City · Clare County, Michigan

Harrison, Michigan

Harrison is a city in Clare County, Michigan. It has 2,110 residents. Harrison, Michigan has a quality-of-life score of 18 out of 100 (very low), ranking #12,766 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Michigan it ranks #400 of 444 cities and towns. It ranks best on natural hazard risk (low), homicide rate (low) and unemployment rate (low). It ranks worst on dental care shortage (high), math scores (low) and mental health care shortage (high).

18Very low

Quality-of-life score: #12,766 of 15,651 cities and towns
Michigan: #400 of 444 in MI
Population: 2,110 (2020-2024)
Land area: 4 mi²
Density: 567.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 2636800

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.

Safety59#6,458/15,637
Economy11#13,925/15,631
Housing38#9,321/14,977
Health14#13,439/15,609
Healthcare15#13,367/15,650
Environment74#4,087/15,453
Education5#14,835/15,649
Infrastructure13#13,651/15,650
Community41#9,290/15,651
Leisure & amenities49#8,038/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Natural hazard risk · low3.6
95/100Michigan 10.32025Federal Emergency Management AgencyClare County value
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Michigan 4.7 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataClare County value
Unemployment rate · low0.8%
93/100Michigan 5.2%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Michigan 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteClare County value
Uninsured residents (under 65) · low2.8%
86/100Michigan 6.2%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010High uncertainty
Hot days · low6 days
81/100Michigan 5 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationClare County value

Weaknesses

Dental care shortage · high20.0
1/100Michigan 6.3United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationClare County value
Math scores · low2.34
1/100Michigan 2.85United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteClare County value
Mental health care shortage · high19.0
4/100Michigan 9.3United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationClare County value
Depression · high30.7%
4/100Michigan 26.5%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Frequent mental distress · high22.3%
4/100Michigan 20.0%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Median household income · low$39,430
5/100Michigan $72,336United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013

Trends

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

PopulationRising
1,973 (2015-2019) → 2,110 (2020-2024)
+6.9%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
64.4% (2015-2019) → 48.5% (2020-2024)
−16 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Unemployment rateImproving
12.5% (2015-2019) → 0.8% (2020-2024)
−12 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
12.5% (2015-2019) → 2.8% (2020-2024)
−9.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Median household incomeImproving
$28,264 (2015-2019) → $39,430 (2020-2024)
+40%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Poverty rateImproving
32.3% (2015-2019) → 25.5% (2020-2024)
−6.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%

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, Harrison, Michigan improved on 1 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 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.

Improved1

Household income+40%$28,264 → $39,430

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Harrison, Michigan between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	24.6 min2015-2019	27.4 min2020-2024	+2.7 min	Within the margin of error	22%
Bachelor's degree or higher	12.1%2015-2019	12.4%2020-2024	+0.3 points	Within the margin of error	29%
Broadband subscriptions	73.0%2015-2019	73.4%2020-2024	+0.5 points	Within the margin of error	10%
Child poverty rate	42.6%2015-2019	36.6%2020-2024	−6 points	Within the margin of error	72%
Effective property tax rate	1.76%2015-2019	1.38%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	82%
High school diploma or higher	84.2%2015-2019	88.0%2020-2024	+3.8 points	Within the margin of error	75%
Home price to income ratio	2.9×2015-2019	3.4×2020-2024	+0.5×	Within the margin of error	44%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4812015-2019	0.4462020-2024	−0.035	Within the margin of error	77%
Median household income	$28,2642015-2019	$39,4302020-2024	+40%	Improved	73%
Poverty rate	32.3%2015-2019	25.5%2020-2024	−6.8 points	Within the margin of error	86%
Rent as share of income	33.7%2015-2019	29.1%2020-2024	−4.6 points	Within the margin of error	81%
Rent-burdened households	64.4%2015-2019	48.5%2020-2024	−16 points	Within the margin of error	90%

“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 Harrison, Michigan five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Harrison, 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, Harrison, Michigan itself moved +6.5 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

2,110 residents (±313)

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

888 households (±166)

Harrison, Michigan
Michigan share

Under $25k35%†312
$25k–50k25%219
$50k–75k18%†156

Homes

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

Owners and renters

888 households (±166)

Harrison, Michigan
Michigan share

Own64%570
Rent36%†318

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

630 workers (±137)

Harrison, Michigan
Michigan share

Drive alone82%519
Carpool6.5%†41
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 Clare County, the county holding most of Harrison's residents.

Clare County has 607 employer establishments, 193 for every 10,000 residents (0.78× the US rate of 248; 0.85× Michigan's), with 6,793 paid employees at an average annual pay of $46,625. The Census Bureau also counts 2,026 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 607; 2,026 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 193; US 248 · Michigan 228
Paid employees: 6,793
Average annual pay: $46,625; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	54	17.2	0.94×About typical	937	$17,143	8
Ambulatory health care services	43	13.7	0.66×Fewer than typical	182	$64,192	62
Specialty trade contractors	36	11.5	0.74×Fewer than typical	164	$66,061	295
Construction of buildings	29	9.2	1.22×About typical	85	$52,847	140
Limited-service restaurants	28	8.9	1.11×About typical	555	$17,526	3
Gasoline stations	23	7.3	2.26×More than typical	169	$37,272	—
Religious organizations	20	6.4	1.15×About typical	100	$17,500	—
Full-service restaurants	19	6.1	0.79×Fewer than typical	238	$15,223	4
General merchandise stores	19	6.1	3.43×More than typical	106	$24,075	17
Offices of other health practitioners	16	5.1	0.84×About typical	56	$42,661	23
Services to buildings and dwellings	16	5.1	0.76×Fewer than typical	24	$47,167	155
Offices of physicians	15	4.8	0.74×Fewer than typical	42	$152,333	5

Rank places for an industry Open Clare County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 31,380 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 -$12.93 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Harrison, Michigan: -$0.01 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: -$12.93; −104% vs FY2025
Per resident: -$0.01; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; 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

Top recipients

F.T.S. MANAGEMENT, INC.-$12.930.0%

Spending by fiscal year

245.2FY2021
251.4FY2022
251.4FY2023
542.4FY2024
366.3FY2025
-12.9FY2026

What was bought

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

Harrison, Michigan's figures are part of those of Clare County, MI ($22.7K in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

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

See federal money in Clare 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.

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

House

John R. MoolenaarR-MI-2 · 100% of residentsWith party 98%Missed 0.3%

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.

Clare County23100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Clare 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/2636800

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends