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Place dossier plate
SheetMI-FLINT-MI · Flint, MI 80,835 pop · income 5th pct · 134 tracts
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 Flint
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Flint on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Wabbaseka · lowest
36,174
Wabbaseka · lowest
36,174 median HH income
28.5% of the leader · rank #1
Wheeler · near
36,184
Wheeler · near
36,184 median HH income
28.5% of the leader · rank #2
Welch · near
36,188
Welch · near
36,188 median HH income
28.5% of the leader · rank #3
Flint · this city
36,194
Flint · this city
36,194 median HH income
28.5% of the leader · rank #4
Elton · near
36,211
Elton · near
36,211 median HH income
28.5% of the leader · rank #5
Somerville · highest
127,056
Somerville · highest
127,056 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #6
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 Flint 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: 80,835.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Flint - the verdict
Flint ranks in the 5th percentile for household income and the 21st percentile for safety nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
5th
percentile, household income
0th
percentile, home value
32nd
percentile, median rent
21st
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: Flint, MI
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 80,835 residents in Flint, a small city within Michigan. Households in Flint report a median income of $36,194 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 26.9%. Home values in Flint run a median of $47,600, and the median resident age is 36.2 years. 13.1% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 45.3% 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 (Construction Slowdown), down 97% from five years earlier. Crime here tracks close to the national norm: the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program logs 2570.0 total incidents per 100,000 residents here, near the national average (agency reporting is voluntary, so this measures reporting activity, not a definitive danger score). The annual average temperature per NOAA climate normals runs 47.5°F with 32.9 inches of precipitation per year and 40.4 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. 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. Workers in Flint report an average commute of 21.0 minutes, with 71.6% driving alone and 8.3% working from home. Natural-hazard exposure scores 49.6 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Flint'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 within-city variation to population change to schools and households to comparison shortlist to reported crime to climate and hazard context to work and mobility to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Flint, city-specific coverage includes within-city Census tract profiles, commute-mode shares, matched public-school count, annual population history, FBI reported-crime rates, local building permits.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
1. Within-city variation
What can 134 Census tracts reveal inside Flint?
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
PlainCities matches 134 Census tracts to this city.
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.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -1,791 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -2.2% 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.
The NCES join finds 18 public schools within the city match. 13.1% 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 city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
Which cities make useful reference points for Flint?
Within Michigan, the closest population matches are Farmington Hills (83,316 residents, $101,863 income); Westland (84,155 residents, $62,216 income); Wyoming (76,865 residents, $72,163 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Homestead, FL (80,725 residents); Rancho Cordova, CA (80,656 residents); Lehi, UT (81,039 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. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
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.
Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in Flint?
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.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 2570.0 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 13% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
1312.2
Violent rate
1257.8
Total reported rate
2570.0
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 47.5°F, with 32.9 inches of precipitation and 40.4 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.
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.
Mean temperature
47.5°F
Annual precipitation
32.9 in
FEMA risk index (state avg)
49.6
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
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 71.6%. The reported mean trip to work is 21.0 minutes.
Public transit
4.0%
Work from home
8.3%
Drive alone
71.6%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 27,889 workers age 16+.
How far does income reach against housing in Flint?
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 1.3 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 26.9%, 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.
Household income
$36,194
Home value
$47,600
Value / income
1.3×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Lowest-decile income · poverty 26.9% (Highest-decile poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
96.2 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Michigan average
F
City profile score · Flint, MI
15/100
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.
Bachelor's+ share F
13.1%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate F
26.9%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income F
$36,194
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime F
1,258 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Flint profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 57/100 (C) · 96.2 index
Bachelor's+ share: 15/100 (F) · 13.1%
Poverty rate: 4/100 (F) · 26.9%
Household income: 2/100 (F) · $36,194
Violent crime: 0/100 (F) · 1,258 /100k
Where Flint sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Flint'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 - Flint highlighted among 12 peers.Read the chart values
Flint, MI (this city): home $47,600, crime 2,570/100k
Rancho Cordova, CA : home $451,400, crime 2,538/100k
Lehi, UT : home $567,100, crime 629/100k
Frederick, MD : home $365,200, crime 2,080/100k
Boynton Beach, FL : home $312,700, crime 2,700/100k
Somerville, MA : home $899,400, crime 1,920/100k
Farmington Hills, MI : home $333,200, crime 879/100k
Westland, MI : home $176,500, crime 1,805/100k
Wyoming, MI : home $203,900, crime 2,616/100k
Rochester Hills, MI : home $377,400, crime 624/100k
Southfield, MI : home $226,900, crime 2,913/100k
Troy, MI : home $396,800, crime 1,392/100k
How does Flint compare to other US cities?
Flint measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income5% higher than other cities
Home value0% pricier than other cities
Median rent32% pricier than other cities
Safety21% 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, Flint ranks #210 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 Flint 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 Flint near the bottom of Michigan's cities
Among the 727 Michigan cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Flint ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Flint only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#685 of 718
5th percentile in Michigan
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 727
0th percentile in Michigan
Median Home Value
#719 of 721
0th percentile in Michigan
Poverty Rate
#31 of 727
95th percentile in Michigan
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#529 of 727
27th 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
5th percentile nationally for median household income · 21st percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Flint's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Flint'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 Flint's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$47,600Among the most affordablemore affordable than 100% 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
Flint's home-value-to-income ratio: 1.3×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#186 of 15,516
More affordable than 99% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1 of 750
Mid-size cities (50,000–199,999)
At 1.3×, Flint sits in the affordable band:
national rank #186 of 15,516 and #1 of 750mid-size cities (50,000–199,999).
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
$36,194Flint, MI median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Flint, 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 Flint, MI.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)13.1%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)26.9%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)45.3%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
80,835
Median Income
$36,194
Median Home Value
$47,600
Median Age
36.2
Poverty Rate
26.9%
Labor force participation
45.3%
Bachelor's Degree+
13.1%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
2570.0
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
1257.8
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1312.2
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
47.5°F
Annual Precipitation
32.9"
Annual Snowfall
40.4"
Schools
Total Schools
18
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Flint's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
81,097 residents
2021
80,589 residents
2022
79,854 residents
2023
79,632 residents
2024
79,590 residents
2025
79,306 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
1
housing units authorized
Single-Family
1
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
33
10
23
$9.1M
2020
0
0
0
-
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
48
0
48
$1.1M
2023
122
0
122
$21.5M
2024
1
1
0
$0.1M
Permit volume decreased 97% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
21.0 minutes
Drive Alone
71.6%
Carpool
13.1%
Public Transit
4.0%
Walk
2.2%
Work from Home
8.3%
Other
0.8%
Based on 27,889 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 Flint. 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 Flint 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 Flint sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Flint 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 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.