City · St. Joseph County, Michigan

Three Rivers, Michigan

Three Rivers is a city in St. Joseph County, Michigan, part of the Sturgis, MI metro area. It has 7,943 residents. Three Rivers, Michigan has a quality-of-life score of 29 out of 100 (low), ranking #11,132 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Michigan it ranks #325 of 444 cities and towns. It ranks best on child care cost burden (low), homicide rate (low) and average commute time (low). It ranks worst on depression (high), primary care physicians (low) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) (high).

29Low

Quality-of-life score: #11,132 of 15,651 cities and towns
Michigan: #325 of 444 in MI
Population: 7,943 (2020-2024)
Land area: 6 mi²
Density: 1,420.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 2679760

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.

Safety41#9,166/15,637
Economy21#12,351/15,631
Housing81#2,869/14,977
Health24#11,885/15,609
Healthcare11#13,959/15,650
Environment39#9,399/15,453
Education11#13,896/15,649
Infrastructure67#5,100/15,650
Community52#7,538/15,651
Leisure & amenities33#10,494/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Child care cost burden · low20.1%
94/100Michigan 25.4%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSt. Joseph County value
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Michigan 4.7 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataSt. Joseph County value
Average commute time · low18.6 min
90/100Michigan 24.2 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
New homes permitted · high9.1 /1k
87/100Michigan 2.2 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Michigan 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSt. Joseph County value
Drought exposure · low5%
85/100Michigan 13%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAASt. Joseph County value

Weaknesses

Depression · high29.3%
8/100Michigan 26.5%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Primary care physicians · low25 /100k
8/100Michigan 81 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSt. Joseph County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · high9.2 µg/m³
8/100Michigan 8.6 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySt. Joseph County value
Hospital quality rating · low2.0
9/100Michigan 3.1United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesSt. Joseph County value
Unemployment rate · high10.2%
9/100Michigan 5.2%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025
Frequent mental distress · high20.9%
12/100Michigan 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.

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
77.7% (2015-2019) → 92.0% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.0× (2015-2019) → 2.7× (2020-2024)
+37%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Unemployment rateWorsening
4.0% (2015-2019) → 10.2% (2020-2024)
+6.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Poverty rateImproving
19.4% (2015-2019) → 15.0% (2020-2024)
−4.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Worsening
7.1% (2015-2019) → 10.1% (2020-2024)
+3 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Median household incomeImproving
$43,136 (2015-2019) → $49,503 (2020-2024)
+15%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

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, Three Rivers, Michigan improved on 1 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 3. 10 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.

Improved1

Broadband+14 points77.7% → 92.0%

Declined3

Unemployment+6.2 points4.0% → 10.2%
Uninsured+3 points7.1% → 10.1%
Price / income+0.7×2.0× → 2.7×

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Three Rivers, Michigan between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	17.7 min2015-2019	18.6 min2020-2024	+0.9 min	Within the margin of error	37%
Bachelor's degree or higher	15.5%2015-2019	14.2%2020-2024	−1.3 points	Within the margin of error	20%
Broadband subscriptions	77.7%2015-2019	92.0%2020-2024	+14 points	Improved	77%
Child poverty rate	21.8%2015-2019	22.4%2020-2024	+0.6 points	Within the margin of error	36%
Effective property tax rate	1.65%2015-2019	1.44%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	60%
High school diploma or higher	89.7%2015-2019	91.6%2020-2024	+2 points	Within the margin of error	58%
Home price to income ratio	2.0×2015-2019	2.7×2020-2024	+0.7×	Declined	34%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3762015-2019	0.3892020-2024	+0.013	Within the margin of error	39%
Median household income	$43,1362015-2019	$49,5032020-2024	+15%	Within the margin of error	23%
Poverty rate	19.4%2015-2019	15.0%2020-2024	−4.4 points	Within the margin of error	77%
Rent as share of income	25.9%2015-2019	26.4%2020-2024	+0.5 points	Within the margin of error	51%
Rent-burdened households	39.1%2015-2019	37.4%2020-2024	−1.7 points	Within the margin of error	62%
Unemployment rate	4.0%2015-2019	10.2%2020-2024	+6.2 points	Declined	2%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	7.1%2015-2019	10.1%2020-2024	+3 points	Declined	19%

“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 Three Rivers, Michigan five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Three Rivers, 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, Three Rivers, 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

7,943 residents (±31)

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

3,293 households (±207)

Three Rivers, Michigan
Michigan share

Under $25k23%750
$25k–50k28%913
$50k–75k19%617

Homes

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

Owners and renters

3,293 households (±207)

Three Rivers, Michigan
Michigan share

Own53%1,744
Rent47%1,549

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

3,601 workers (±255)

Three Rivers, Michigan
Michigan share

Drive alone75%2,700
Carpool14%†518
Public transit1.0%†35

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 Sturgis, 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. Joseph County, the county holding most of Three Rivers's residents.

St. Joseph County has 1,149 employer establishments, 189 for every 10,000 residents (0.76× the US rate of 248; 0.83× Michigan's), with 19,429 paid employees at an average annual pay of $54,727. The Census Bureau also counts 4,186 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,149; 4,186 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 189; US 248 · Michigan 228
Paid employees: 19,429
Average annual pay: $54,727; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	88	14.4	0.79×Fewer than typical	1,537	$17,390	13
Ambulatory health care services	72	11.8	0.57×Fewer than typical	550	$57,260	133
Specialty trade contractors	59	9.7	0.63×Fewer than typical	492	$70,307	382
Religious organizations	56	9.2	1.66×More than typical	413	$15,470	—
Full-service restaurants	45	7.4	0.96×About typical	592	$17,939	7
Automotive repair and maintenance	39	6.4	1.27×More than typical	208	$46,707	60
Banks and credit unions	31	5.1	1.57×More than typical	255	$51,886	—
Limited-service restaurants	31	5.1	0.63×Fewer than typical	805	$16,113	—
Lessors of real estate	29	4.8	0.39×Fewer than typical	63	$49,048	278
Offices of physicians	29	4.8	0.73×Fewer than typical	188	$74,441	13
Fabricated metal product manufacturing	26	4.3	2.67×More than typical	1,303	$71,150	23
Building equipment contractors	25	4.1	0.68×Fewer than typical	362	$74,329	42

Rank places for an industry Open St. Joseph County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 60,953 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 Three Rivers, 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

1.6KFY2017
3.4KFY2018
393.5FY2019
909.6FY2020
393.5FY2021
442.9FY2022
16FY2023

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 Three Rivers, Michigan, so they do not add up across cities.

Three Rivers, Michigan's figures are part of those of St. Joseph County, MI ($33.4K 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: Three Rivers is mostly in St. Joseph County.

See federal money in St. Joseph 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.

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

House

Tim WalbergR-MI-5 · 100% of residentsWith party 98%Missed 0.9%

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. Joseph County44100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Sturgis, MI36

Other cities and towns in St. Joseph 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/2679760

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends