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Place dossier plate
SheetMI-BATH-MI · Bath, MI 2,938 pop · income 42nd pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Bath
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Bath on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Fowlerville · lowest
43,155
Fowlerville · lowest
43,155 median HH income
32.4% of the leader · rank #1
Bath · this city
64,375
Bath · this city
64,375 median HH income
48.3% of the leader · rank #2
Franklin · near
64,375
Franklin · near
64,375 median HH income
48.3% of the leader · rank #3
Greenleaf · near
64,375
Greenleaf · near
64,375 median HH income
48.3% of the leader · rank #4
Lake of the W… · near
64,375
Lake of the W… · near
64,375 median HH income
48.3% of the leader · rank #5
Lake City · near
64,375
Lake City · near
64,375 median HH income
48.3% of the leader · rank #6
Lake Point · highest
133,175
Lake Point · highest
133,175 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Bath on ACS population and median household income
. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 2,938.
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Bath lands in the 42nd percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
42nd
percentile, household income
44th
percentile, home value
32nd
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Bath, MI
Bath is a small town in Michigan, home to 2,938 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Bath households earn a median of $64,375 annually, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 2.7%. Home values in Bath run a median of $202,600, and the median resident age is 41.0 years. About 30.9% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 63.8% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The city is served by 1 public schools according to NCES Common Core of Data.
Living costs in Michigan run below the national norm: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Michigan at 96.2 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Below Average). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,113 per month. Monthly utility costs average around $238 across Michigan, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 49.6 out of 100 (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Bath's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from work and mobility to schools and households to comparison shortlist to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Bath, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles, local building permits, FBI reported-crime rates, annual population history; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Bath?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 82.4%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
The NCES join finds 1 public school within the city match. 30.9% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
The matched institution count is small, so district boundaries and schools outside the city line may matter more than the municipal count suggests. Use the number as a coverage cue, then verify attendance zones with the district before making a household decision.
Which cities make useful reference points for Bath?
Within Michigan, the closest population matches are Ferrysburg (2,949 residents, $62,096 income); Fowlerville (2,950 residents, $43,155 income); Whitehall (2,974 residents, $58,750 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Barrett, TX (2,938 residents); Lake Point, UT (2,938 residents); Westfield, NY (2,937 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.
How far does income reach against housing in Bath?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.1 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 2.7%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Michigan average
C
City profile score · Bath, MI
58/100
4 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Poverty rate A-
2.7%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share C
30.9%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Cost of living C
96.2 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Household income D
$64,375
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Bath profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 81/100 (A-) · 2.7%
Bachelor's+ share: 59/100 (C) · 30.9%
Cost of living: 57/100 (C) · 96.2 index
Household income: 41/100 (D) · $64,375
How does Bath compare to other US cities?
Where Bath sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income42% higher than other cities
Home value44% pricier than other cities
Median rent32% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Bath against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Michigan only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Michigan-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Bath near the bottom of Michigan's cities
Among the 727 Michigan cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Bath ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Bath only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#294 of 718
59th percentile in Michigan
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 727
0th percentile in Michigan
Median Home Value
#216 of 721
70th percentile in Michigan
Poverty Rate
#582 of 727
20th percentile in Michigan
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#188 of 727
74th percentile in Michigan
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Michigan only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
42nd percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Bath's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$202,600Among the most affordablemore affordable than 56% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Bath's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.1×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#7,421 of 15,516
More affordable than 52% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#6,166 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 3.1×, Bath sits in the moderate band:
national rank #7,421 of 15,516 and #6,166 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$64,375Bath, MI median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Bath, MI median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Bath, MI.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)30.9%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)2.7%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)63.8%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
2,938
Median Income
$64,375
Median Home Value
$202,600
Median Age
41.0
Poverty Rate
2.7%
Labor force participation
63.8%
Bachelor's Degree+
30.9%
Schools
Total Schools
1
Public schools in this city
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
82.4%
Carpool
3.4%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
14.1%
Based on 1,578 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Michigan statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $238
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Michigan at $238 (electricity about $105 , water and sewer about $48 ).
These are Michigan statewide averages, not a meter reading for Bath. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Michigan's BEA cost-of-living index is 96.2 (Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Bath is $1,113/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Michigan statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 49.6 / 100 (Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Michigan statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Bath sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Bath compares to similar-size Michigan cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, NCES CCD, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.