City · Gogebic County, Michigan

Bessemer, Michigan

Bessemer is a city in Gogebic County, Michigan. It has 1,733 residents. Bessemer, Michigan has a quality-of-life score of 72 out of 100 (high), ranking #4,412 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Michigan it ranks #82 of 444 cities and towns. It ranks best on traffic deaths (low), natural hazard risk (low) and home price to income ratio (low). It ranks worst on comfortable days (low), distance to an airport (high) and distance to an Amtrak station (high).

72High

Quality-of-life score: #4,412 of 15,651 cities and towns
Michigan: #82 of 444 in MI
Population: 1,733 (2020-2024)
Land area: 5 mi²
Density: 315.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 2607960

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety82#2,855/15,637
Economy22#12,163/15,631
Housing78#3,238/14,977
Health31#10,778/15,609
Healthcare60#6,265/15,650
Environment99#180/15,453
Education61#6,164/15,649
Infrastructure38#9,671/15,650
Community71#4,602/15,651
Leisure & amenities91#1,443/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Bessemer, Michigan ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Gogebic County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Traffic deaths · low1.4 /100k
100/100Michigan 11.0 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataGogebic County value
Natural hazard risk · low0.9
100/100Michigan 10.32025Federal Emergency Management AgencyGogebic County value
Home price to income ratio · low1.3×
99/100Michigan 3.2×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low4.3 µg/m³
99/100Michigan 8.6 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyGogebic County value
Hot days · low0 days
98/100Michigan 5 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationGogebic County value
Property crime rate · low278 /100k
97/100Michigan 1,259 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationCovers part of the area: some reporting agencies or member counties have no figureGogebic County value

Weaknesses

Comfortable days · low21.5%
1/100Michigan 23.1%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationGogebic County value
Distance to an airport · high168 mi
2/100Michigan 44 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauGogebic County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · high172 mi
3/100Michigan 25 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauGogebic County value
Child care cost burden · high42.8%
4/100Michigan 25.4%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGogebic County value
Flu vaccinations · low29.0%
7/100Michigan 43.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGogebic County value
Depression · high29.5%
7/100Michigan 26.5%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
68.3% (2015-2019) → 88.7% (2020-2024)
+20 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
37.1% (2015-2019) → 22.4% (2020-2024)
−15 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateImproving
30.8% (2015-2019) → 19.5% (2020-2024)
−11 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Median household incomeImproving
$35,469 (2015-2019) → $53,523 (2020-2024)
+51%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Poverty rateImproving
20.9% (2015-2019) → 12.9% (2020-2024)
−7.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
17.9% (2015-2019) → 22.8% (2020-2024)
+4.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Bessemer, Michigan improved on 2 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 10 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Broadband+20 points68.3% → 88.7%
Household income+51%$35,469 → $53,523

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Bessemer, Michigan between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	13.9 min2015-2019	15.8 min2020-2024	+1.9 min	Within the margin of error	28%
Bachelor's degree or higher	17.9%2015-2019	22.8%2020-2024	+4.8 points	Within the margin of error	66%
Broadband subscriptions	68.3%2015-2019	88.7%2020-2024	+20 points	Improved	91%
Effective property tax rate	1.68%2015-2019	1.76%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	7%
High school diploma or higher	98.0%2015-2019	96.5%2020-2024	−1.6 points	Within the margin of error	18%
Home price to income ratio	1.6×2015-2019	1.3×2020-2024	−0.3×	Within the margin of error	89%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4312015-2019	0.3862020-2024	−0.044	Within the margin of error	82%
Median household income	$35,4692015-2019	$53,5232020-2024	+51%	Improved	85%
Poverty rate	20.9%2015-2019	12.9%2020-2024	−7.9 points	Within the margin of error	89%
Rent as share of income	26.8%2015-2019	25.0%2020-2024	−1.8 points	Within the margin of error	68%
Rent-burdened households	37.1%2015-2019	22.4%2020-2024	−15 points	Within the margin of error	89%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	6.5%2015-2019	5.1%2020-2024	−1.4 points	Within the margin of error	63%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Bessemer, Michigan five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Bessemer, Michigan in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Bessemer, Michigan itself moved +6.9 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

1,733 residents (±250)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

812 households (±135)

Bessemer, Michigan
Michigan share

Under $25k20%†160
$25k–50k28%†230
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

812 households (±135)

Bessemer, Michigan
Michigan share

Own72%588
Rent28%224

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

961 workers (±210)

Bessemer, Michigan
Michigan share

Drive alone82%785
Carpool0.8%†8
Public transit0.7%†7

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Gogebic County, the county holding most of Bessemer's residents.

Gogebic County has 365 employer establishments, 256 for every 10,000 residents (1.03× the US rate of 248; 1.12× Michigan's), with 4,072 paid employees at an average annual pay of $35,892. The Census Bureau also counts 896 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 365; 896 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 256; US 248 · Michigan 228
Paid employees: 4,072
Average annual pay: $35,892; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Gogebic County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Restaurants and other eating places	30	21	1.14×About typical	296	$14,378	4
Specialty trade contractors	21	14.7	0.95×About typical	84	$70,238	89
Ambulatory health care services	20	14	0.67×Fewer than typical	160	$55,913	23
Full-service restaurants	20	14	1.82×More than typical	133	$14,180	—
Construction of buildings	15	10.5	1.39×More than typical	32	$52,156	27
Religious organizations	15	10.5	1.89×More than typical	62	$17,597	—
Traveler accommodation	13	9.1	5.05×More than typical	547	$26,176	20
Gasoline stations	12	8.4	2.59×More than typical	173	$24,942	—
Lessors of real estate	11	7.7	0.63×Fewer than typical	29	$27,966	88
Automotive repair and maintenance	10	7	1.39×More than typical	35	$41,343	13
Accounting, tax preparation and payroll services	9	6.3	1.55×Too few to compare	37	$26,973	7
Insurance agencies and brokerages	8	5.6	1.28×Too few to compare	18	$48,222	12

Rank places for an industry Open Gogebic County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 14,271 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $44.3K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Bessemer, Michigan: $25.56 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $44.3K
Per resident: $25.56; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Forest Service$44.3K100%

Top recipients

NEW ECO, LLC$36.1K82%
BIOPHILIA LLC$8,16618%

Spending by fiscal year

2.2KFY2017
17.5KFY2018
650.7FY2019
89.1KFY2022
0FY2023
-273.4FY2024
44.3KFY2026

What was bought

Facilities & utilities

Top industries (NAICS)

Support activities for forestry · 1153$36.1K82%
Management, scientific, and technical consulting services · 5416$8,16618%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Bessemer, Michigan, so they do not add up across cities.

Bessemer, Michigan's figures are part of those of Gogebic County, MI ($11.3M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.4% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Bessemer is mostly in Gogebic County.

See federal money in Gogebic County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Bessemer, Michigan is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Jack BergmanR-MI-1 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 2.4%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Gogebic County75100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Gogebic County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/2607960

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends