Census-designated place · Tuscola County, Michigan

Fostoria, Michigan

Fostoria is a census-designated place in Tuscola County, Michigan. It has 1,050 residents. Fostoria, Michigan has a quality-of-life score of 34 out of 100 (low), ranking #10,389 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Michigan it ranks #287 of 444 cities and towns. It ranks best on time spent in the emergency room (low), home price to income ratio (low) and homicide rate (low). It ranks worst on public EV charging ports (low), bachelor's degree or higher (low) and unemployment rate (high).

34Low

Quality-of-life score: #10,389 of 15,651 cities and towns
Michigan: #287 of 444 in MI
Population: 1,050 (2020-2024)
Land area: 4 mi²
Density: 262.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 2629920

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 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.

Safety65#5,454/15,637
Economy43#8,861/15,631
Housing55#6,746/14,977
Health33#10,509/15,609
Healthcare25#11,744/15,650
Environment58#6,443/15,453
Education20#12,497/15,649
Infrastructure39#9,515/15,650
Community52#7,506/15,651
Leisure & amenities12#13,836/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Fostoria, 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
Home price to income ratio · low1.3×
99/100Michigan 3.2×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
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
Public transit commuters · high3.1%
88/100Michigan 0.9%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301High uncertainty

Weaknesses

Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Michigan 5.6 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyTuscola County value
Bachelor's degree or higher · low7.8%
4/100Michigan 32.5%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003High uncertainty
Unemployment rate · high12.9%
4/100Michigan 5.2%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025
Depression · high29.0%
9/100Michigan 26.5%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.2 /10k
9/100Michigan 1.0 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsTuscola County value
Primary care physicians · low28 /100k
11/100Michigan 81 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteTuscola County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
563 (2015-2019) → 1,050 (2020-2024)
+87%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Poverty rateImproving
24.6% (2015-2019) → 8.2% (2020-2024)
−16 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
51.0% (2015-2019) → 34.6% (2020-2024)
−16 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Child poverty rateImproving
27.0% (2015-2019) → 11.7% (2020-2024)
−15 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Worsening
3.0% (2015-2019) → 16.8% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Median household incomeImproving
$57,857 (2015-2019) → $97,434 (2020-2024)
+68%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

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, Fostoria, Michigan improved on 1 of 7 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 6 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.

Improved1

Household income+68%$57,857 → $97,434

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 7 measures

Change of every measure of Fostoria, Michigan between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	43.7 min2015-2019	36.4 min2020-2024	−7.3 min	Within the margin of error	96%
Broadband subscriptions	63.4%2015-2019	74.4%2020-2024	+11 points	Within the margin of error	64%
Effective property tax rate	1.06%2015-2019	1.07%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	15%
High school diploma or higher	86.8%2015-2019	92.7%2020-2024	+5.9 points	Within the margin of error	86%
Home price to income ratio	1.8×2015-2019	1.3×2020-2024	−0.6×	Within the margin of error	94%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3282015-2019	0.4082020-2024	+0.080	Within the margin of error	8%
Median household income	$57,8572015-2019	$97,4342020-2024	+68%	Improved	94%

“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 Fostoria, Michigan five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Fostoria, 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, Fostoria, Michigan itself moved +0.9 points in standing on average over the same 7 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

1,050 residents (±366)

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

375 households (±122)

Fostoria, Michigan
Michigan share

Under $25k14%†54
$25k–50k9.1%†34
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

375 households (±122)

Fostoria, Michigan
Michigan share

Own91%†340
Rent9.3%†35

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

484 workers (±191)

Fostoria, Michigan
Michigan share

Drive alone83%†403
Carpool3.1%†15
Public transit

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 Fostoria'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

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Fostoria 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.

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

House

Senate

County

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

Tuscola County45100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Tuscola 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/2629920

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends