Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Saginaw earns a D−, ranked 692nd of 697 in Michigan, mostly because of health and safety. On CDC estimates, its residents' health ranks in the bottom 2% nationally. It reports more crime per resident than 99% of U.S. towns, including 966 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. What it does well: it has 9 miles of trail. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 98% of U.S. towns, with 31 places on the National Register. 34% of residents live below the poverty line in Saginaw, against 8.9% in Michigan’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. Its National Register listings include Roethke Houses and Castle Station. On hazard risk, just 84 of Michigan’s 1,279 towns do worse.
Where Saginaw beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Castle Station
Serena Williams| Widest gap | Saginaw | MI |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 23% | 8.7% |
Its founding year, 1815, comes before those of 98% of the Michigan towns we grade with a known year. Its 31 National Register listings are more than in 97% of Michigan towns with a listing.
Census counts: 1,699 in 1860, a peak of 98,265 in 1960, 44,202 in 2020. The archive holds 17 old photos and papers going back to 1844 and 4 maps from 1919 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Saginaw is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Saginaw, 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 Saginaw.
Saginaw draws workers from Saginaw Township and beyond, but it reports violent crime at 5 times the Michigan rate and carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Michigan (mostly inland flooding).
35% of Saginaw adults say their health is fair or poor. Among 701 Michigan towns, just 8 have a higher share of adults who report frequent physical distress than Saginaw. 23% of Saginaw adults report frequent mental distress.
| Saginaw | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 19% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 15% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 12% | 12% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 18% | 17% |
| What stands out | Saginaw | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.6% | 8.9% |
| Fewer binge drinkers | 12.4% | 15.9% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 23% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the School District of the City of Saginaw. Three of its 21 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thompson Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 585 | D |
| Saginaw United High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 981 | C− |
| Saginaw Arts and Sciences AcademyTop results in townGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 374 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
Violent crime runs at 22.6 per 1,000 residents, 5 times the Michigan rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its D−. Each of the 3 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from Buena Vista Township (D−) to Carrollton Township (C+).
The violent crime rate in Saginaw is 22.6 per 1,000 residents. Saginaw reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 99% report less. The property crime rate in Saginaw is 19 per 1,000 residents.
| Saginaw | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 22.6 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 19 per 1,000 residents | 7.8 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
22,186 jobs are based in Saginaw, 1.6 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
About one in 5 of Saginaw’s working residents works in town. Saginaw’s median household income is $39,000. Since 2011, Saginaw has lost 4,474 jobs, to 22,186 in 2021.
| Saginaw | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 21% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Median household income | $39,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 7.7% | 10% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
At 2.2 years of the Saginaw metro’s $61K median household income, the typical home (about $134K) costs less against local pay than in 93% of Michigan towns; that ratio is one input to its B for cost of living. Home values rose 41% in five years, to about $134K, against 24% across Michigan.
The typical Saginaw home is worth about $134,000, up 5.1% in a year, 49% below the Michigan typical home. 60% of households own their home in Saginaw.
| Saginaw | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 60% | 84% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 64% | 45% | 48% |
| Median rent | $922 a month | $1,047 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
8.6 miles of trail in 20 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Saginaw River Headwaters Recreation Area, 454 acres with 3.1 miles of trail.
| Saginaw | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 6.9% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Saginaw River Headwaters Recreation Area | 3.1 mi | 454 |
| 2. Frank N. Andersen Celebration Park | 1.1 mi | 37 |
| 3. Crayola Park | 0.7 mi | 9 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The Saginaw #3 weather station records that 41 inches of snow fall in a normal winter: more than most of the country, but less than 77% of Michigan places with climate records.
Saginaw has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83° and January nights drop to 16°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 94% of Michigan towns, with expected losses of about $361 per resident a year; that rating is what its C+ for hazard risk is built on.
Since 1978, 94 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Saginaw.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Saginaw. Close and well known come first.
14 mi MuseumUSS Edson
in town TheatreTemple Theatrein town Zoo & aquariumChildren's Zoo at Celebration Square
21 mi GardenDow Gardens
31 mi MuseumSloan Museum
14 mi MuseumSaginaw Valley Naval Ship MuseumUSS Edson: U.S. Navy, Public domain · Temple Theatre: Ian Poellet, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dow Gardens: Chris.Schiemann, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Sloan Museum: Amancour, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Saginaw Valley Naval Ship Museum: John McCullough, CC BY-SA 2.5
2 within 15 miles of the center of Saginaw
About 4 of every 100 Saginaw residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
51,508 counted in 2010 and 44,202 in 2020; an estimated 42,863 in 2025.
The decline has continued: down 3% since 2020, after 14.2% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
31 places in Saginaw on the National Register of Historic Places.
51 notable people were born in Saginaw.
City in Michigan, United States
Saginaw () is a city in Saginaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 44,202 at the 2020 census. Located along the Saginaw River, Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of the Greater Tri-Cities region of Central Michigan. The Saginaw metropolitan area had a population of 190,124 in 2020, while the Tri-Cities area had 377,474 residents. Established as a fort following the 1819 Treaty of Saginaw, Saginaw was a thriving lumber town in the 19th century. It was an important industrial city and manufacturing center throughout much of the 20th century due to its automobile and automotive parts production led by General Motors. As…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Saginaw.
All 3 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its D−; Carrollton Township (D−) is closest.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saginaw · Saginaw Township | #692 | D− | B | D− | C | D− |
| Spaulding Township | — | — | A | — | C− | D− |
| Buena Vista Township | #683 | D | B+ | D− | C | D− |
| Bridgeport Township | #674 | D | A | C− | C− | D |
| James Township | — | — | B− | — | A | B− |
| Carrollton Township | #690 | D− | C+ | C+ | C | D |
Spaulding Township and James Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Spaulding Township and James Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Saginaw Township and Saginaw are one community, graded once. Compare Saginaw with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Saginaw grades D− overall, better than 3% of U.S. towns and #692 of 697 in Michigan. It grades D− for health, D− for safety and C for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
That is 2.2 years of the area's median household income ($60,622 across the Saginaw, MI metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
51 notable people were born here, including Serena Williams and Stevie Wonder.
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