City · Oceana County, Michigan

Hart, Michigan

Hart is a city in Oceana County, Michigan. It has 1,924 residents. Hart, Michigan has a quality-of-life score of 42 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #9,125 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Michigan it ranks #220 of 444 cities and towns. It ranks best on time spent in the emergency room (low), average commute time (low) and job growth (high). It ranks worst on flu vaccinations (low), mental health providers (low) and high ozone days (high).

42Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #9,125 of 15,651 cities and towns
Michigan: #220 of 444 in MI
Population: 1,924 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 1,075.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 2636920

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.

Safety33#10,429/15,637
Economy11#13,951/15,631
Housing87#1,985/14,977
Health30#10,912/15,609
Healthcare32#10,716/15,650
Environment77#3,595/15,453
Education18#12,851/15,649
Infrastructure34#10,351/15,650
Community71#4,570/15,651
Leisure & amenities69#4,779/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Hart, Michigan ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Oceana 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 · low103 min
95/100Michigan 163 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesOceana County value
Average commute time · low14.3 min
94/100Michigan 24.2 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Job growth · high2.8%
93/100Michigan 0.3%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataOceana County value
Rent-burdened households · low35.3%
92/100Michigan 50.4%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Mammography screening · high55.0%
91/100Michigan 49.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteOceana County value
Preventable hospital stays · low1,796 /100k
91/100Michigan 3,367 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteOceana County value

Weaknesses

Flu vaccinations · low28.0%
5/100Michigan 43.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteOceana County value
Mental health providers · low56 /100k
7/100Michigan 371 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteOceana County value
High ozone days · high10 days
7/100Michigan 3 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyOceana County value
Pharmacies · low0.7 /10k
7/100Michigan 1.9 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsOceana County value
Average weekly wage · low$923
8/100Michigan $1,362United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsOceana County value
Child poverty rate · high30.2%
8/100Michigan 17.7%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
2,106 (2015-2019) → 1,924 (2020-2024)
−8.6%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
71.2% (2015-2019) → 86.8% (2020-2024)
+16 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
47.7% (2015-2019) → 35.3% (2020-2024)
−12 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
11.2% (2015-2019) → 19.4% (2020-2024)
+8.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Child poverty rateWorsening
22.2% (2015-2019) → 30.2% (2020-2024)
+8 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
High school diploma or higherImproving
83.2% (2015-2019) → 89.4% (2020-2024)
+6.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%

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, Hart, Michigan improved on 3 of 14 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.

Improved3

Uninsured−4.3 points8.5% → 4.2%
Bachelor's++8.2 points11.2% → 19.4%
Broadband+16 points71.2% → 86.8%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Hart, Michigan between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	14.7 min2015-2019	14.3 min2020-2024	−0.4 min	Within the margin of error	52%
Bachelor's degree or higher	11.2%2015-2019	19.4%2020-2024	+8.2 points	Improved	85%
Broadband subscriptions	71.2%2015-2019	86.8%2020-2024	+16 points	Improved	81%
Child poverty rate	22.2%2015-2019	30.2%2020-2024	+8 points	Within the margin of error	15%
Effective property tax rate	1.47%2015-2019	1.24%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	64%
High school diploma or higher	83.2%2015-2019	89.4%2020-2024	+6.1 points	Within the margin of error	87%
Home price to income ratio	2.1×2015-2019	2.8×2020-2024	+0.6×	Within the margin of error	40%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4152015-2019	0.5122020-2024	+0.097	Within the margin of error	5%
Median household income	$40,5212015-2019	$50,9562020-2024	+26%	Within the margin of error	46%
Poverty rate	19.5%2015-2019	21.3%2020-2024	+1.8 points	Within the margin of error	28%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	28.3%2015-2019	27.5%2020-2024	−0.8 points	Within the margin of error	61%
Rent-burdened households	47.7%2015-2019	35.3%2020-2024	−12 points	Within the margin of error	86%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	8.5%2015-2019	4.2%2020-2024	−4.3 points	Improved	84%

“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 Hart, Michigan five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Hart, 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, Hart, Michigan itself moved +2.9 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

1,924 residents (±249)

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

743 households (±100)

Hart, Michigan
Michigan share

Under $25k22%165
$25k–50k27%200
$50k–75k22%†160

Homes

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

Owners and renters

743 households (±100)

Hart, Michigan
Michigan share

Own60%443
Rent40%300

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

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

822 workers (±150)

Hart, Michigan
Michigan share

Drive alone75%615
Carpool18%†145
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 Oceana County, the county holding most of Hart's residents.

Oceana County has 468 employer establishments, 173 for every 10,000 residents (0.70× the US rate of 248; 0.76× Michigan's), with 4,588 paid employees at an average annual pay of $50,498. The Census Bureau also counts 1,878 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 468; 1,878 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 173; US 248 · Michigan 228
Paid employees: 4,588
Average annual pay: $50,498; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	38	14.1	0.77×Fewer than typical	319	$24,163	9
Specialty trade contractors	35	13	0.84×About typical	160	$65,769	218
Full-service restaurants	22	8.2	1.06×About typical	190	$23,532	3
Ambulatory health care services	21	7.8	0.37×Fewer than typical	192	$63,141	56
Religious organizations	21	7.8	1.40×More than typical	89	$19,360	—
Construction of buildings	18	6.7	0.88×About typical	53	$44,868	122
Gasoline stations	16	5.9	1.83×More than typical	167	$30,042	—
Amusement, gambling and recreation industries	15	5.6	2.09×More than typical	45	$85,844	14
Automotive repair and maintenance	15	5.6	1.10×About typical	73	$36,932	43
General merchandise stores	15	5.6	3.15×More than typical	84	$26,357	18
Other specialty trade contractors	12	4.4	1.77×More than typical	61	$93,131	64
Other amusement and recreation industries	11	4.1	1.68×More than typical	44	$77,386	14

Rank places for an industry Open Oceana County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 26,976 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 -$386 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Hart, Michigan: -$0.20 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: -$386; −101% vs FY2025
Per resident: -$0.20; 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

INN FOODS, INC.-$3860.0%

Spending by fiscal year

76.6KFY2017
76.4KFY2018
53.4KFY2019
28.5KFY2020
747.8FY2021
42.4KFY2022
36.8KFY2023
20.9KFY2024
40.9K

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

Hart, Michigan's figures are part of those of Oceana County, MI ($17.9M 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: Hart is mostly in Oceana County.

See federal money in Oceana 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.

Hart, 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.

Oceana County47100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Oceana 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/2636920

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends