Scores by category

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

Safety65#5,454/15,637
Economy7#14,560/15,631
Housing46#8,030/14,977
Health20#12,445/15,609
Healthcare33#10,524/15,650
Environment58#6,443/15,453
Education28#11,344/15,649
Infrastructure35#10,219/15,650
Community52#7,506/15,651
Leisure & amenities12#13,836/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Caro, Michigan ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Tuscola 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

Time spent in the emergency room · low82 min
99/100Michigan 163 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesTuscola County value
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Michigan 4.7 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataTuscola County value
Child care cost burden · low20.9%
92/100Michigan 25.4%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteTuscola County value
Public libraries · high1.9 /10k
90/100Michigan 0.7 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesTuscola County value
Job growth · high2.0%
88/100Michigan 0.3%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataTuscola County value
Property crime rate · low523 /100k
88/100Michigan 1,259 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationTuscola County value

Weaknesses

Poverty rate · high28.7%
3/100Michigan 13.4%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Michigan 5.6 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyTuscola County value
Depression · high30.6%
4/100Michigan 26.5%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Median household income · low$41,595
6/100Michigan $72,336United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013
Adult obesity · high44.3%
6/100Michigan 38.3%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Frequent mental distress · high21.7%
7/100Michigan 20.0%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate

Trends

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

PopulationRising
4,054 (2015-2019) → 4,290 (2020-2024)
+5.8%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
68.0% (2015-2019) → 88.2% (2020-2024)
+20 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Poverty rateWorsening
19.5% (2015-2019) → 28.7% (2020-2024)
+9.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Average commute timeImproving
30.1 min (2015-2019) → 19.0 min (2020-2024)
−37%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
High school diploma or higherImproving
83.7% (2015-2019) → 90.7% (2020-2024)
+7 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Child poverty rateWorsening
27.2% (2015-2019) → 33.5% (2020-2024)
+6.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

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, Caro, Michigan improved on 2 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 9 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

Commute−11.1 min30.1 min → 19.0 min
Broadband+20 points68.0% → 88.2%

Declined1

Poverty+9.1 points19.5% → 28.7%

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Caro, Michigan between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	30.1 min2015-2019	19.0 min2020-2024	−11.1 min	Improved	99%
Bachelor's degree or higher	12.5%2015-2019	16.4%2020-2024	+3.9 points	Within the margin of error	59%
Broadband subscriptions	68.0%2015-2019	88.2%2020-2024	+20 points	Improved	90%
Child poverty rate	27.2%2015-2019	33.5%2020-2024	+6.3 points	Within the margin of error	18%
Effective property tax rate	1.77%2015-2019	1.47%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	74%
High school diploma or higher	83.7%2015-2019	90.7%2020-2024	+7 points	Within the margin of error	90%
Home price to income ratio	2.3×2015-2019	2.5×2020-2024	+0.2×	Within the margin of error	68%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4742015-2019	0.4662020-2024	−0.008	Within the margin of error	58%
Median household income	$34,1672015-2019	$41,5952020-2024	+22%	Within the margin of error	37%
Poverty rate	19.5%2015-2019	28.7%2020-2024	+9.1 points	Declined	5%
Rent as share of income	27.5%2015-2019	30.0%2020-2024	+2.5 points	Within the margin of error	36%
Rent-burdened households	43.9%2015-2019	50.0%2020-2024	+6.1 points	Within the margin of error	34%

“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 Caro, Michigan five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Caro, 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, Caro, Michigan itself moved +8.6 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

4,290 residents (±20)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 50–59 women (−4.5 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

4,290 residents (±20)

Caro, Michigan
Michigan share

White92%3,953
Black2.7%†117
Hispanic or Latino3.0%†130
Asian0.0%0
American Indian and Alaska Native0.1%†6
Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander0.0%0
Other or two or more races2.0%†84

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Black (+1.8 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B03002View table on data.census.gov

Education

3,118 residents (±191)

Caro, Michigan
Michigan share

No high school diploma9.3%†290
High school or GED47%1,451
Some college18%562
Associate degree9.8%†304
Bachelor's degree10%†317
Graduate degree6.2%†194

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: No high school diploma (−7.0 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B15003View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

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

Household income

1,945 households (±171)

Caro, Michigan
Michigan share

Under $25k34%†662
$25k–50k25%481
$50k–75k14%†267
$75k–100k16%†315
$100k–150k7.8%†152
$150k–200k2.4%†46
$200k or more1.1%†22

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

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,945 households (±171)

Caro, Michigan
Michigan share

Own64%1,245
Rent36%700

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

670 households (±164)

Caro, Michigan
Michigan share

Under $75050%†332
$750–1,00029%†196
$1,000–1,50020%†131

Home values

1,245 homes (±195)

Caro, Michigan
Michigan share

Under $150k71%888
$150k–250k25%†308
$250k–400k2.1%†26

Age of homes

2,099 homes (±171)

Caro, Michigan
Michigan share

2010 or later1.3%†28
2000–20098.8%†185
1980–19999.4%†198

Size of homes

2,099 homes (±171)

Caro, Michigan
Michigan share

Studio2.9%†61
1 bedroom12%†253
2 bedrooms32%671

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

1,404 workers (±175)

Caro, Michigan
Michigan share

Drive alone78%1,090
Carpool8.0%†113
Public transit2.0%†28
Walk6.7%†94
Bike1.1%†15
Work from home3.8%†53
Other0.8%†11

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Carpool (−8.7 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

1,351 workers (±171)

Caro, Michigan
Michigan share

Under 15 min57%775
15–29 min18%†248
30–44 min12%†166

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

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 Tuscola County, the county holding most of Caro's residents.

Tuscola County has 842 employer establishments, 159 for every 10,000 residents (0.64× the US rate of 248; 0.70× Michigan's), with 9,643 paid employees at an average annual pay of $48,482. The Census Bureau also counts 3,682 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 842; 3,682 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 159; US 248 · Michigan 228
Paid employees: 9,643
Average annual pay: $48,482; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	76	14.4	0.69×Fewer than typical	753	$45,871	127
Specialty trade contractors	72	13.6	0.88×About typical	267	$63,184	380
Restaurants and other eating places	53	10	0.55×Fewer than typical	768	$16,326	14
Religious organizations	44	8.3	1.50×More than typical	255	$18,216	—
Construction of buildings	31	5.9	0.78×Fewer than typical	111	$46,757	216
Offices of physicians	27	5.1	0.79×Fewer than typical	164	$73,482	13
Full-service restaurants	26	4.9	0.64×Fewer than typical	283	$15,117	4
Insurance agencies and brokerages	26	4.9	1.12×About typical	108	$48,120	50
Limited-service restaurants	24	4.5	0.57×Fewer than typical	474	$17,171	5
Building equipment contractors	23	4.3	0.72×Fewer than typical	82	$49,549	45
Other specialty trade contractors	20	3.8	1.51×More than typical	66	$82,318	91
Gasoline stations	19	3.6	1.11×About typical	175	$33,040	—

Rank places for an industry Open Tuscola County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 52,880 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 $1,783 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Caro, Michigan: $0.42 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $1,783
Per resident: $0.42; 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

Department of the Air Force$1,783100%

Top recipients

LASER MARKING TECHNOLOGIES, LLC$1,783100%

Spending by fiscal year

192.5FY2017
16FY2018
1.8KFY2026

What was bought

Other equipment & supplies$1,783100%

Top industries (NAICS)

Metalworking machinery manufacturing · 3335$1,783100%

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 Caro, Michigan, so they do not add up across cities.

Caro, Michigan's figures are part of those of Tuscola County, MI ($79.8K in FY2026), never added to them: 2.2% of that total.

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

See federal money in Tuscola 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.

Caro, Michigan is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).