City · Wexford County, Michigan

Manton, Michigan

Manton is a city in Wexford County, Michigan, part of the Cadillac, MI metro area. It has 1,511 residents. Manton, Michigan has a quality-of-life score of 41 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #9,180 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Michigan it ranks #223 of 444 cities and towns. It ranks best on natural hazard risk (low), new homes permitted (high) and restaurants and bars (high). It ranks worst on bachelor's degree or higher (low), suicide rate (high) and depression (high).

41Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #9,180 of 15,651 cities and towns
Michigan: #223 of 444 in MI
Population: 1,511 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 967.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 2650880

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 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.

Safety30#10,864/15,637
Economy37#9,855/15,631
Housing42#8,629/14,977
Health16#13,164/15,609
Healthcare60#6,291/15,650
Environment82#2,744/15,453
Education23#12,057/15,649
Infrastructure30#11,019/15,650
Community62#5,880/15,651
Leisure & amenities79#3,248/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Manton, Michigan ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Wexford 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 · low1.2
99/100Michigan 10.32025Federal Emergency Management AgencyWexford County value
New homes permitted · high43.0 /1k
99/100Michigan 2.2 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Restaurants and bars · high12.8 /10k
90/100Michigan 9.1 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsWexford County value
Voter turnout · high75.1%
86/100Michigan 74.6%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionWexford County value
Hot days · low5 days
86/100Michigan 5 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationWexford County value
Days with unhealthy air · low0.0%
84/1002025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyWexford County value

Weaknesses

Bachelor's degree or higher · low7.5%
3/100Michigan 32.5%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Suicide rate · high29.3 /100k
4/100Michigan 14.5 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataWexford County value
Depression · high30.6%
4/100Michigan 26.5%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Frequent mental distress · high21.4%
9/100Michigan 20.0%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Comfortable days · low23.2%
9/100Michigan 23.1%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationWexford County value
Median household income · low$45,982
10/100Michigan $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
1,123 (2015-2019) → 1,511 (2020-2024)
+35%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
65.3% (2015-2019) → 90.7% (2020-2024)
+25 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
New homes permittedImproving
19.3 /1k (2021) → 43.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+123%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Child poverty rateImproving
21.3% (2015-2019) → 7.0% (2020-2024)
−14 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
49.7% (2015-2019) → 64.0% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
16.3% (2015-2019) → 4.8% (2020-2024)
−12 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, Manton, Michigan improved on 3 of 12 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.

Improved3

Broadband+25 points65.3% → 90.7%
Inequality−0.1110.502 → 0.391
Household income+25%$36,932 → $45,982

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Manton, Michigan between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	26.0 min2015-2019	23.6 min2020-2024	−2.4 min	Within the margin of error	74%
Bachelor's degree or higher	10.3%2015-2019	7.5%2020-2024	−2.8 points	Within the margin of error	13%
Broadband subscriptions	65.3%2015-2019	90.7%2020-2024	+25 points	Improved	96%
Effective property tax rate	2.02%2015-2019	1.28%2020-2024	−0.7 points	Within the margin of error	97%
High school diploma or higher	84.4%2015-2019	86.4%2020-2024	+2 points	Within the margin of error	59%
Home price to income ratio	2.4×2015-2019	2.7×2020-2024	+0.4×	Within the margin of error	57%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5022015-2019	0.3912020-2024	−0.111	Improved	97%
Median household income	$36,9322015-2019	$45,9822020-2024	+25%	Improved	43%
Poverty rate	17.6%2015-2019	13.5%2020-2024	−4.1 points	Within the margin of error	76%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	29.9%2015-2019	32.7%2020-2024	+2.8 points	Within the margin of error	34%
Rent-burdened households	49.7%2015-2019	64.0%2020-2024	+14 points	Within the margin of error	16%

“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 Manton, Michigan five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Manton, 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, Manton, Michigan itself moved +8.4 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

1,511 residents (±300)

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

578 households (±85)

Manton, Michigan
Michigan share

Under $25k25%145
$25k–50k34%†198
$50k–75k17%†96

Homes

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

Owners and renters

578 households (±85)

Manton, Michigan
Michigan share

Own63%362
Rent37%216

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

631 workers (±125)

Manton, Michigan
Michigan share

Drive alone78%491
Carpool16%†100
Public transit0.0%0

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 Cadillac, 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 Wexford County, the county holding most of Manton's residents.

Wexford County has 910 employer establishments, 266 for every 10,000 residents (1.07× the US rate of 248; 1.16× Michigan's), with 13,253 paid employees at an average annual pay of $45,556. The Census Bureau also counts 2,432 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 910; 2,432 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 266; US 248 · Michigan 228
Paid employees: 13,253
Average annual pay: $45,556; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	68	19.9	0.95×About typical	719	$56,812	87
Restaurants and other eating places	65	19	1.03×About typical	1,047	$20,099	8
Construction of buildings	33	9.6	1.27×More than typical	96	$47,094	137
Automotive repair and maintenance	32	9.3	1.86×More than typical	205	$42,268	40
Specialty trade contractors	32	9.3	0.60×Fewer than typical	135	$65,319	247
Lessors of real estate	29	8.5	0.69×Fewer than typical	77	$47,948	241
Full-service restaurants	28	8.2	1.06×About typical	514	$18,660	—
Offices of other health practitioners	28	8.2	1.35×More than typical	165	$47,691	44
Limited-service restaurants	27	7.9	0.98×About typical	444	$22,410	4
Truck transportation	27	7.9	1.56×More than typical	283	$59,580	44
Services to buildings and dwellings	22	6.4	0.95×About typical	111	$22,306	193
Amusement, gambling and recreation industries	17	5	1.87×More than typical	137	$18,467	21

Rank places for an industry Open Wexford County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 34,239 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 Manton, Michigan: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0; −100% vs FY2025
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

355FY2025

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

Manton, Michigan's figures are part of those of Wexford County, MI ($108.7M 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: Manton is mostly in Wexford County.

See federal money in Wexford 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.

Manton, Michigan is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Wexford County55100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Cadillac, MI39

Other cities and towns in Wexford 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/2650880

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends