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Place dossier plate
SheetMI-THREE-OAKS-MI · Three Oaks, MI 1,322 pop · income 36th 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 Three Oaks
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Three Oaks on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Vian · lowest
37,727
Vian · lowest
37,727 median HH income
22.4% of the leader · rank #1
Three Oaks · this city
60,500
Three Oaks · this city
60,500 median HH income
36.0% of the leader · rank #2
Little River · near
60,500
Little River · near
60,500 median HH income
36.0% of the leader · rank #3
Gaylord · near
60,500
Gaylord · near
60,500 median HH income
36.0% of the leader · rank #4
Heuvelton · near
60,500
Heuvelton · near
60,500 median HH income
36.0% of the leader · rank #5
Inola · near
60,500
Inola · near
60,500 median HH income
36.0% of the leader · rank #6
Bridgehampton · highest
168,167
Bridgehampton · highest
168,167 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 Three Oaks 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: 1,322.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Three Oaks - the verdict
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Three Oaks places in the 36th percentile for household income and the 79th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
36th
percentile, household income
38th
percentile, home value
32nd
percentile, median rent
79th
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: Three Oaks, MI
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 1,322 residents in Three Oaks, a small town within Michigan. Three Oaks households earn a median of $60,500 annually, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 7.9%. Three Oaks's housing stock carries a median value of $185,100, and the median resident age is 39.6 years. Educational attainment runs 19.9% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 69.8% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 1 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Stable), up 0% from five years earlier. Three Oaks reports a comparatively low crime rate: FBI UCR figures show 651.7 crimes per 100,000 residents, below the national average (reporting is voluntary across agencies, so treat this as reporting activity rather than a definitive danger score).
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. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Michigan's average monthly utility costs around $238 (state average). 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 Three Oaks'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 reported crime to housing and income to work and mobility to population change to comparison shortlist to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Three Oaks, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, annual population history, local building permits, commute-mode shares, FBI reported-crime rates.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in Three Oaks?
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 651.7 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 71% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
How far does income reach against housing in Three Oaks?
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 7.9%, 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. 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.
What does the journey to work look like in Three Oaks?
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 61.7%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Which cities make useful reference points for Three Oaks?
Within Michigan, the closest population matches are Hemlock (1,323 residents, $92,031 income); Lakewood Club (1,315 residents, $67,277 income); Rapid (1,315 residents, $65,438 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Bridgehampton, NY (1,322 residents); Vian, OK (1,322 residents); Lyons, OR (1,322 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.
Population change
Is Three Oaks growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
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 -28 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -2.0% 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.
Period change
-2.0%
2025 estimate
1,390
2020 estimate
1,418
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
What does the education layer cover for Three Oaks?
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.
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
2
Bachelor's degree+
19.9%
Poverty estimate
7.9%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Below median income · poverty 7.9% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
96.2 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Michigan average
D
City profile score · Three Oaks, MI
47/100
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.
Violent crime C+
145 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
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
7.9%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income F
$60,500
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share F
19.9%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Three Oaks profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Violent crime: 60/100 (C+) · 145 /100k
Cost of living: 57/100 (C) · 96.2 index
Poverty rate: 48/100 (D) · 7.9%
Household income: 35/100 (F) · $60,500
Bachelor's+ share: 34/100 (F) · 19.9%
Where Three Oaks sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Three Oaks'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 - Three Oaks highlighted among 24 peers.Read the chart values
Three Oaks, MI (this city): home $185,100, crime 652/100k
Vian, OK : home $95,000, crime 3,233/100k
Susan Moore, AL : home $117,600, crime 498/100k
New Buffalo, MI : home $342,700, crime 119/100k
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 Three Oaks compare to other US cities?
Three Oaks measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income36% higher than other cities
Home value38% pricier than other cities
Median rent32% pricier than other cities
Safety79% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Zoom in to just Michigan and the picture shifts: Three Oaks ranks #61 of 254 Michigan cities by lowest crime rate, a different read than the national percentile above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Three Oaks 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 Three Oaks near the bottom of Michigan's cities
Among the 727 Michigan cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Three Oaks ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Three Oaks only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#357 of 718
50th percentile in Michigan
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 727
0th percentile in Michigan
Median Home Value
#257 of 721
64th percentile in Michigan
Poverty Rate
#369 of 727
49th 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
36th percentile nationally for median household income · 79th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Three Oaks's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Three Oaks'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 Three Oaks's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$185,100Among the most affordablemore affordable than 62% 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
Three Oaks'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
#6,994 of 15,516
More affordable than 55% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#5,870 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 3.1×, Three Oaks sits in the moderate band:
national rank #6,994 of 15,516 and #5,870 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
$60,500Three Oaks, MI median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Three Oaks, 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 Three Oaks, MI.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)19.9%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)7.9%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)69.8%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
1,322
Median Income
$60,500
Median Home Value
$185,100
Median Age
39.6
Poverty Rate
7.9%
Labor force participation
69.8%
Bachelor's Degree+
19.9%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
651.7
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
144.8
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
506.9
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.
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
Three Oaks's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
1,418 residents
2021
1,407 residents
2022
1,398 residents
2023
1,392 residents
2024
1,395 residents
2025
1,390 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Stable
Total Permits (2024)
1
housing units authorized
Single-Family
1
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
0.8
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
1
1
0
$0.2M
2020
1
1
0
$0.2M
2021
1
1
0
$0.2M
2022
3
3
0
$0.7M
2023
5
5
0
$1.2M
2024
1
1
0
$1.2M
Permit volume increased 0% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
61.7%
Carpool
16.3%
Public Transit
0.3%
Walk
8.4%
Work from Home
10.2%
Other
3.1%
Based on 679 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 Three Oaks. 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 Three Oaks 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 Three Oaks sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Three Oaks 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, 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.