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Place dossier plate
SheetMI-SAUGATUCK-MI · Saugatuck, MI 751 pop · income 86th 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 Saugatuck
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Saugatuck on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Oscoda · lowest
37,188
Oscoda · lowest
37,188 median HH income
31.4% of the leader · rank #1
Lake Stevens · near
118,290
Lake Stevens · near
118,290 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #2
Saugatuck · this city
118,309
Saugatuck · this city
118,309 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #3
Tuxedo · near
118,317
Tuxedo · near
118,317 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #4
Glencoe · near
118,317
Glencoe · near
118,317 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #5
Surf City · highest
118,333
Surf City · highest
118,333 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #6
Saddlebrooke · near
118,333
Saddlebrooke · near
118,333 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 Saugatuck 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: 751.
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Saugatuck places in the 86th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
86th
percentile, household income
90th
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: Saugatuck, MI
Saugatuck is a small town in Michigan, home to 751 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Households in Saugatuck report a median income of $118,309 per year, placing it in the top quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 15.0%. Saugatuck's housing stock carries a median value of $619,400, and the median resident age is 55.6 years. About 75.5% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 54.2% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 6 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Slowing), down 25% from five years earlier.
Living costs in Michigan run below the national norm: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Michigan scores 96.2 (Below Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. 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. 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 Saugatuck'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 housing and income to work and mobility to schools and households to comparison shortlist to population change; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Saugatuck, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, commute-mode shares, local building permits, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles, FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Saugatuck?
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. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 5.2 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 15.0%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
What does the journey to work look like in Saugatuck?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 52.6%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.
What does the education layer cover for Saugatuck?
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. 75.5% 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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Saugatuck?
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.
Within Michigan, the closest population matches are Hillman (750 residents, $41,000 income); Lakeport (746 residents, $55,167 income); Oscoda (757 residents, $37,188 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are La Veta, CO (751 residents); Appling, GA (751 residents); North High Shoals, GA (751 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.
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.
Population change
Is Saugatuck growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +13 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +1.5% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 6 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
2020 estimate
869
2025 estimate
882
Period change
+1.5%
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Michigan average
B-
City profile score · Saugatuck, MI
65/100
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.
Bachelor's+ share A+
75.5%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income A
$118,309
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); 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.
Poverty rate F
15.0%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Saugatuck profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 100/100 (A+) · 75.5%
Household income: 85/100 (A) · $118,309
Cost of living: 57/100 (C) · 96.2 index
Poverty rate: 23/100 (F) · 15.0%
How does Saugatuck compare to other US cities?
Here's how Saugatuck stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income86% higher than other cities
Home value90% 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 Saugatuck 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 Saugatuck near the bottom of Michigan's cities
Among the 727 Michigan cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Saugatuck ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Saugatuck only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#32 of 718
96th percentile in Michigan
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 727
0th percentile in Michigan
Median Home Value
#13 of 721
98th percentile in Michigan
Poverty Rate
#164 of 727
77th percentile in Michigan
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#16 of 727
98th 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
86th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Saugatuck's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$619,40010th percentilemore affordable than 10% 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
Saugatuck's home-value-to-income ratio: 5.2×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#13,234 of 15,516
More affordable than 15% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#9,959 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 5.2×, Saugatuck sits in the pressured band:
national rank #13,234 of 15,516 and #9,959 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median, a comparison flag, not a verdict on any household.
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
$118,309Saugatuck, MI median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Saugatuck, 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 Saugatuck, MI.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)75.5%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)15.0%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)54.2%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
751
Median Income
$118,309
Median Home Value
$619,400
Median Age
55.6
Poverty Rate
15.0%
Labor force participation
54.2%
Bachelor's Degree+
75.5%
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
Saugatuck's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
869 residents
2021
873 residents
2022
875 residents
2023
874 residents
2024
880 residents
2025
882 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Slowing
Total Permits (2024)
6
housing units authorized
Single-Family
6
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
8
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
8
8
0
$6.0M
2020
10
10
0
$6.5M
2021
6
6
0
$4.0M
2022
4
4
0
$1.6M
2023
11
11
0
$9.1M
2024
6
6
0
$5.3M
Permit volume decreased 25% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
52.6%
Carpool
5.1%
Public Transit
1.7%
Walk
9.1%
Work from Home
30.6%
Other
0.9%
Based on 350 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 Saugatuck. 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 Saugatuck 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 Saugatuck sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Saugatuck 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.