City · Saginaw County, Michigan

Saginaw, Michigan

Saginaw is a city in Saginaw County, Michigan, part of the Saginaw, MI metro area. It has 43,536 residents. Saginaw, Michigan has a quality-of-life score of 5 out of 100 (very low), ranking #14,810 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Michigan it ranks #441 of 444 cities and towns. It ranks best on home price to income ratio (low), average commute time (low) and drought exposure (low). It ranks worst on child poverty rate (high), poverty rate (high) and violent crime rate (high).

5Very low

Quality-of-life score: #14,810 of 15,651 cities and towns
Michigan: #441 of 444 in MI
Population: 43,536 (2020-2024)
Land area: 17 mi²
Density: 2,504.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 2670520

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.

Safety16#13,091/15,637
Economy4#14,954/15,631
Housing16#12,623/14,977
Health11#13,876/15,609
Healthcare38#9,630/15,650
Environment29#10,985/15,453
Education4#15,027/15,649
Infrastructure19#12,730/15,650
Community33#10,424/15,651
Leisure & amenities32#10,684/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Home price to income ratio · low1.6×
98/100Michigan 3.2×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Average commute time · low19.2 min
90/100Michigan 24.2 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Drought exposure · low7%
83/100Michigan 13%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAASaginaw County value
Mammography screening · high52.0%
81/100Michigan 49.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSaginaw County value
Job growth · high1.0%
78/100Michigan 0.3%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataSaginaw County value
Dentists · high83 /100k
75/100Michigan 82 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSaginaw County value

Weaknesses

Child poverty rate · high51.7%
0/100Michigan 17.7%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Poverty rate · high34.0%
1/100Michigan 13.4%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Violent crime rate · high784 /100k
2/100Michigan 416 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationSaginaw County value
Food insecurity · high39.7%
2/100Michigan 16.3%United States 15.6%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Physical inactivity · high41.0%
2/100Michigan 25.0%United States 26.5%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Frequent mental distress · high23.1%
2/100Michigan 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.

PopulationFalling
48,650 (2015-2019) → 43,536 (2020-2024)
−11%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedWorsening
0.1 /1k (2021) → 0.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−100%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
70.8% (2015-2019) → 85.3% (2020-2024)
+15 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$29,582 (2015-2019) → $38,579 (2020-2024)
+30%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
High school diploma or higherImproving
81.7% (2015-2019) → 85.2% (2020-2024)
+3.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Unemployment rateImproving
13.7% (2015-2019) → 10.1% (2020-2024)
−3.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%

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, Saginaw, Michigan improved on 5 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 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.

Improved5

Property tax−0.5 points2.33% → 1.79%
Unemployment−3.5 points13.7% → 10.1%
Broadband+15 points70.8% → 85.3%
Household income+30%$29,582 → $38,579
Bachelor's++2.4 points10.9% → 13.3%

Declined1

Price / income+0.2×1.4× → 1.6×

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Saginaw, Michigan between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	18.7 min2015-2019	19.2 min2020-2024	+0.5 min	Within the margin of error	41%
Bachelor's degree or higher	10.9%2015-2019	13.3%2020-2024	+2.4 points	Improved	46%
Broadband subscriptions	70.8%2015-2019	85.3%2020-2024	+15 points	Improved	78%
Child poverty rate	48.4%2015-2019	51.7%2020-2024	+3.3 points	Within the margin of error	25%
Effective property tax rate	2.33%2015-2019	1.79%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Improved	92%
High school diploma or higher	81.7%2015-2019	85.2%2020-2024	+3.6 points	Within the margin of error	73%
Home price to income ratio	1.4×2015-2019	1.6×2020-2024	+0.2×	Declined	68%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4662015-2019	0.4572020-2024	−0.009	Within the margin of error	59%
Median household income	$29,5822015-2019	$38,5792020-2024	+30%	Improved	56%
Poverty rate	34.8%2015-2019	34.0%2020-2024	−0.8 points	Within the margin of error	52%
Public transit commuters	1.0%2015-2019	0.7%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	22%
Rent as share of income	38.0%2015-2019	39.4%2020-2024	+1.4 points	Within the margin of error	44%
Rent-burdened households	63.6%2015-2019	63.7%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	55%
Unemployment rate	13.7%2015-2019	10.1%2020-2024	−3.5 points	Improved	92%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	7.3%2015-2019	8.5%2020-2024	+1.2 points	Within the margin of error	32%

“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 Saginaw, Michigan five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Saginaw, 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, Saginaw, Michigan itself moved +2.2 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

43,536 residents (±39)

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

17,789 households (±597)

Saginaw, Michigan
Michigan share

Under $25k34%6,027
$25k–50k28%4,950
$50k–75k17%3,011

Homes

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

Owners and renters

17,789 households (±597)

Saginaw, Michigan
Michigan share

Own60%10,678
Rent40%7,111

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+3.8 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

16,414 workers (±778)

Saginaw, Michigan
Michigan share

Drive alone73%12,051
Carpool15%2,424
Public transit0.7%†112

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

Saginaw County has 4,092 employer establishments, 218 for every 10,000 residents (0.88× the US rate of 248; 0.96× Michigan's), with 77,361 paid employees at an average annual pay of $53,420. The Census Bureau also counts 12,027 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 4,092; 12,027 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 218; US 248 · Michigan 228
Paid employees: 77,361
Average annual pay: $53,420; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	410	21.8	1.05×About typical	5,868	$62,732	633
Restaurants and other eating places	314	16.7	0.91×About typical	7,268	$19,368	57
Specialty trade contractors	228	12.1	0.78×Fewer than typical	1,987	$78,836	750
Limited-service restaurants	161	8.6	1.07×About typical	3,510	$16,199	25
Offices of physicians	144	7.7	1.18×About typical	1,695	$81,047	117
Religious organizations	137	7.3	1.32×More than typical	1,038	$24,472	—
Full-service restaurants	123	6.6	0.85×About typical	3,389	$22,873	20
Clothing and accessories stores	121	6.4	1.78×More than typical	1,543	$21,120	115
Automotive repair and maintenance	117	6.2	1.24×About typical	697	$40,725	125
Construction of buildings	103	5.5	0.73×Fewer than typical	750	$78,175	325
Lessors of real estate	100	5.3	0.43×Fewer than typical	362	$46,155	1,091
Building equipment contractors	99	5.3	0.88×About typical	1,062	$80,777	153

Rank places for an industry Open Saginaw County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 187,758 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 $9.9M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Saginaw, Michigan: $228 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $9.9M; −19% vs FY2025
Per resident: $228; US $1,994
Sole-source: 43%; US 30%
Single offer: 14%; 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 Veterans Affairs$6.9M69%
Department of the Army$2.1M21%
Department of the Navy$698.7K7.0%
Defense Logistics Agency$100.8K1.0%
Department of the Air Force$74.9K0.8%
Forest Service$63.8K0.6%
Public Buildings Service$24K0.2%
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service$2,5700.0%

Top recipients

SIEMENS INDUSTRY INC$2.9M29%
DEAN MARINE AND EXCAVATING, INC.$1.7M17%
FORCECO LLC$696.6K7.0%
HOLT TRANSPORT SERVICES LLC$672.4K6.8%
ARUP LABORATORIES INC$471.5K4.7%

Spending by fiscal year

28.9MFY2017
19.2MFY2018
28.9MFY2019
9.9MFY2020
122.2MFY2021
14.7MFY2022
18.1MFY2023
17.2M

Top industries (NAICS)

Investigation and security services · 5616$2.8M28%
Other heavy and civil engineering construction · 2379$1.7M17%
Machine shops and screw, nut, and bolt manufacturing · 3327$777.5K7.8%
Other transit and ground passenger transportation · 4859$672.4K6.8%
Medical and diagnostic laboratories · 6215$473.4K4.8%
Other ambulatory health care services · 6219

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Saginaw, Michigan

EHRM TO 39 WAVE F DEPLOYMENT$129.7M
ORACLE HEALTH GOVERNMENT SERVICES, INC.· Saginaw County, MI· IT & telecom· Dec 16, 2020 – Mar 10, 2026· 36C10B21N0039EHRM
PROOF GUN STAND SYSTEM AND SPARES.$5.6M
MERRILL TECHNOLOGIES GROUP, LLC· Saginaw County, MI· Weapons, aircraft, ships & vehicles· Sep 30, 2024 – Jun 1, 2026· W15QKN24F0535
PACS UPGRADE$2.9M
SIEMENS INDUSTRY INC· Saginaw County, MI· Equipment maintenance· Aug 5, 2026 – Aug 5, 2026· 36C25026C0089
DELIVERY ORDER TO PROCURE A TOTAL QUANTITY OF TWO (2) EACH ORDNANCE, M776 ORDNANCE CONFIGURATION, NO CANNON ASSY IN ORDERING PERIOD 1 UNDER CLIN 1023.

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

Saginaw, Michigan's figures are part of those of Saginaw County, MI ($12.5M in FY2026), never added to them: 79% of that total.

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

See federal money in Saginaw 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.

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

House

Kristen McDonald RivetD-MI-8 · 100% of residentsWith party 89%Missed 2.2%

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.

Saginaw County33100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Saginaw, MI35

Other cities and towns in Saginaw 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/2670520

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends