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Place dossier plate
SheetMI-FENNVILLE-MI · Fennville, MI 1,880 pop · income 43rd 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 Fennville
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Fennville on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
St. Charles · lowest
49,816
St. Charles · lowest
49,816 median HH income
19.9% of the leader · rank #1
Hartrandt · near
65,264
Hartrandt · near
65,264 median HH income
26.1% of the leader · rank #2
Fennville · this city
65,268
Fennville · this city
65,268 median HH income
26.1% of the leader · rank #3
East Newark · near
65,272
East Newark · near
65,272 median HH income
26.1% of the leader · rank #4
Phelps · near
65,272
Phelps · near
65,272 median HH income
26.1% of the leader · rank #5
Castle Rock · near
65,272
Castle Rock · near
65,272 median HH income
26.1% of the leader · rank #6
Laurel Hollow · highest
250,001
Laurel Hollow · highest
250,001 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 Fennville 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: 1,880.
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Fennville lands in the 43rd percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
43rd
percentile, household income
20th
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: Fennville, MI
1,880 people live in Fennville, Michigan - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $65,268 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 20.6%. Home values in Fennville run a median of $128,900, and the median resident age is 26.9 years. 6.9% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 60.4% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 1 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Low Activity).
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). A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,113 per month statewide. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Michigan run around $238, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. 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 Fennville'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 population change to comparison shortlist to housing and income to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Fennville, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, commute-mode shares, annual population history, local building permits.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles; 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 Fennville?
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 80.6%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Is Fennville growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
The recent population line is broadly flat. That makes the composition of change more important than the headline count: housing turnover, household size, and age structure can shift even when the total barely moves.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -12 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -0.7% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 1 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Which cities make useful reference points for Fennville?
Within Michigan, the closest population matches are Watervliet (1,879 residents, $57,477 income); Armada (1,876 residents, $110,345 income); South Rockwood (1,891 residents, $78,063 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are White Island Shores, MA (1,880 residents); Black River, NY (1,880 residents); Great River, NY (1,880 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 Fennville?
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 2.0 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 20.6%, 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. 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.
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.
Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for Fennville?
The NCES join finds 1 public school within the city match. 6.9% 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.
Matched public schools
1
Bachelor's degree+
6.9%
Poverty estimate
20.6%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Below median income · poverty 20.6% (High poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
96.2 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Michigan average
F
City profile score · Fennville, MI
30/100
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.
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
$65,268
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
20.6%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
6.9%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Fennville profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 57/100 (C) · 96.2 index
Household income: 42/100 (D) · $65,268
Poverty rate: 12/100 (F) · 20.6%
Bachelor's+ share: 0/100 (F) · 6.9%
How does Fennville compare to other US cities?
Fennville measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income43% higher than other cities
Home value20% 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 Fennville 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 Fennville near the bottom of Michigan's cities
Among the 727 Michigan cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Fennville ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Fennville only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#282 of 718
61st percentile in Michigan
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 727
0th percentile in Michigan
Median Home Value
#425 of 721
41st percentile in Michigan
Poverty Rate
#70 of 727
90th percentile in Michigan
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#682 of 727
6th 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
43rd percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Fennville's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$128,900Among the most affordablemore affordable than 80% 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
Fennville's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.0×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#1,551 of 15,516
More affordable than 90% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,486 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.0×, Fennville sits in the affordable band:
national rank #1,551 of 15,516 and #1,486 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
$65,268Fennville, MI median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Fennville, 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 Fennville, MI.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)6.9%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)20.6%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)60.4%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
1,880
Median Income
$65,268
Median Home Value
$128,900
Median Age
26.9
Poverty Rate
20.6%
Labor force participation
60.4%
Bachelor's Degree+
6.9%
Schools
Total Schools
1
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Fennville's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
1,736 residents
2021
1,732 residents
2022
1,730 residents
2023
1,727 residents
2024
1,725 residents
2025
1,724 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Low Activity
Total Permits (2024)
1
housing units authorized
Single-Family
1
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
0.5
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
0
0
0
-
2020
0
0
0
-
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
0
0
0
-
2023
0
0
0
-
2024
1
1
0
$0.3M
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
80.6%
Carpool
11.8%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
6.0%
Work from Home
0.7%
Other
0.9%
Based on 832 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 Fennville. 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 Fennville 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 Fennville sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Fennville 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 BPS 2024, 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.