Village · Isabella County, Michigan

Shepherd, Michigan

Shepherd is a village in Isabella County, Michigan, part of the Mount Pleasant, MI metro area. It has 1,457 residents. Shepherd, Michigan has a quality-of-life score of 45 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #8,593 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Michigan it ranks #193 of 444 cities and towns. It ranks best on income inequality (Gini index) (low), homicide rate (low) and unemployment rate (low). It ranks worst on dental care shortage (high), mental health care shortage (high) and depression (high).

45Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #8,593 of 15,651 cities and towns
Michigan: #193 of 444 in MI
Population: 1,457 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 1,522.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 2672960

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.

Safety59#6,405/15,637
Economy48#8,170/15,631
Housing51#7,305/14,977
Health27#11,415/15,609
Healthcare45#8,642/15,650
Environment37#9,674/15,453
Education48#8,104/15,649
Infrastructure74#4,121/15,650
Community29#11,109/15,651
Leisure & amenities59#6,481/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.329
97/100Michigan 0.465United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Michigan 4.7 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataIsabella County value
Unemployment rate · low0.9%
93/100Michigan 5.2%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Job growth · high2.1%
89/100Michigan 0.3%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataIsabella County value
Average commute time · low17.8 min
88/100Michigan 24.2 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Home price to income ratio · low2.2×
87/100Michigan 3.2×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077

Weaknesses

Dental care shortage · high20.0
1/100Michigan 6.3United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationIsabella County value
Mental health care shortage · high19.0
4/100Michigan 9.3United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationIsabella County value
Depression · high29.7%
6/100Michigan 26.5%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Comfortable days · low23.3%
11/100Michigan 23.1%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationIsabella County value
New business applications · low8.7 /1k
12/100Michigan 15.0 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauIsabella County value
Child poverty rate · high34.8%
14/100Michigan 17.7%United States 15.5%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.

Child poverty rateWorsening
15.7% (2015-2019) → 34.8% (2020-2024)
+19 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
78.8% (2015-2019) → 94.6% (2020-2024)
+16 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
37.7% (2015-2019) → 46.2% (2020-2024)
+8.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$51,908 (2015-2019) → $70,156 (2020-2024)
+35%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Poverty rateWorsening
11.6% (2015-2019) → 17.0% (2020-2024)
+5.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
High school diploma or higherImproving
94.0% (2015-2019) → 97.8% (2020-2024)
+3.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%

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, Shepherd, 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+16 points78.8% → 94.6%
Inequality−0.0480.377 → 0.329
Household income+35%$51,908 → $70,156

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Shepherd, Michigan between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.9 min2015-2019	17.8 min2020-2024	−4.1 min	Within the margin of error	86%
Bachelor's degree or higher	26.0%2015-2019	26.6%2020-2024	+0.6 points	Within the margin of error	32%
Broadband subscriptions	78.8%2015-2019	94.6%2020-2024	+16 points	Improved	82%
Effective property tax rate	1.69%2015-2019	1.51%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	55%
High school diploma or higher	94.0%2015-2019	97.8%2020-2024	+3.8 points	Within the margin of error	75%
Home price to income ratio	2.2×2015-2019	2.2×2020-2024	+0.0×	Within the margin of error	78%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3772015-2019	0.3292020-2024	−0.048	Improved	83%
Median household income	$51,9082015-2019	$70,1562020-2024	+35%	Improved	66%
Poverty rate	11.6%2015-2019	17.0%2020-2024	+5.4 points	Within the margin of error	11%
Rent as share of income	24.8%2015-2019	26.1%2020-2024	+1.3 points	Within the margin of error	45%
Rent-burdened households	37.7%2015-2019	46.2%2020-2024	+8.6 points	Within the margin of error	27%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	6.5%2015-2019	4.9%2020-2024	−1.6 points	Within the margin of error	65%

“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 Shepherd, Michigan five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Shepherd, 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, Shepherd, Michigan itself moved +6.8 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

1,457 residents (±235)

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

560 households (±89)

Shepherd, Michigan
Michigan share

Under $25k13%†71
$25k–50k22%†122
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

560 households (±89)

Shepherd, Michigan
Michigan share

Own66%372
Rent34%188

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

782 workers (±134)

Shepherd, Michigan
Michigan share

Drive alone87%678
Carpool4.5%†35
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 Mount Pleasant, 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 Isabella County, the county holding most of Shepherd's residents.

Isabella County has 1,423 employer establishments, 221 for every 10,000 residents (0.89× the US rate of 248; 0.97× Michigan's), with 25,575 paid employees at an average annual pay of $48,548. The Census Bureau also counts 4,243 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,423; 4,243 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 221; US 248 · Michigan 228
Paid employees: 25,575
Average annual pay: $48,548; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	131	20.3	0.98×About typical	1,439	$48,713	169
Restaurants and other eating places	116	18	0.98×About typical	2,702	$17,720	14
Specialty trade contractors	84	13	0.84×About typical	786	$78,186	315
Lessors of real estate	66	10.3	0.83×About typical	1,157	$46,235	492
Offices of physicians	58	9	1.39×More than typical	397	$72,458	25
Full-service restaurants	53	8.2	1.07×About typical	1,319	$19,734	4
Limited-service restaurants	47	7.3	0.91×About typical	1,156	$16,330	6
Automotive repair and maintenance	37	5.7	1.14×About typical	218	$35,844	46
Construction of buildings	35	5.4	0.72×Fewer than typical	201	$55,169	151
Services to buildings and dwellings	32	5	0.74×Fewer than typical	435	$54,917	261
Building equipment contractors	31	4.8	0.80×About typical	581	$79,411	42
Offices of other health practitioners	31	4.8	0.79×Fewer than typical	186	$48,226	85

Rank places for an industry Open Isabella County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 64,390 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 Shepherd, 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

-273.7FY2017

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

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

See federal money in Isabella 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.

Shepherd, 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.

Isabella County39100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Mount Pleasant, MI34

Other cities and towns in Isabella 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/2672960

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends