West IshpemingMI
A town of 2,851.
Is West Ishpeming a good place to live?
We don’t grade West Ishpeming yet; the figures below are still real.
96% of working residents leave West Ishpeming for work
Where West Ishpeming’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
Moving to West Ishpeming: who provides what
West Ishpeming is unincorporated, so Marquette County and regional agencies provide most services.
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 West Ishpeming.
Very low risk in West Ishpeming, with cold waves at the top
West Ishpeming’s FEMA risk score is 10 of 100, below both Michigan’s towns (25 of 100) and U.S. towns (44 of 100). Of the losses FEMA expects here, 54% come from cold waves and 22% from inland flooding. Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 90% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
West Ishpeming has 0.4 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Half of commuters travel less than 15 miles. Jobs in West Ishpeming fell by 1,630 from 2011 to 2021, to 446. Also worth knowing: only 4% of working residents stay in West Ishpeming for work; the rest commute out. The town’s middle household income is $95,000, above both the Michigan town median ($77,000) and the median of U.S. towns ($80,000).
| West Ishpeming | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 5% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $95,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.4% | 5.9% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
In West Ishpeming, a typical July afternoon runs cooler than in the typical Michigan or U.S. town
West Ishpeming brings cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 77°, January nights drop to 5° and about 197 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
How healthy West Ishpeming is
In West Ishpeming, 5.3% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance. On the CDC’s 32 measures, West Ishpeming is ahead of Michigan on 7 and behind on 1. 30% of adults in West Ishpeming feel lonely; 82% had a checkup this year.
| West Ishpeming | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 34% | 36% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 33% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 82% | 80% | 79% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 25% | 25% |
| What stands out | West Ishpeming | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.1% | 15.4% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5.9% | 8.7% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.8% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
A typical Michigan spread of ages in West Ishpeming
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Michigan average. The share of residents in West Ishpeming who are 65 or older: 22%. Among adults 25 and older, 34% have a four-year degree or more, against 32% across Michigan.
| West Ishpeming | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 22% | 19% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 34% | 26% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 20% | 21% | 22% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
46% women, 54% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.4 points. Across Michigan, 50.4% of residents are women.
| West Ishpeming | MI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.4% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.8% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 10.3% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8.8% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.7% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.2% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 14.7% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.2% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.9% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 22.3% | 28% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.3% | 21.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 16.9% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 25% | 19.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.6% | 12.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,900, single groups can be off by several points
In West Ishpeming, 2.4% of the land is conserved
There are 0.1 miles of trail across 1 park or preserve. West Ishpeming has one park or preserve, 4 acres in all.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ishpeming Township Recreation Area | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The median home in West Ishpeming sells for about $251K
94% of West Ishpeming households are owner-occupiers. For West Ishpeming, the going rate for rent is $1,063 a month.
| West Ishpeming | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 94% | 84% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,063 a month | $1,046 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Everything we know about West Ishpeming
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of West Ishpeming; the nearest are
About 9 of every 100 West Ishpeming residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
About West Ishpeming
Census-designated place & unincorporated community in Michigan, United States
West Ishpeming is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Marquette County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,552 at the 2020 census. The community is located mostly within Ishpeming Township with a small portion extending south into Tilden Township.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 3.0 sq mi
- Elevation
- 1,440 ft
West Ishpeming’s neighbors
3 towns share a border with West Ishpeming.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Ishpeming | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Ishpeming Township | #119 | A− | A | — | B+ | B |
| Ishpeming | #366 | B− | A− | B | B− | C |
| Tilden Township | — | — | A | — | B+ | C+ |
Tilden Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Ishpeming Township and Tilden Township report no FBI crime data of their own. West Ishpeming isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare West Ishpeming with a neighbor →
Questions about West Ishpeming
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is West Ishpeming, MI a good place to live?
We don’t grade West Ishpeming yet; the figures below are still real.