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Place dossier plate
SheetMI-CASS-CITY-MI · Cass City, MI 2,189 pop · income 28th 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 Cass City
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Cass City on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Bodfish · lowest
33,295
Bodfish · lowest
33,295 median HH income
31.4% of the leader · rank #1
Cass City · this city
55,500
Cass City · this city
55,500 median HH income
52.4% of the leader · rank #2
West Point · near
55,500
West Point · near
55,500 median HH income
52.4% of the leader · rank #3
Genoa · near
55,500
Genoa · near
55,500 median HH income
52.4% of the leader · rank #4
Mount Etna · near
55,500
Mount Etna · near
55,500 median HH income
52.4% of the leader · rank #5
Dellroy · near
55,500
Dellroy · near
55,500 median HH income
52.4% of the leader · rank #6
Windy Hills · highest
105,875
Windy Hills · highest
105,875 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, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Cass City on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. 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: 2,189.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Cass City - the verdict
Cass City ranks in the 28th percentile for household income and the 57th percentile for safety nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
28th
percentile, household income
10th
percentile, home value
32nd
percentile, median rent
57th
percentile, safety
📝 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: Cass City, MI
2,189 people live in Cass City, Michigan - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $55,500 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 9.9%. Home values in Cass City run a median of $102,300, and the median resident age is 43.3 years. 19.9% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 49.6% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Cass City reports a comparatively low crime rate: per-100,000 total crime stands at 1170.3 in FBI UCR data, below the national average (a voluntary reporting program, read this as reporting activity, not a definitive danger score). NOAA climate normals record an annual average temperature of 45.8°F with 33.0 inches of precipitation per year and 42.5 inches of snowfall.
Living costs in Michigan run below the national norm: the state registers 96.2 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Below Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,113 monthly. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Michigan run around $238, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. Workers in Cass City report an average commute of 20.6 minutes, with 89.0% driving alone and 2.1% working from home. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 49.6 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Cass City'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 climate and hazard context to population change to comparison shortlist to reported crime to work and mobility to schools and households to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Cass City, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, matched public-school count, FBI reported-crime rates, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles, local building permits; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Climate and hazard context
What physical conditions frame life in Cass City?
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 45.8°F, with 33.0 inches of precipitation and 42.5 inches of annual snowfall. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Michigan is 49.6 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
Is Cass City growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -29 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -1.2% change. No comparable local building-permit series is available here, so population change should not be read as a housing-supply measure. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
Which cities make useful reference points for Cass City?
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. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
Within Michigan, the closest population matches are Bronson (2,183 residents, $46,607 income); Constantine (2,196 residents, $71,929 income); Perry (2,198 residents, $73,468 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Cowarts, AL (2,189 residents); Shingletown, CA (2,188 residents); Windy Hills, KY (2,188 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.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Cass City?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 1170.3 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 49% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Cass City?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 89.0%. The reported mean trip to work is 20.6 minutes.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. The profile is strongly car-oriented, so a relocation comparison should put trip distance, vehicle access, and household fuel costs ahead of a citywide commute average. The same-state peer links offer a more relevant benchmark than a national label.
Drive alone
89.0%
Work from home
2.1%
Public transit
0.0%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 863 workers age 16+.
What does the education layer cover for Cass City?
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.
The NCES join finds 2 public schools within the city match. 19.9% 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.
Poverty estimate
9.9%
Bachelor's degree+
19.9%
Matched public schools
2
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
How far does income reach against housing in Cass City?
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. The ratio makes housing the clearest place to start this profile, but a low multiple can coexist with slow demand, older stock, or household-level hardship. Compare the home-value distribution and same-state peer table before treating it as an advantage.
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 1.8 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 9.9%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
1.8×
Home value
$102,300
Household income
$55,500
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Below median income · poverty 9.9% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
96.2 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Michigan average
F
City profile score · Cass City, MI
39/100
5 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.
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.
Poverty rate D
9.9%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime F
283 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
19.9%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$55,500
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Cass City profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 57/100 (C) · 96.2 index
Poverty rate: 40/100 (D) · 9.9%
Violent crime: 36/100 (F) · 283 /100k
Bachelor's+ share: 34/100 (F) · 19.9%
Household income: 28/100 (F) · $55,500
Where Cass City sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Cass City's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Cass City highlighted among 24 peers.Read the chart values
Cass City, MI (this city): home $102,300, crime 1,170/100k
Bronson, MI : home $93,900, crime 3,936/100k
Perry, MI : home $144,400, crime 326/100k
West Branch, MI : home $114,300, crime 424/100k
New York, NY : home $751,700, crime 3,039/100k
Los Angeles, CA : home $879,500, crime 2,212/100k
Chicago, IL : home $315,200, crime 4,012/100k
Houston, TX : home $253,400, crime 5,442/100k
Phoenix, AZ : home $381,900, crime 3,125/100k
Philadelphia, PA : home $232,400, crime 5,457/100k
San Antonio, TX : home $219,700, crime 5,218/100k
San Diego, CA : home $848,500, crime 2,082/100k
Dallas, TX : home $295,300, crime 4,010/100k
San Jose, CA : home $1,187,800, crime 3,195/100k
Austin, TX : home $512,700, crime 3,709/100k
Fort Worth, TX : home $277,300, crime 3,158/100k
Columbus, OH : home $234,500, crime 3,088/100k
Indianapolis, IN : home $207,000, crime 4,214/100k
San Francisco, CA : home $1,380,500, crime 4,526/100k
Seattle, WA : home $912,100, crime 5,783/100k
Denver, CO : home $586,700, crime 5,755/100k
Oklahoma City, OK : home $215,100, crime 3,570/100k
El Paso, TX : home $171,700, crime 1,772/100k
Washington, DC : home $724,600, crime 4,514/100k
How does Cass City compare to other US cities?
Where Cass City sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income28% higher than other cities
Home value10% pricier than other cities
Median rent32% pricier than other cities
Safety57% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
A national percentile can hide a lot of local variation: narrowed to Michigan alone, Cass City ranks #121 of 254 Michigan cities by lowest crime rate - a different, more locally useful comparison than stacking it against the entire country.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Cass City 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 Cass City near the bottom of Michigan's cities
Among the 727 Michigan cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Cass City ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Cass City only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#429 of 718
40th percentile in Michigan
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 727
0th percentile in Michigan
Median Home Value
#566 of 721
21st percentile in Michigan
Poverty Rate
#307 of 727
58th percentile in Michigan
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#351 of 727
51st 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
28th percentile nationally for median household income · 57th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Cass City's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Cass City's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Cass City's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$102,300Among the most affordablemore affordable than 90% 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
Cass City's home-value-to-income ratio: 1.8×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#1,131 of 15,516
More affordable than 93% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,094 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 1.8×, Cass City sits in the affordable band:
national rank #1,131 of 15,516 and #1,094 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
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
$55,500Cass City, MI median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Cass City, 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 Cass City, MI.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)19.9%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)9.9%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)49.6%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
2,189
Median Income
$55,500
Median Home Value
$102,300
Median Age
43.3
Poverty Rate
9.9%
Labor force participation
49.6%
Bachelor's Degree+
19.9%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
1170.3
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
282.5
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
887.8
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Climate
Avg Temperature
45.8°F
Annual Precipitation
33.0"
Annual Snowfall
42.5"
Schools
Total Schools
2
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Cass City's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
2,516 residents
2021
2,504 residents
2022
2,499 residents
2023
2,495 residents
2024
2,495 residents
2025
2,487 residents
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
20.6 minutes
Drive Alone
89.0%
Carpool
7.3%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
1.6%
Work from Home
2.1%
Based on 863 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 Cass City. 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 Cass City 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 Cass City sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Cass City 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, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, 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.