City · Lapeer County, Michigan

Imlay City, Michigan

Imlay City is a city in Lapeer County, Michigan, part of the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metro area. It has 3,721 residents. Imlay City, Michigan has a quality-of-life score of 29 out of 100 (low), ranking #11,182 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Michigan it ranks #326 of 444 cities and towns. It ranks best on voter turnout (high), mental health care shortage (low) and property crime rate (low). It ranks worst on pharmacies (low), hospital quality rating (low) and adult smoking (high).

29Low

Quality-of-life score: #11,182 of 15,651 cities and towns
Michigan: #326 of 444 in MI
Population: 3,721 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 1,518.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 2640320

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.

Safety75#3,951/15,637
Economy30#10,915/15,631
Housing41#8,794/14,977
Health20#12,480/15,609
Healthcare26#11,566/15,650
Environment63#5,782/15,453
Education22#12,212/15,649
Infrastructure7#14,551/15,650
Community81#3,018/15,651
Leisure & amenities8#14,461/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Voter turnout · high79.5%
95/100Michigan 74.6%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionLapeer County value
Mental health care shortage · low0.0
91/100Michigan 9.3United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationLapeer County value
Property crime rate · low484 /100k
90/100Michigan 1,259 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationLapeer County value
Primary care shortage · low0.0
90/100Michigan 8.3United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationLapeer County value
Natural hazard risk · low7.7
87/100Michigan 10.32025Federal Emergency Management AgencyLapeer County value
Public libraries · high1.5 /10k
86/100Michigan 0.7 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesLapeer County value

Weaknesses

Pharmacies · low0.6 /10k
4/100Michigan 1.9 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLapeer County value
Hospital quality rating · low2.0
9/100Michigan 3.1United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesLapeer County value
Adult smoking · high21.0%
9/100Michigan 17.1%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Physical inactivity · high34.8%
9/100Michigan 25.0%United States 26.5%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Poor or fair health · high27.9%
10/100Michigan 19.3%United States 19.9%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Frequent mental distress · high21.2%
10/100Michigan 20.0%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate

Trends

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

Median household incomeImproving
$34,390 (2015-2019) → $59,911 (2020-2024)
+74%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
71.8% (2015-2019) → 84.0% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
46.0% (2015-2019) → 55.9% (2020-2024)
+9.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Unemployment rateImproving
9.9% (2015-2019) → 2.1% (2020-2024)
−7.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Home price to income ratioImproving
3.3× (2015-2019) → 2.5× (2020-2024)
−24%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
28.8% (2015-2019) → 33.0% (2020-2024)
+4.2 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, Imlay City, Michigan improved on 2 of 13 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.

Improved2

Household income+74%$34,390 → $59,911
Broadband+12 points71.8% → 84.0%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Imlay City, Michigan between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	30.4 min2015-2019	31.3 min2020-2024	+0.9 min	Within the margin of error	37%
Bachelor's degree or higher	11.6%2015-2019	11.9%2020-2024	+0.3 points	Within the margin of error	29%
Broadband subscriptions	71.8%2015-2019	84.0%2020-2024	+12 points	Improved	70%
Child poverty rate	32.2%2015-2019	29.0%2020-2024	−3.2 points	Within the margin of error	62%
Effective property tax rate	1.38%2015-2019	1.12%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	68%
High school diploma or higher	78.4%2015-2019	79.8%2020-2024	+1.4 points	Within the margin of error	52%
Home price to income ratio	3.3×2015-2019	2.5×2020-2024	−0.8×	Within the margin of error	96%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4412015-2019	0.4132020-2024	−0.028	Within the margin of error	73%
Median household income	$34,3902015-2019	$59,9112020-2024	+74%	Improved	95%
Poverty rate	24.9%2015-2019	23.5%2020-2024	−1.4 points	Within the margin of error	57%
Rent as share of income	28.8%2015-2019	33.0%2020-2024	+4.2 points	Within the margin of error	26%
Rent-burdened households	46.0%2015-2019	55.9%2020-2024	+9.8 points	Within the margin of error	24%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	12.1%2015-2019	8.9%2020-2024	−3.2 points	Within the margin of error	78%

“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 Imlay City, Michigan five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Imlay City, 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, Imlay City, Michigan itself moved +2.7 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

3,721 residents (±19)

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

1,634 households (±153)

Imlay City, Michigan
Michigan share

Under $25k26%†417
$25k–50k18%†292
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,634 households (±153)

Imlay City, Michigan
Michigan share

Own55%894
Rent45%740

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

2,019 workers (±170)

Imlay City, Michigan
Michigan share

Drive alone83%1,681
Carpool13%†262
Public transit1.4%†

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 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, 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 Lapeer County, the county holding most of Imlay City's residents.

Lapeer County has 1,771 employer establishments, 199 for every 10,000 residents (0.80× the US rate of 248; 0.87× Michigan's), with 20,902 paid employees at an average annual pay of $43,187. The Census Bureau also counts 7,159 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,771; 7,159 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 199; US 248 · Michigan 228
Paid employees: 20,902
Average annual pay: $43,187; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	174	19.5	1.26×More than typical	883	$71,254	796
Ambulatory health care services	146	16.4	0.79×Fewer than typical	1,338	$56,588	260
Restaurants and other eating places	111	12.5	0.68×Fewer than typical	2,388	$18,910	17
Services to buildings and dwellings	93	10.4	1.55×More than typical	356	$69,733	544
Landscaping services	72	8.1	2.31×More than typical	216	$83,676	219
Building equipment contractors	64	7.2	1.19×About typical	435	$62,598	115
Religious organizations	63	7.1	1.28×More than typical	291	$20,680	—
Construction of buildings	59	6.6	0.88×About typical	228	$61,439	432
Offices of physicians	57	6.4	0.99×About typical	464	$67,968	31
Limited-service restaurants	55	6.2	0.77×Fewer than typical	1,284	$18,671	—
Lessors of real estate	47	5.3	0.43×Fewer than typical	192	$45,219	625
Full-service restaurants	46	5.2	0.67×Fewer than typical	1,014	$19,298	9

Rank places for an industry Open Lapeer County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 89,038 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 $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Imlay City, Michigan: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; 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

Spending by fiscal year

40.1KFY2017
262.1FY2018
0FY2019
0FY2020
473.6FY2021

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 Imlay City, Michigan, so they do not add up across cities.

Imlay City, Michigan's figures are part of those of Lapeer County, MI ($125.2K 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: Imlay City is mostly in Lapeer County.

See federal money in Lapeer 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.

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

House

Lisa C. McClainR-MI-9 · 100% of residentsWith party 98%Missed 2.7%

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.

Lapeer County61100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI61

Other cities and towns in Lapeer 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/2640320

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends