Village · Ionia County, Michigan

Saranac, Michigan

Saranac is a village in Ionia County, Michigan, part of the Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI metro area. It has 2,013 residents. Saranac, Michigan has a quality-of-life score of 29 out of 100 (low), ranking #11,067 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Michigan it ranks #321 of 444 cities and towns. It ranks best on job growth (high), child care cost burden (low) and property crime rate (low). It ranks worst on pharmacies (low), new business applications (low) and primary care physicians (low).

29Low

Quality-of-life score: #11,067 of 15,651 cities and towns
Michigan: #321 of 444 in MI
Population: 2,013 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 1,750.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 2671660

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 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.

Safety65#5,518/15,637
Economy39#9,570/15,631
Housing46#8,106/14,977
Health54#7,220/15,609
Healthcare11#13,919/15,650
Environment23#11,952/15,453
Education31#10,834/15,649
Infrastructure53#7,312/15,650
Community45#8,624/15,651
Leisure & amenities11#13,898/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Saranac, Michigan ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Ionia 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 · high3.2%
94/100Michigan 0.3%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataIonia County value
Child care cost burden · low20.6%
93/100Michigan 25.4%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteIonia County value
Property crime rate · low614 /100k
82/100Michigan 1,259 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationIonia County value
Hot days · low8 days
77/100Michigan 5 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationIonia County value
Public libraries · high1.1 /10k
77/100Michigan 0.7 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesIonia County value
Drought exposure · low13%
76/100Michigan 13%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAIonia County value

Weaknesses

Pharmacies · low0.6 /10k
5/100Michigan 1.9 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsIonia County value
New business applications · low7.8 /1k
6/100Michigan 15.0 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauIonia County value
Primary care physicians · low24 /100k
7/100Michigan 81 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteIonia County value
Flu vaccinations · low30.0%
8/100Michigan 43.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteIonia County value
Public EV charging ports · low0.6 /10k
8/100Michigan 5.6 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyIonia County value
Hospital quality rating · low2.0
9/100Michigan 3.1United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesIonia County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
1,409 (2015-2019) → 2,013 (2020-2024)
+43%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
34.5% (2015-2019) → 48.0% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
78.6% (2015-2019) → 91.8% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$47,159 (2015-2019) → $66,944 (2020-2024)
+42%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.3× (2015-2019) → 3.0× (2020-2024)
+31%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Child poverty rateWorsening
16.2% (2015-2019) → 20.4% (2020-2024)
+4.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

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, Saranac, Michigan improved on 2 of 11 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.

Improved2

Household income+42%$47,159 → $66,944
Broadband+13 points78.6% → 91.8%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Saranac, Michigan between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	24.5 min2015-2019	23.9 min2020-2024	−0.6 min	Within the margin of error	55%
Bachelor's degree or higher	15.7%2015-2019	19.7%2020-2024	+4 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Broadband subscriptions	78.6%2015-2019	91.8%2020-2024	+13 points	Improved	74%
Effective property tax rate	1.59%2015-2019	1.15%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	87%
High school diploma or higher	91.6%2015-2019	92.9%2020-2024	+1.2 points	Within the margin of error	49%
Home price to income ratio	2.3×2015-2019	3.0×2020-2024	+0.7×	Within the margin of error	35%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4552015-2019	0.3972020-2024	−0.057	Within the margin of error	87%
Median household income	$47,1592015-2019	$66,9442020-2024	+42%	Improved	76%
Poverty rate	14.1%2015-2019	15.3%2020-2024	+1.2 points	Within the margin of error	33%
Rent as share of income	26.7%2015-2019	28.8%2020-2024	+2.1 points	Within the margin of error	39%
Rent-burdened households	34.5%2015-2019	48.0%2020-2024	+13 points	Within the margin of error	17%

“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 Saranac, Michigan five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Saranac, 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, Saranac, Michigan itself moved +2.6 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

2,013 residents (±419)

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

770 households (±133)

Saranac, Michigan
Michigan share

Under $25k24%†187
$25k–50k18%†136
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

770 households (±133)

Saranac, Michigan
Michigan share

Own59%453
Rent41%317

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

1,046 workers (±323)

Saranac, Michigan
Michigan share

Drive alone82%856
Carpool2.7%†28
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 Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, 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 Ionia County, the county holding most of Saranac's residents.

Ionia County has 904 employer establishments, 137 for every 10,000 residents (0.55× the US rate of 248; 0.60× Michigan's), with 12,367 paid employees at an average annual pay of $44,584. The Census Bureau also counts 3,651 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 904; 3,651 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 137; US 248 · Michigan 228
Paid employees: 12,367
Average annual pay: $44,584; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	75	11.3	0.62×Fewer than typical	1,340	$17,701	5
Specialty trade contractors	72	10.9	0.70×Fewer than typical	548	$70,991	380
Ambulatory health care services	69	10.4	0.50×Fewer than typical	453	$56,662	106
Construction of buildings	45	6.8	0.90×About typical	216	$52,792	196
Religious organizations	42	6.4	1.15×About typical	190	$18,642	—
Automotive repair and maintenance	40	6	1.20×About typical	173	$51,301	75
Services to buildings and dwellings	37	5.6	0.83×About typical	145	$40,883	246
Full-service restaurants	35	5.3	0.69×Fewer than typical	545	$18,903	—
Limited-service restaurants	33	5	0.62×Fewer than typical	746	$16,932	—
Foundation, structure and building exterior contractors	26	3.9	1.25×About typical	293	$71,017	73
Gasoline stations	24	3.6	1.12×About typical	215	$31,819	—
Insurance agencies and brokerages	23	3.5	0.79×Fewer than typical	98	$53,694	42

Rank places for an industry Open Ionia County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 66,122 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 Saranac, Michigan: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
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

2KFY2024

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

Saranac, Michigan's figures are part of those of Ionia County, MI ($3.7M 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: Saranac is mostly in Ionia County.

See federal money in Ionia 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.

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

House

John R. MoolenaarR-MI-2 · 100% of residentsWith party 98%Missed 0.3%

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.

Ionia County42100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI80

Other cities and towns in Ionia 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/2671660

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends