City · Iron County, Michigan

Crystal Falls, Michigan

Crystal Falls is a city in Iron County, Michigan. It has 1,719 residents. Crystal Falls, Michigan has a quality-of-life score of 52 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #7,514 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Michigan it ranks #159 of 444 cities and towns. It ranks best on job growth (high), home price to income ratio (low) and natural hazard risk (low). It ranks worst on comfortable days (low), distance to an Amtrak station (high) and gyms and fitness centers (low).

52Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #7,514 of 15,651 cities and towns
Michigan: #159 of 444 in MI
Population: 1,719 (2020-2024)
Land area: 3 mi²
Density: 492.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 2619140

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 72 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.

Safety50#7,813/15,637
Economy22#12,216/15,631
Housing90#1,429/14,977
Health27#11,422/15,609
Healthcare30#10,928/15,650
Environment100#35/15,453
Education36#10,024/15,649
Infrastructure24#11,967/15,650
Community69#4,873/15,651
Leisure & amenities71#4,522/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Job growth · high7.8%
99/100Michigan 0.3%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataIron County value
Home price to income ratio · low1.4×
99/100Michigan 3.2×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Natural hazard risk · low1.5
98/100Michigan 10.32025Federal Emergency Management AgencyIron County value
Hot days · low1 days
97/100Michigan 5 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationIron County value
Preventable hospital stays · low1,456 /100k
97/100Michigan 3,367 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteIron County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low4.8 µg/m³
97/100Michigan 8.6 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyIron County value

Weaknesses

Comfortable days · low21.7%
2/100Michigan 23.1%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationIron County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · high175 mi
3/100Michigan 25 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauIron County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Michigan 1.0 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsIron County value
Distance to an airport · high127 mi
4/100Michigan 44 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauIron County value
Primary care shortage · high18.0
5/100Michigan 8.3United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationIron County value
Flu vaccinations · low28.0%
5/100Michigan 43.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteIron County value

Trends

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

Child poverty rateWorsening
16.6% (2015-2019) → 37.7% (2020-2024)
+21 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
51.9% (2015-2019) → 34.4% (2020-2024)
−18 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
68.7% (2015-2019) → 86.2% (2020-2024)
+17 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
High school diploma or higherImproving
86.3% (2015-2019) → 95.5% (2020-2024)
+9.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Median household incomeImproving
$45,486 (2015-2019) → $60,865 (2020-2024)
+34%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent as share of incomeImproving
30.7% (2015-2019) → 24.2% (2020-2024)
−6.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%

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, Crystal Falls, Michigan improved on 3 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 11 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.

Improved3

High school++9.2 points86.3% → 95.5%
Broadband+17 points68.7% → 86.2%
Household income+34%$45,486 → $60,865

Declined1

Child poverty+21 points16.6% → 37.7%

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Crystal Falls, Michigan between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.3 min2015-2019	16.6 min2020-2024	−4.7 min	Within the margin of error	89%
Bachelor's degree or higher	16.3%2015-2019	16.3%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	28%
Broadband subscriptions	68.7%2015-2019	86.2%2020-2024	+17 points	Improved	86%
Child poverty rate	16.6%2015-2019	37.7%2020-2024	+21 points	Declined	4%
Effective property tax rate	1.74%2015-2019	1.53%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	61%
High school diploma or higher	86.3%2015-2019	95.5%2020-2024	+9.2 points	Improved	94%
Home price to income ratio	1.4×2015-2019	1.4×2020-2024	−0.0×	Within the margin of error	80%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4052015-2019	0.3662020-2024	−0.039	Within the margin of error	79%
Median household income	$45,4862015-2019	$60,8652020-2024	+34%	Improved	63%
Poverty rate	17.2%2015-2019	21.0%2020-2024	+3.8 points	Within the margin of error	17%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	30.7%2015-2019	24.2%2020-2024	−6.5 points	Within the margin of error	87%
Rent-burdened households	51.9%2015-2019	34.4%2020-2024	−18 points	Within the margin of error	92%
Unemployment rate	7.2%2015-2019	5.8%2020-2024	−1.4 points	Within the margin of error	74%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	11.4%2015-2019	8.5%2020-2024	−2.9 points	Within the margin of error	76%

“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 Crystal Falls, Michigan five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Crystal Falls, 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, Crystal Falls, Michigan itself moved +18.7 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

1,719 residents (±240)

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

773 households (±103)

Crystal Falls, Michigan
Michigan share

Under $25k21%165
$25k–50k19%148
$50k–75k24%189

Homes

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

Owners and renters

773 households (±103)

Crystal Falls, Michigan
Michigan share

Own81%624
Rent19%†149

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

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

672 workers (±95)

Crystal Falls, Michigan
Michigan share

Drive alone72%483
Carpool14%†92
Public transit0.0%0

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 Iron County, the county holding most of Crystal Falls's residents.

Iron County has 358 employer establishments, 304 for every 10,000 residents (1.23× the US rate of 248; 1.33× Michigan's), with 2,475 paid employees at an average annual pay of $43,313. The Census Bureau also counts 748 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 358; 748 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 304; US 248 · Michigan 228
Paid employees: 2,475
Average annual pay: $43,313; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	31	26.4	1.70×More than typical	98	$65,429	101
Ambulatory health care services	20	17	0.82×About typical	101	$62,168	17
Restaurants and other eating places	20	17	0.93×About typical	192	$16,161	3
Lessors of real estate	16	13.6	1.10×About typical	28	$25,929	52
Construction of buildings	15	12.8	1.69×More than typical	27	$63,222	39
Insurance agencies and brokerages	13	11.1	2.52×More than typical	37	$51,243	14
Truck transportation	13	11.1	2.19×More than typical	62	$44,806	17
Building equipment contractors	11	9.4	1.55×More than typical	29	$46,448	8
Other specialty trade contractors	11	9.4	3.73×More than typical	12	$60,000	45
Religious organizations	11	9.4	1.69×More than typical	44	$23,773	—
Automotive repair and maintenance	10	8.5	1.69×More than typical	20	$45,450	7
Full-service restaurants	10	8.5	1.11×About typical	110	$14,809	—

Rank places for an industry Open Iron County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 11,764 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

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

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

See federal money in Iron 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.

Crystal Falls, 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.

Iron County54100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Iron 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
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/2619140

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends