Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Vassar earns a D, 676th of 697 graded towns in Michigan, mostly because of safety and incomes. Its police reported 24 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 93% of U.S. towns. The median household income is $59K, and 15% of residents live below the poverty line. One bright spot: 6% of its land is conserved. Vassar’s violent crime rate is 8.9 per 1,000 residents, above both the Michigan town median (1.9) and the median of U.S. towns (1.6). On hazard risk, just 2 of Michigan’s 1,279 towns do worse. Vassar has 4 places on the National Register.
Where Vassar beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Vassar’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 Vassar is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 670 in 1880, 2,727 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1851 and 4 maps from 1963 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Vassar, 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 Vassar.
Vassar is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Michigan (mostly inland flooding) and reports violent crime at about twice the Michigan rate.
Violent crime runs at 8.9 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Michigan rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its D.
Vassar reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 93% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Vassar Public Schools. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Vassar Senior High School, with 427 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enterprise PlaceLargest public school before high school | – | – | |
| Vassar Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 427 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 100% of Michigan towns; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on.
Vassar’s FEMA risk score is 83 of 100. Since 1985, 48 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Vassar.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most working residents leave Vassar for work: only 9% work in town. The average trip to work in Vassar is 30 minutes. Since 2011, Vassar has lost 126 jobs, to 554 in 2021.
| Vassar | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $59,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 9.2% | 5.9% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Against the 8,767 U.S. towns with household incomes like Vassar’s, it is less healthy than 52%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income.
Vassar tracks Michigan closely on all 32 CDC measures. 41% of Vassar adults have obesity.
| Vassar | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 37% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 27% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 15% | 14% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical Vassar home is worth about $198,000, up 5.1% in a year, 25% below the Michigan typical home. 69% of households own their home in Vassar.
| Vassar | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $744 a month | $1,047 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 69% | 84% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Vassar has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 16° and about 49 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
0.3 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Vassar Memorial Park, at 58 acres.
| Vassar | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 6.5% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Vassar Memorial Park | 0.1 mi | 58 |
| 2. Lions Park | — | 24 |
| 3. Harper Park | — | 16 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Vassar. Close and well known come first.
22 mi MuseumUSS Edson
25 mi MuseumSloan Museum
38 mi GardenDow Gardens
22 mi MuseumSaginaw Valley Naval Ship Museum20 mi MuseumCrossroads Village (Michigan)
25 mi MuseumFlint Institute of ArtsUSS Edson: U.S. Navy, Public domain · Sloan Museum: Amancour, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dow Gardens: Chris.Schiemann, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Saginaw Valley Naval Ship Museum: John McCullough, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Flint Institute of Arts: Blueskiesfalling at English Wikipedia, Public domain
None within 15 miles of Vassar; the nearest are
About 6 of every 100 Vassar residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Michigan.
4 places in Vassar on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 notable people were born in Vassar.
City in Michigan, United States
Vassar is a city in Tuscola County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Founded March 1, 1849. The population was 2,727 at the 2020 census and 2,697 in 2010 (an increase of about 1.1%). The city is located on the western edge of Vassar Township but is administratively autonomous.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Vassar.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vassar | #676 | D | B+ | D | C+ | C |
| Vassar Township | #561 | C | A+ | — | C+ | C− |
| Tuscola Township | — | — | B+ | — | A− | C |
Tuscola Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Vassar Township and Tuscola Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Vassar with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Vassar grades D overall, better than 7% of U.S. towns and #676 of 697 in Michigan. It grades C for health, D for safety and C+ for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
Not for the area. That is 3.1 years of the area's median household income ($63,811 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
3 notable people were born here, including Gage Clarke and Billy Liesaw.
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