Scores by category

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

Safety36#10,034/15,637
Economy21#12,411/15,631
Housing0#14,971/14,977
Health32#10,598/15,609
Healthcare72#4,356/15,650
Environment30#10,848/15,453
Education83#2,718/15,649
Infrastructure62#5,944/15,650
Community71#4,494/15,651
Leisure & amenities31#10,717/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Average commute time · low16.3 min
96/100Michigan 24.2 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Bachelor's degree or higher · high66.6%
95/100Michigan 32.5%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Distance to an Amtrak station · low5 mi
95/100Michigan 25 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauIngham County value
Primary care physicians · high126 /100k
95/100Michigan 81 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteIngham County value
New business applications · high23.3 /1k
95/100Michigan 15.0 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauIngham County value
Public transit commuters · high4.7%
92/100Michigan 0.9%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301

Weaknesses

Rent-burdened households · high71.6%
0/100Michigan 50.4%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.583
0/100Michigan 0.465United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Time spent in the emergency room · high284 min
0/100Michigan 163 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesIngham County value
Poverty rate · high33.0%
1/100Michigan 13.4%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Rent as share of income · high51.0%
2/100Michigan 30.2%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Violent crime rate · high531 /100k
9/100Michigan 416 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationIngham County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
48,729 (2015-2019) → 45,758 (2020-2024)
−6.1%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedWorsening
0.5 /1k (2021) → 0.1 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−76%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Poverty rateImproving
41.0% (2015-2019) → 33.0% (2020-2024)
−8 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Child poverty rateImproving
12.9% (2015-2019) → 5.9% (2020-2024)
−7 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
82.0% (2015-2019) → 88.5% (2020-2024)
+6.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Bachelor's degree or higherWorsening
72.0% (2015-2019) → 66.6% (2020-2024)
−5.4 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, East Lansing, Michigan improved on 5 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 5. 4 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.

Improved5

Property tax−0.6 points2.43% → 1.84%
Poverty−8 points41.0% → 33.0%
Unemployment−2 points8.6% → 6.6%
Broadband+6.5 points82.0% → 88.5%
Household income+15%$39,867 → $45,687

Declined5

Bachelor's+−5.4 points72.0% → 66.6%
Price / income+1.1×4.8× → 5.9×
Uninsured+1.8 points5.2% → 7.1%
Transit use−4 points8.7% → 4.7%
Rent / income+2.3 points48.7% → 51.0%

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of East Lansing, Michigan between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	16.3 min2015-2019	16.2 min2020-2024	−0.1 min	Within the margin of error	49%
Bachelor's degree or higher	72.0%2015-2019	66.6%2020-2024	−5.4 points	Declined	6%
Broadband subscriptions	82.0%2015-2019	88.5%2020-2024	+6.5 points	Improved	41%
Effective property tax rate	2.43%2015-2019	1.84%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Improved	94%
High school diploma or higher	96.9%2015-2019	98.4%2020-2024	+1.5 points	Within the margin of error	52%
Home price to income ratio	4.8×2015-2019	5.9×2020-2024	+1.1×	Declined	19%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5612015-2019	0.5832020-2024	+0.022	Within the margin of error	32%
Median household income	$39,8672015-2019	$45,6872020-2024	+15%	Improved	23%
Poverty rate	41.0%2015-2019	33.0%2020-2024	−8 points	Improved	89%
Public transit commuters	8.7%2015-2019	4.7%2020-2024	−4 points	Declined	8%
Rent as share of income	48.7%2015-2019	51.0%2020-2024	+2.3 points	Declined	38%
Rent-burdened households	69.9%2015-2019	71.6%2020-2024	+1.8 points	Within the margin of error	49%
Unemployment rate	8.6%2015-2019	6.6%2020-2024	−2 points	Improved	82%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	5.2%2015-2019	7.1%2020-2024	+1.8 points	Declined	27%

“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 East Lansing, Michigan five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of East Lansing, 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, East Lansing, Michigan itself moved −1.7 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

45,758 residents (±407)

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: 20–29 men (−3.6 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

45,758 residents (±407)

East Lansing, Michigan
Michigan share

White71%32,700
Black7.6%3,460
Hispanic or Latino6.6%3,008

Education

14,765 residents (±769)

East Lansing, Michigan
Michigan share

No high school diploma1.6%†237
High school or GED12%1,845
Some college14%2,083

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

13,850 households (±574)

East Lansing, Michigan
Michigan share

Under $25k30%4,166
$25k–50k23%3,145
$50k–75k11%1,563
$75k–100k7.3%1,006
$100k–150k12%1,626
$150k–200k8.1%1,128
$200k or more8.8%1,216

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Under $25k (−7.7 points).

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

13,850 households (±574)

East Lansing, Michigan
Michigan share

Own39%5,339
Rent61%8,511

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+3.0 points).

Table view

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

Rent paid

8,454 households (±624)

East Lansing, Michigan
Michigan share

Under $7508.4%708
$750–1,00026%2,202
$1,000–1,50038%3,184

Home values

5,339 homes (±394)

East Lansing, Michigan
Michigan share

Under $150k9.1%†488
$150k–250k34%1,833
$250k–400k39%2,062

Age of homes

15,638 homes (±556)

East Lansing, Michigan
Michigan share

2010 or later10%1,594
2000–200911%1,653
1980–199920%3,109

Size of homes

15,638 homes (±556)

East Lansing, Michigan
Michigan share

Studio5.4%†844
1 bedroom16%2,578
2 bedrooms34%5,329

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

20,945 workers (±898)

East Lansing, Michigan
Michigan share

Drive alone48%9,985
Carpool4.8%1,005
Public transit4.7%†974
Walk17%3,480
Bike4.5%†942
Work from home21%4,396
Other0.8%†163

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Work from home (+16.0 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 B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

16,549 workers (±934)

East Lansing, Michigan
Michigan share

Under 15 min48%7,976
15–29 min39%6,429
30–44 min7.5%1,243

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

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Lansing-East Lansing, MI

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 Ingham County, the county holding most of East Lansing's residents.

Ingham County has 6,160 employer establishments, 215 for every 10,000 residents (0.87× the US rate of 248; 0.94× Michigan's), with 111,995 paid employees at an average annual pay of $59,373. The Census Bureau also counts 21,566 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 6,160; 21,566 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 215; US 248 · Michigan 228
Paid employees: 111,995
Average annual pay: $59,373; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	586	20.5	0.98×About typical	8,495	$58,464	1,129
Restaurants and other eating places	511	17.8	0.97×About typical	10,799	$19,973	97
Limited-service restaurants	260	9.1	1.13×About typical	5,192	$17,721	55
Lessors of real estate	240	8.4	0.68×Fewer than typical	2,142	$55,071	2,323
Specialty trade contractors	224	7.8	0.51×Fewer than typical	2,816	$72,297	993
Full-service restaurants	188	6.6	0.85×About typical	4,730	$22,370	33
Religious organizations	181	6.3	1.14×About typical	1,499	$27,100	—
Offices of other health practitioners	178	6.2	1.02×About typical	1,209	$65,045	586
Offices of physicians	163	5.7	0.88×About typical	2,295	$76,858	226
Legal services	157	5.5	1.02×About typical	983	$104,226	234
Insurance agencies and brokerages	152	5.3	1.21×About typical	1,337	$73,297	245
Services to buildings and dwellings	149	5.2	0.77×Fewer than typical	1,677	$33,568	1,217

Rank places for an industry Open Ingham County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 286,405 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 $2.2M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in East Lansing, Michigan: $48.87 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $2.2M; −51% vs FY2025
Per resident: $48.87; US $1,995
Sole-source: 36%; US 30%
Single offer: 17%; 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 Army$426.5K19%
Department of the Navy$406K18%
Department of Veterans Affairs$310.3K14%
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention$285K13%
Agricultural Research Service$237.3K11%
U.S. Geological Survey$208.3K9.3%
National Aeronautics and Space Administration$113.6K5.1%
Environmental Protection Agency$83.5K3.7%

Top recipients

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY$1.5M69%
OFFICE DESIGN & FURNISHINGS LLC$250.6K11%
KARAX LLC$113.6K5.1%
WINTERSTEIGER SEEDMECH LLC$97K4.3%
BOWHEAD CORPORATION$87.2K3.9%

Spending by fiscal year

3.7MFY2017
3.1MFY2018
6.5MFY2019
5.5MFY2020
4.9MFY2021
7.8MFY2022
7MFY2023
8.1M

Top industries (NAICS)

Scientific research and development services · 5417$787.2K35%
Colleges, universities, and professional schools · 6113$419.7K19%
Administration of human resource programs · 9231$285K13%
Office furniture (including fixtures) manufacturing · 3372$207.5K9.3%
Other professional, scientific, and technical services · 5419$192.5K8.6%
Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in East Lansing, Michigan

SINGLE EVENT EFFECT TEST FACILITY UPGRADES$14.3M
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY· Ingham County, MI· Research & development· Aug 19, 2022 – Oct 29, 2025· HQ086022C6004
DIAMOND MATERIALS FOR QUANTUM TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS$1.8M
GREAT LAKES CRYSTAL TECHNOLOGIES INC· Ingham County, MI· Research & development· Mar 19, 2024 – Mar 24, 2026· FA239424CB029
SERDP PROJECT ER22-34 "DEVELOPMENT OF AN EFFICIENT TESTING FRAMEWORK FOR INTERPRETING TOXICITY OF COMPLEX MIXTURES FOR ECOLOGICAL RISK ASSESSMENT"$1.3M
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY· Ingham County, MI· Research & development· Sep 21, 2022 – May 11, 2026· W912HQ22C0069

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 6, 2026, loaded Oct 6, 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 East Lansing, Michigan, so they do not add up across cities.

East Lansing, Michigan's figures are part of those of Ingham County, MI and Clinton County, MI ($95.2M in FY2026), never added to them: 2.4% of that total.

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

See federal money in Ingham 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.

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

House

Tom BarrettR-MI-7 · 100% of residentsWith party 97%Missed 0.7%

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.

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Lansing-East Lansing, MI69

Other cities and towns in Ingham 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/2624120

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends