.0% from 2010 to 2020) on the other. That balance adds up to a B overall and 19th place among the 50 states and D.C. Only two states have a higher share of homes lived in by their owners: in Michigan, 73% of homes are owner-occupied.
Each subject puts the official state figure beside a measure built from our town grades. How this works
Safety
24th of 51B−54/100 Its towns are safer than the statewide count. Detroit and Grand Rapids weigh on the town measure; 43% of residents live in bottom-quarter places. Violent crime runs at 431 per 100,000 residents, 31% above the national figure (10th highest among the states). Town by town it does better than the statewide number.
With property crime counted (property + 4 × violent), it places 22nd highest.
Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer, state estimate 2025.
Measure: reported crime per resident over the engine’s three crime years (property + 4 × violent), as in our Safety grades. 129 Michigan towns of 10,000+ against 3,410 nationally. Covers 80% of residents of Michigan’s 10,000+ towns.
The big places weigh on the total
Oakland Township leads its towns at #62 of 3,410 nationally, with Hamburg Township and Brandon Township close behind. Warren, Lansing and Flint sit at the high-crime end of the national ranking. Its towns tell a different story from the state total: 13th of 48 town by town, 10th highest statewide.
| State | Safest quarter | Most-crime quarter | Split |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Hampshire | 42% | 0% | |
| Rhode Island | 37% | 0% | |
| New Jersey | 35% | 20% | |
| Pennsylvania | 29% | 37% | |
| Maine | 29% | 15% | |
| Michigan | 17% | 43% |
Towns policed by others
Our town measure uses the crime each local police department reports to the FBI; towns without enough of the last three years are left out. In Michigan, 80% of residents of 10,000+ towns are covered. Six towns have too few years reported, among them Grand Blanc Township, Muskegon and Fruitport Township. Macomb Township, Georgetown Township and Ypsilanti Township are among 61 places that report no crime of their own; county or state police patrol them, and their crimes aren’t counted by town. Among its neighbors, Wisconsin counts the most (93%) and Indiana the least (42%).
Schools
28th of 51B−46/100 Middle of the pack for schools. It spends $16,528 per pupil (25th) and scores 41st, less than the spending would buy elsewhere. 28% of its 4th and 8th graders reach Proficient on the Nation’s Report Card, against 31% nationally (11th lowest). Its larger places pull the town measure down: Detroit and Grand Rapids sit in the national bottom quarter.
In the class of 2023, 81.8% graduated on time, 10th lowest; graduation counts as much as test results in the grade.
Spending: $16,528 per pupil, 25th highest. Shown for context, not graded.
Source: NCES, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2024, public schools; EDFacts graduation rates; Census school finance.
Measure: graduation rate and test results, averaged; each district’s state-test proficiency is put on the NAEP yardstick (its result ÷ the state average × the state’s NAEP proficiency) so districts compare across states. 196 Michigan towns of 10,000+ against 5,230 nationally.
Cost of living
21st of 51B60/100 Somewhat affordable. The typical homeowner pays $2,904 a year in property tax. High taxes, but homes cost only 3.2 times income (11th lowest). Its best town is Ionia, #90 of 5,235, and 41% of residents live in top-quarter towns.
A typical home costs 3.2 years of median household income, 11th lowest.
Source: Census ACS 2020–24 5-year.
Measure: our cost-of-living score: home value, rent and tax bill against area income, plus the share paying 30%+ for housing. 196 Michigan towns of 10,000+ against 5,235 nationally.
Health
28th of 51B−46/100 Health right at the national middle. 21% of residents live in a top-quarter town, 37% in a bottom-quarter one; East Grand Rapids ranks highest. Compared with 19% nationally, 19% of adults here report fair or poor health.
Source: CDC PLACES 2025 release (BRFSS model estimates).
Measure: our health score: seven CDC PLACES measures (general, physical and mental health, obesity, diabetes, smoking, inactivity). 196 Michigan towns of 10,000+ against 5,218 nationally.
Housing
1st of 51A+100/100 Home ownership runs high. About 7 in 10 homes are lived in by their owners (3rd highest). It leads its neighbors on home ownership, ahead of Indiana. 28% of residents live in a top-quarter town, 26% in a bottom-quarter one; Texas Township ranks highest.
Source: Census ACS 2020–24 5-year.
Measure: share of occupied homes that are owner-occupied. 196 Michigan towns of 10,000+ against 5,235 nationally.
Natural hazards
5th of 51A92/100 Consistently low risk. Nearly every larger town does well here, Traverse City and Sault Ste. Marie among them. Natural hazards are expected to cost $85 a year per $100,000 of buildings, the 3rd lowest rate in the country. Most of that risk is inland flooding (77%), with tornadoes a distant second.
The federal government declared six major disasters here between 2015 and 2025 (16th fewest).
What drives it: inland flooding 77%, tornado 12%, strong wind 5% of expected building damage.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (Dec. 2025): expected annual building loss over building value, all census tracts; FEMA disaster declarations.
Measure: FEMA National Risk Index: expected yearly building loss from 18 natural hazards, as a share of building value. 196 Michigan towns of 10,000+ against 5,239 nationally.
Commute
27th of 51B−48/100 Typical commutes. Escanaba ranks #8 of 5,235 U.S. towns for commute times. The average trip to work takes 24.2 minutes, 2 minutes shorter than the national average. Ohio, Indiana and Wisconsin all do better on commute times.
Source: Census ACS 2020–24 5-year.
Measure: average one-way commute of the town’s workers. 196 Michigan towns of 10,000+ against 5,235 nationally.
Growth
48th of 51D6/100 Barely growing. Census counts show the population up 2.0% from 2010 to 2020 (5th slowest). Ohio, Indiana and Wisconsin all do better on growth. Town by town it lands near the middle, with Lyon Township its best at #149 of 5,079.
Builders took out permits for 2.3 homes per 1,000 residents in 2025, 8th fewest.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 and 2020 decennial counts; Census building permits.
Measure: population change between the 2010 and 2020 censuses. 196 Michigan towns of 10,000+ against 5,079 nationally.
How Michigan compares to its neighbors
Against Ohio, Indiana and Wisconsin, Michigan leads on housing but trails on safety, schools and the commute.
| Michigan | Ohio | Indiana | Wisconsin | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | B 6419th of 51 | A 868th of 51 | A+ 982nd of 51 | A 944th of 51 |
| Safety | B− 5442nd official · 17% in top towns | B+ 6823rd official · 19% in top towns | B+ 6625th official · 20% in top towns | B+ 7219th official · 15% in top towns |
| Schools | B− 4641st official · 17% in top towns | A− 8210th official · 31% in top towns | A 927th official · 38% in top towns | A+ 968th official · 31% in top towns |
| Cost of living | B 6031st official · 41% in top towns | B 6429th official · 48% in top towns | A 9410th official · 69% in top towns | B− 4836th official · 32% in top towns |
| Health | B− 4632nd official · 21% in top towns | C+ 3632nd official · 12% in top towns | C 2639th official · 10% in top towns | B 5615th official · 11% in top towns |
| Housing | A+ 1003rd official · 28% in top towns | B 5628th official · 19% in top towns | A 8612th official · 13% in top towns | B− 4822nd official · 7% in top towns |
| Natural hazards | A 923rd official · 59% in top towns | A 887th official · 50% in top towns | B+ 7213th official · 21% in top towns | A 945th official · 74% in top towns |
| Commute | B− 4822nd official · 27% in top towns | B 6016th official · 29% in top towns | B 5621st official · 35% in top towns | A− 8011th official · 53% in top towns |
| Growth | D 647th official · 10% in top towns | C 3046th official · 23% in top towns | B− 4830th official · 21% in top towns | C+ 3635th official · 18% in top towns |
Each cell: the subject’s grade and score, the state’s rank on the official figure (1st = the better end), and the share of residents of 10,000+ towns living in a nationally top-quarter town. Neighbor names open their report cards.
How this report card works
Two measures, side by side. The left card is the figure a state agency or federal survey publishes for the whole state, ranked against the other 49 states and D.C. The right card is built from our town grades: of everyone living in the state’s towns and cities of 10,000+, the share whose town falls in the national top quarter of 10,000+ towns. A state can do well on one and not the other; that difference is often the story.
Scores and grades. Each subject’s score (0–100) is the state’s standing among the 50 states and D.C.: the two measures’ percentiles averaged, then ranked again, the same method as our town grades. 100 is the best state, 0 the last. Letters use the town-grade scale (A+ from 95, A from 85, A− from 75 … D below 15). The overall score weighs safety 18, cost of living 18, schools 16, health 14, commute 10, housing 8, natural hazards 8, growth 8 (out of 100). D.C., a single city, is left out of the town measure and graded on official figures alone.
What it is not. A state figure averages everyone, so it cannot show whether a state is evenly good or a mix of very good and struggling places. The town measure shows the mix but leaves out towns under 10,000 and towns missing data. Neither says anything about any one neighborhood.
Schools use the Nation’s Report Card because each state’s own tests are set to different bars. Hazards use FEMA’s expected building damage, the same loss rate behind our town hazard grades. Sources are named under each figure. How grades work