City · Jackson County, Michigan

Jackson, Michigan

Jackson is a city in Jackson County, Michigan, part of the Jackson, MI metro area. It has 31,058 residents. Jackson, Michigan has a quality-of-life score of 16 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,205 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Michigan it ranks #414 of 444 cities and towns. It ranks best on average commute time (low), distance to an Amtrak station (low) and child care cost burden (low). It ranks worst on child poverty rate (high), frequent mental distress (high) and adult obesity (high).

16Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,205 of 15,651 cities and towns
Michigan: #414 of 444 in MI
Population: 31,058 (2020-2024)
Land area: 11 mi²
Density: 2,883.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 2641420

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 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.

Safety20#12,543/15,637
Economy10#14,132/15,631
Housing36#9,570/14,977
Health10#14,121/15,609
Healthcare30#10,958/15,650
Environment42#8,917/15,453
Education14#13,428/15,649
Infrastructure74#4,000/15,650
Community38#9,752/15,651
Leisure & amenities14#13,467/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Average commute time · low17.0 min
95/100Michigan 24.2 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Distance to an Amtrak station · low6 mi
93/100Michigan 25 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauJackson County value
Child care cost burden · low21.0%
92/100Michigan 25.4%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteJackson County value
Home price to income ratio · low2.3×
85/100Michigan 3.2×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Mammography screening · high53.0%
85/100Michigan 49.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteJackson County value
Natural hazard risk · low10.0
83/100Michigan 10.32025Federal Emergency Management AgencyJackson County value

Weaknesses

Child poverty rate · high34.8%
2/100Michigan 17.7%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Frequent mental distress · high22.8%
3/100Michigan 20.0%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Adult obesity · high45.1%
5/100Michigan 38.3%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Poverty rate · high24.6%
6/100Michigan 13.4%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Depression · high29.6%
6/100Michigan 26.5%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Adult smoking · high21.7%
7/100Michigan 17.1%United States 16.1%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.

New homes permittedImproving
0.1 /1k (2021) → 5.6 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+8,862%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
78.0% (2015-2019) → 92.5% (2020-2024)
+15 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$35,464 (2015-2019) → $44,558 (2020-2024)
+26%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
High school diploma or higherImproving
84.4% (2015-2019) → 88.6% (2020-2024)
+4.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Poverty rateImproving
28.7% (2015-2019) → 24.6% (2020-2024)
−4.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
1.9× (2015-2019) → 2.3× (2020-2024)
+20%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×

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, Jackson, Michigan improved on 3 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 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

Broadband+15 points78.0% → 92.5%
Poverty−4.1 points28.7% → 24.6%
Household income+26%$35,464 → $44,558

Declined1

Price / income+0.4×1.9× → 2.3×

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Jackson, Michigan between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	19.0 min2015-2019	17.0 min2020-2024	−2.0 min	Within the margin of error	71%
Bachelor's degree or higher	17.2%2015-2019	16.1%2020-2024	−1.1 points	Within the margin of error	21%
Broadband subscriptions	78.0%2015-2019	92.5%2020-2024	+15 points	Improved	78%
Child poverty rate	37.7%2015-2019	34.8%2020-2024	−2.9 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Effective property tax rate	1.78%2015-2019	1.59%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	56%
High school diploma or higher	84.4%2015-2019	88.6%2020-2024	+4.2 points	Within the margin of error	77%
Home price to income ratio	1.9×2015-2019	2.3×2020-2024	+0.4×	Declined	55%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4722015-2019	0.4582020-2024	−0.014	Within the margin of error	63%
Median household income	$35,4642015-2019	$44,5582020-2024	+26%	Improved	46%
Poverty rate	28.7%2015-2019	24.6%2020-2024	−4.1 points	Improved	76%
Public transit commuters	1.6%2015-2019	1.1%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Within the margin of error	21%
Rent as share of income	33.1%2015-2019	34.0%2020-2024	+0.9 points	Within the margin of error	48%
Rent-burdened households	54.4%2015-2019	55.0%2020-2024	+0.6 points	Within the margin of error	54%
Unemployment rate	8.8%2015-2019	9.1%2020-2024	+0.3 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	8.9%2015-2019	9.9%2020-2024	+0.9 points	Within the margin of error	35%

“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 Jackson, Michigan five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Jackson, 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, Jackson, Michigan itself moved +3 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

31,058 residents (±44)

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

13,281 households (±486)

Jackson, Michigan
Michigan share

Under $25k28%3,703
$25k–50k28%3,683
$50k–75k18%2,369

Homes

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

Owners and renters

13,281 households (±486)

Jackson, Michigan
Michigan share

Own55%7,265
Rent45%6,016

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

13,317 workers (±669)

Jackson, Michigan
Michigan share

Drive alone76%10,076
Carpool10%1,358
Public transit1.1%†148

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 Jackson, 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 Jackson County, the county holding most of Jackson's residents.

Jackson County has 2,991 employer establishments, 187 for every 10,000 residents (0.75× the US rate of 248; 0.82× Michigan's), with 50,612 paid employees at an average annual pay of $57,806. The Census Bureau also counts 9,813 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,991; 9,813 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 187; US 248 · Michigan 228
Paid employees: 50,612
Average annual pay: $57,806; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	272	17	0.82×About typical	4,049	$79,687	479
Restaurants and other eating places	213	13.3	0.73×Fewer than typical	4,266	$18,796	42
Specialty trade contractors	186	11.7	0.75×Fewer than typical	1,507	$73,345	750
Fabricated metal product manufacturing	103	6.5	4.04×More than typical	3,219	$58,275	32
Limited-service restaurants	96	6	0.75×Fewer than typical	1,943	$17,316	22
Lessors of real estate	93	5.8	0.47×Fewer than typical	406	$42,468	929
Religious organizations	91	5.7	1.03×About typical	622	$22,744	—
Full-service restaurants	86	5.4	0.70×Fewer than typical	1,970	$21,228	13
Offices of other health practitioners	85	5.3	0.88×About typical	563	$41,973	222
Building equipment contractors	83	5.2	0.86×About typical	779	$79,172	120
Offices of physicians	83	5.2	0.80×About typical	1,835	$114,869	65
Construction of buildings	81	5.1	0.67×Fewer than typical	299	$58,950	466

Rank places for an industry Open Jackson County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 159,607 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 $3.7M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Jackson, Michigan: $118 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $3.7M; −44% vs FY2025
Per resident: $118; US $1,994
Sole-source: 23%; US 30%
Single offer: 56%; 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$2.6M71%
Defense Logistics Agency$1M28%
Federal Aviation Administration$4,3570.1%
Department of Veterans Affairs$47.590.0%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

4.8MFY2017
8.3MFY2018
4.2MFY2019
4.6MFY2020
3.6MFY2021
5.3MFY2022
5MFY2023
5M

Top industries (NAICS)

Scientific research and development services · 5417$2.6M71%
Other fabricated metal product manufacturing · 3329$648.2K18%
Aerospace product and parts manufacturing · 3364$430.9K12%
Plastics product manufacturing · 3261$28.2K0.8%
Software publishers · 5132$19.5K0.5%
Professional and commercial equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers · 4234

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

Jackson, Michigan's figures are part of those of Jackson County, MI ($17.4M in FY2026), never added to them: 21% of that total.

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

See federal money in Jackson 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.

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

House

Tim WalbergR-MI-5 · 100% of residentsWith party 98%Missed 0.9%

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.

Jackson County48100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Jackson, MI46

Other cities and towns in Jackson 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
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
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/2641420

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends