City · Iron County, Michigan

Iron River, Michigan

Iron River is a city in Iron County, Michigan. It has 3,002 residents. Iron River, Michigan has a quality-of-life score of 45 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #8,586 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Michigan it ranks #192 of 444 cities and towns. It ranks best on job growth (high), average commute time (low) and natural hazard risk (low). It ranks worst on comfortable days (low), distance to an Amtrak station (high) and gyms and fitness centers (low).

45Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #8,586 of 15,651 cities and towns
Michigan: #192 of 444 in MI
Population: 3,002 (2020-2024)
Land area: 7 mi²
Density: 445.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 2640980

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.

Safety50#7,813/15,637
Economy13#13,553/15,631
Housing73#4,024/14,977
Health18#12,837/15,609
Healthcare31#10,865/15,650
Environment100#35/15,453
Education32#10,686/15,649
Infrastructure25#11,809/15,650
Community68#4,987/15,651
Leisure & amenities71#4,522/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Job growth · high7.8%
99/100Michigan 0.3%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataIron County value
Average commute time · low11.3 min
99/100Michigan 24.2 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Natural hazard risk · low1.5
98/100Michigan 10.32025Federal Emergency Management AgencyIron County value
Home price to income ratio · low1.6×
98/100Michigan 3.2×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Hot days · low1 days
97/100Michigan 5 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationIron County value
Preventable hospital stays · low1,456 /100k
97/100Michigan 3,367 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteIron County value

Weaknesses

Comfortable days · low21.7%
2/100Michigan 23.1%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationIron County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · high175 mi
3/100Michigan 25 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauIron County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Michigan 1.0 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsIron County value
Distance to an airport · high127 mi
4/100Michigan 44 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauIron County value
Primary care shortage · high18.0
5/100Michigan 8.3United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationIron County value
Flu vaccinations · low28.0%
5/100Michigan 43.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteIron County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
2,854 (2015-2019) → 3,002 (2020-2024)
+5.2%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
63.7% (2015-2019) → 87.1% (2020-2024)
+23 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$34,940 (2015-2019) → $54,183 (2020-2024)
+55%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
High school diploma or higherImproving
89.3% (2015-2019) → 96.6% (2020-2024)
+7.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Average commute timeImproving
17.1 min (2015-2019) → 11.3 min (2020-2024)
−34%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
13.6% (2015-2019) → 8.2% (2020-2024)
−5.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%

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, Iron River, Michigan improved on 4 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 9 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.

Improved4

Property tax−0.6 points1.86% → 1.27%
Broadband+23 points63.7% → 87.1%
Commute−5.9 min17.1 min → 11.3 min
Household income+55%$34,940 → $54,183

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Iron River, Michigan between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	17.1 min2015-2019	11.3 min2020-2024	−5.9 min	Improved	93%
Bachelor's degree or higher	17.5%2015-2019	20.6%2020-2024	+3.1 points	Within the margin of error	52%
Broadband subscriptions	63.7%2015-2019	87.1%2020-2024	+23 points	Improved	94%
Child poverty rate	22.1%2015-2019	22.5%2020-2024	+0.4 points	Within the margin of error	37%
Effective property tax rate	1.86%2015-2019	1.27%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Improved	94%
High school diploma or higher	89.3%2015-2019	96.6%2020-2024	+7.3 points	Within the margin of error	90%
Home price to income ratio	1.5×2015-2019	1.6×2020-2024	+0.0×	Within the margin of error	78%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4162015-2019	0.4672020-2024	+0.051	Within the margin of error	16%
Median household income	$34,9402015-2019	$54,1832020-2024	+55%	Improved	88%
Poverty rate	16.0%2015-2019	20.6%2020-2024	+4.7 points	Within the margin of error	13%
Rent as share of income	28.4%2015-2019	23.5%2020-2024	−4.9 points	Within the margin of error	82%
Rent-burdened households	43.2%2015-2019	39.7%2020-2024	−3.5 points	Within the margin of error	68%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	13.6%2015-2019	8.2%2020-2024	−5.4 points	Within the margin of error	88%

“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 Iron River, Michigan five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Iron River, 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, Iron River, Michigan itself moved +10.7 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

3,002 residents (±29)

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

1,314 households (±115)

Iron River, Michigan
Michigan share

Under $25k23%†304
$25k–50k22%†295
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,314 households (±115)

Iron River, Michigan
Michigan share

Own70%920
Rent30%394

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

1,274 workers (±133)

Iron River, Michigan
Michigan share

Drive alone69%885
Carpool9.8%†125
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 Iron County, the county holding most of Iron River's residents.

Iron County has 358 employer establishments, 304 for every 10,000 residents (1.23× the US rate of 248; 1.33× Michigan's), with 2,475 paid employees at an average annual pay of $43,313. The Census Bureau also counts 748 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 358; 748 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 304; US 248 · Michigan 228
Paid employees: 2,475
Average annual pay: $43,313; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	31	26.4	1.70×More than typical	98	$65,429	101
Ambulatory health care services	20	17	0.82×About typical	101	$62,168	17
Restaurants and other eating places	20	17	0.93×About typical	192	$16,161	3
Lessors of real estate	16	13.6	1.10×About typical	28	$25,929	52
Construction of buildings	15	12.8	1.69×More than typical	27	$63,222	39
Insurance agencies and brokerages	13	11.1	2.52×More than typical	37	$51,243	14
Truck transportation	13	11.1	2.19×More than typical	62	$44,806	17
Building equipment contractors	11	9.4	1.55×More than typical	29	$46,448	8
Other specialty trade contractors	11	9.4	3.73×More than typical	12	$60,000	45
Religious organizations	11	9.4	1.69×More than typical	44	$23,773	—
Automotive repair and maintenance	10	8.5	1.69×More than typical	20	$45,450	7
Full-service restaurants	10	8.5	1.11×About typical	110	$14,809	—

Rank places for an industry Open Iron County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 11,764 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 $1,499 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Iron River, Michigan: $0.50 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $1,499; −97% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0.50; US $1,994
Sole-source: 77%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; 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 Navy$1,16077%
Forest Service$33923%

Top recipients

LAKE SHORE SYSTEMS, INC.$1,16077%
JE BRICK HOMES INC$33923%

Spending by fiscal year

999.2FY2017
2KFY2018
2.4KFY2019
19.6KFY2020
4.5KFY2021
4.7KFY2022
2.6KFY2023
10.1KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Engine, turbine, and power transmission equipment manufacturing · 3336$81755%
Other fabricated metal product manufacturing · 3329$34323%
Other heavy and civil engineering construction · 2379$33923%

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 Iron River, Michigan, so they do not add up across cities.

Iron River, Michigan's figures are part of those of Iron County, MI ($101.7K in FY2026), never added to them: 1.5% of that total.

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

See federal money in Iron 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.

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

House

Jack BergmanR-MI-1 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 2.4%

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.

Iron County54100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Iron 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/2640980

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends