Wakefield Memorial Building MSP Post, 2006
Wakefield’s story
139 years in pictures
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2006.
- 1887Wakefield is settled
Population
1,689
2025 Census estimate · −1% since 2020
Typical home
$109K
+11% in a year
Household income
$56K
median
Median age
52.8
years
Jobs based here
482
Balanced
Is Wakefield a good place to live?
Wakefield’s best subject grades are an A+ for cost of living and an A for civic life; its weakest is a D for incomes. On cost of living, just 18 of Michigan’s 1,279 towns do better. The biggest park or preserve is Eddy Park, at 34 acres. Wakefield has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Wakefield stand out
Where Wakefield beats most towns.
Typical home value
Wakefield$109K
Michigan$264K
Cost of livingA+
2.1 years of income buys a home
More affordable than 96% of U.S. towns
Zillow Home Value Index; area median household income, Census ACS.
Community nonprofits per 1,000 residents
Wakefield9.5
Typical U.S. town3.7
Typical MI town3.1
Civic lifeA
3.1 times the nonprofits per person
than the typical Michigan town
Charities, civic groups and human services; churches not counted.
Natural hazardsA
Very low risk of storm and flood damage
FEMA National Risk Index.
How Wakefield grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Wakefield is from typical.
Cost of livingA+Open →Jobs & income$56K median household incomeDOpen →Hazard riskFEMA risk higher than 14% of U.S. communities; inland flooding tops the listAOpen →HealthAspirus Ironwood Hospital 8.2 miles awayC−Open →SchoolsC+Open →WalkabilityEPA walkability 6.6 of 20; 11.6% of households have no car; 4.5% of workers walk, bike or ride transitBOpen →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Outdoors6 miles of trailsCOpen →History2 notable people born hereB−Open →Civic life5 library visits per resident; 9.5 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsAOpen →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
Climate–Open →Housing market–Open →Who lives hereMedian age 52.8; 13% of adults have a four-year degree–Open →
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Wakefield: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Wakefield, and how to reach them.
PowerCity of WakefieldEIAHIFLD · EIA
WaterWakefield water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet5 providers90% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpTown’s haulerGogebic Range Solid Waste Management picks up at the curb for every homeTown site
Register to voteOnlineIn Michigan you can register online until 15 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 15 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereWakefield City ClerkThe town itself; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Nov 2025
ZIP code4996849968 100%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Wakefield.
HousingCost of living grade A+
Wakefield stands out in Michigan and nationally, with the median rent lower than most
Wakefield’s median rent is $649 a month, below both Michigan’s towns ($1,046 a month) and U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). Typical home values rose 11% in the year to September 2026.
$109KZillow home value
| Wakefield | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $649 a month | $1,046 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 82% | 84% | 73% |
Typical home value
Wakefield$109K
Michigan$264K
+11%
value change, 1 year
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
SchoolsC+
Wakefield’s public schools trail 64% of Michigan districts
Its public schools are run by the Wakefield-Marenisco School District. Its one school is below.
36%of MI districts it outscoresC+School Grade
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| WakefieldMarenisco SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 236 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade A
Inland flooding leads a very low hazard risk in Wakefield
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 86% of U.S. communities.
14risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingCold wavesLightning
3
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
HealthC−
Residents of Wakefield are less healthy than 76% of U.S. towns
Wakefield beats the Michigan average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 11. 45% of adults have high blood pressure in Wakefield, above both the Michigan town median (36%) and the median of U.S. towns (35%). 15% of adults have diabetes in Wakefield.
24%healthier than U.S. townsC−Health Grade
| Wakefield | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 36% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 12% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 17% | 16% |
32 measures vs. Michigan
2 better19 too close to call11 worse
| What stands out | Wakefield | MI |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 82.5% | 77.6% |
| More adults getting cholesterol checked | 89.6% | 87.4% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 15.4% | 10.2% |
Aspirus Ironwood Hospital
8.2 mi away · emergency room
3 of 3
care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Climate
A typical July afternoon in Wakefield is cooler than in the typical Michigan or U.S. town
The July high in Wakefield is 77°F. Wakefield has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers.
186″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter6–24°
Spring26–50°
Summer52–75°
Fall34–52°
Oct 1
typical first frost
May 20
typical last frost
+1.5°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Work & commuteJobs & income grade D
With 0.8 jobs for every working resident, most of Wakefield’s workers commute out
Most working residents leave Wakefield for work: only 18% work in town. 15% of Wakefield residents live below the poverty line. Jobs based in Wakefield fell to 482 in 2021, 115 fewer than in 2011.
18%work in town
| Wakefield | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 18% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $56,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
In Wakefield18%
Ironwood15%
Wakefield Township9%
Bessemer9%
Watersmeet Township5%
10 mi
median commute distance
482
jobs based in Wakefield
Balanced
jobs vs. working residents
B
Walkability grade: more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
OutdoorsC
Conserved land covers 0% of Wakefield
6.2 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. Wakefield’s trail density is 0.7 miles per square mile.
0%conserved
0%
conserved · 0 of 5,355 acres
6.2 mi
of trails · 0.7 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Eddy Park | — | 34 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Wakefield
19pages on Wakefield
The big questions
Out and about
The story
Day to day
After high school
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Wakefield
About 2 of every 100 Wakefield residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
Wakefield’s neighbors
2 towns share a border with Wakefield.
Wakefield TownshipBessemer TownshipWakefield
How the neighbors grade
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wakefield · Wakefield Township | — | — | A+ | — | C+ | C− |
| Bessemer Township | — | — | A− | — | B | C− |
Wakefield and Bessemer Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Wakefield and Bessemer Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Wakefield Township and Wakefield are one community, graded once. Compare Wakefield with a neighbor →
Questions about Wakefield
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Wakefield, MI expensive?
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+.
What is Wakefield, MI known for?
2 notable people were born here, including Bobby Jurasin and George R. Cavender.