City · St. Clair County, Michigan

Port Huron, Michigan

Port Huron is a city in St. Clair County, Michigan, part of the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metro area. It has 28,620 residents. Port Huron, Michigan has a quality-of-life score of 14 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,395 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Michigan it ranks #421 of 444 cities and towns. It ranks best on voter turnout (high), public transit commuters (high) and average commute time (low). It ranks worst on child poverty rate (high), frequent mental distress (high) and depression (high).

14Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,395 of 15,651 cities and towns
Michigan: #421 of 444 in MI
Population: 28,620 (2020-2024)
Land area: 8 mi²
Density: 3,531.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 2665820

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.

Safety55#7,075/15,637
Economy8#14,314/15,631
Housing11#13,398/14,977
Health15#13,235/15,609
Healthcare38#9,677/15,650
Environment30#10,875/15,453
Education18#12,782/15,649
Infrastructure48#8,151/15,650
Community38#9,704/15,651
Leisure & amenities19#12,676/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Port Huron, Michigan ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “St. Clair 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 · high76.8%
90/100Michigan 74.6%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionSt. Clair County value
Public transit commuters · high2.6%
87/100Michigan 0.9%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301
Average commute time · low20.8 min
82/100Michigan 24.2 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Hot days · low7 days
80/100Michigan 5 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationSt. Clair County value
Property crime rate · low690 /100k
77/100Michigan 1,259 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationSt. Clair County value
Job growth · high0.9%
75/100Michigan 0.3%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataSt. Clair County value

Weaknesses

Child poverty rate · high35.9%
2/100Michigan 17.7%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Frequent mental distress · high22.5%
4/100Michigan 20.0%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Depression · high30.4%
4/100Michigan 26.5%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Rent-burdened households · high65.3%
6/100Michigan 50.4%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Adult smoking · high21.9%
7/100Michigan 17.1%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Poverty rate · high22.6%
9/100Michigan 13.4%United States 12.1%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.

New homes permittedWorsening
0.1 /1k (2021) → 0.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−100%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
51.7% (2015-2019) → 65.3% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
79.3% (2015-2019) → 89.9% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.2× (2015-2019) → 3.0× (2020-2024)
+33%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Median household incomeImproving
$38,808 (2015-2019) → $50,366 (2020-2024)
+30%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
30.9% (2015-2019) → 36.6% (2020-2024)
+5.7 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, Port Huron, Michigan improved on 4 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 3. 8 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

Uninsured−4.5 points10.0% → 5.5%
Broadband+11 points79.3% → 89.9%
Household income+30%$38,808 → $50,366
Bachelor's++2.5 points15.6% → 18.1%

Declined3

Rent burden+14 points51.7% → 65.3%
Rent / income+5.7 points30.9% → 36.6%
Price / income+0.7×2.2× → 3.0×

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Port Huron, Michigan between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	20.6 min2015-2019	20.8 min2020-2024	+0.3 min	Within the margin of error	44%
Bachelor's degree or higher	15.6%2015-2019	18.1%2020-2024	+2.5 points	Improved	47%
Broadband subscriptions	79.3%2015-2019	89.9%2020-2024	+11 points	Improved	62%
Child poverty rate	36.3%2015-2019	35.9%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	48%
Effective property tax rate	1.64%2015-2019	1.39%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	67%
High school diploma or higher	88.5%2015-2019	88.0%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	27%
Home price to income ratio	2.2×2015-2019	3.0×2020-2024	+0.7×	Declined	34%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4642015-2019	0.4852020-2024	+0.021	Within the margin of error	33%
Median household income	$38,8082015-2019	$50,3662020-2024	+30%	Improved	55%
Poverty rate	24.4%2015-2019	22.6%2020-2024	−1.8 points	Within the margin of error	61%
Public transit commuters	1.7%2015-2019	2.6%2020-2024	+0.9 points	Within the margin of error	99%
Rent as share of income	30.9%2015-2019	36.6%2020-2024	+5.7 points	Declined	19%
Rent-burdened households	51.7%2015-2019	65.3%2020-2024	+14 points	Declined	17%
Unemployment rate	9.3%2015-2019	8.9%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	10.0%2015-2019	5.5%2020-2024	−4.5 points	Improved	85%

“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 Port Huron, Michigan five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Port Huron, 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, Port Huron, Michigan itself moved −7.3 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

28,620 residents (±81)

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

12,734 households (±350)

Port Huron, Michigan
Michigan share

Under $25k24%3,091
$25k–50k25%3,227
$50k–75k19%2,359

Homes

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

Owners and renters

12,734 households (±350)

Port Huron, Michigan
Michigan share

Own62%7,860
Rent38%4,874

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+9.8 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

12,743 workers (±560)

Port Huron, Michigan
Michigan share

Drive alone74%9,386
Carpool13%1,698
Public transit2.6%†337

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 St. Clair County, the county holding most of Port Huron's residents.

St. Clair County has 3,080 employer establishments, 192 for every 10,000 residents (0.77× the US rate of 248; 0.84× Michigan's), with 41,206 paid employees at an average annual pay of $50,470. The Census Bureau also counts 11,645 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 3,080; 11,645 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 192; US 248 · Michigan 228
Paid employees: 41,206
Average annual pay: $50,470; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	315	19.7	0.94×About typical	3,221	$61,997	463
Specialty trade contractors	286	17.8	1.15×About typical	1,659	$68,036	1,318
Restaurants and other eating places	225	14	0.76×Fewer than typical	4,569	$18,248	49
Offices of physicians	140	8.7	1.35×More than typical	1,227	$88,054	46
Construction of buildings	119	7.4	0.98×About typical	517	$58,180	515
Services to buildings and dwellings	113	7.1	1.05×About typical	381	$59,228	821
Full-service restaurants	110	6.9	0.89×About typical	2,324	$20,311	15
Limited-service restaurants	105	6.6	0.82×About typical	2,125	$16,187	23
Building equipment contractors	95	5.9	0.98×About typical	623	$66,002	245
Lessors of real estate	87	5.4	0.44×Fewer than typical	229	$41,817	1,104
Automotive repair and maintenance	79	4.9	0.98×About typical	313	$50,412	235
Landscaping services	79	4.9	1.41×More than typical	224	$79,411	301

Rank places for an industry Open St. Clair County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 160,279 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 $414.3K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Port Huron, Michigan: $14.48 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $414.3K; −40% vs FY2025
Per resident: $14.48; US $1,994
Sole-source: 4.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 1.1%; 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

U.S. Coast Guard$216.2K52%
Public Buildings Service$161.2K39%
Department of the Navy$11.3K2.7%
Defense Logistics Agency$9,7392.4%
Department of Veterans Affairs$8,5312.1%
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Acquisition and Property Management Division$7,0351.7%
U.S. Customs and Border Protection$2760.1%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

2.6MFY2017
2.8MFY2018
2.9MFY2019
1.7MFY2020
1.3MFY2021
1.3MFY2022
1.1MFY2023
1.1M

Top industries (NAICS)

Nonresidential building construction · 2362$208.5K50%
Facilities support services · 5612$160.7K39%
Semiconductor and other electronic component manufacturing · 3344$65.9K16%
Ship and boat building · 3366$11.3K2.7%
Medical equipment and supplies manufacturing · 3391$8,5312.1%
Building equipment contractors · 2382$5,626

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 Port Huron, Michigan, so they do not add up across cities.

Port Huron, Michigan's figures are part of those of St. Clair County, MI ($12M in FY2026), never added to them: 3.5% of that total.

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

See federal money in St. Clair 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.

Port Huron, 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.

St. Clair County47100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI61

Other cities and towns in St. Clair 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/2665820

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends