City · Tuscola County, Michigan

Vassar, Michigan

Vassar is a city in Tuscola County, Michigan. It has 2,707 residents. Vassar, Michigan has a quality-of-life score of 28 out of 100 (low), ranking #11,317 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Michigan it ranks #335 of 444 cities and towns. It ranks best on time spent in the emergency room (low), homicide rate (low) and child care cost burden (low). It ranks worst on public EV charging ports (low), unemployment rate (high) and gyms and fitness centers (low).

28Low

Quality-of-life score: #11,317 of 15,651 cities and towns
Michigan: #335 of 444 in MI
Population: 2,707 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 1,260.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 2681840

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 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#5,454/15,637
Economy26#11,630/15,631
Housing52#7,136/14,977
Health30#10,872/15,609
Healthcare39#9,618/15,650
Environment58#6,443/15,453
Education29#11,179/15,649
Infrastructure5#14,838/15,650
Community52#7,506/15,651
Leisure & amenities12#13,836/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Time spent in the emergency room · low82 min
99/100Michigan 163 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesTuscola County value
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Michigan 4.7 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataTuscola County value
Child care cost burden · low20.9%
92/100Michigan 25.4%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteTuscola County value
Public libraries · high1.9 /10k
90/100Michigan 0.7 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesTuscola County value
Job growth · high2.0%
88/100Michigan 0.3%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataTuscola County value
Property crime rate · low523 /100k
88/100Michigan 1,259 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationTuscola County value

Weaknesses

Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Michigan 5.6 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyTuscola County value
Unemployment rate · high10.9%
7/100Michigan 5.2%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.2 /10k
9/100Michigan 1.0 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsTuscola County value
Depression · high28.9%
9/100Michigan 26.5%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Primary care physicians · low28 /100k
11/100Michigan 81 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteTuscola County value
Flu vaccinations · low32.0%
11/100Michigan 43.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteTuscola County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
2,576 (2015-2019) → 2,707 (2020-2024)
+5.1%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Median household incomeImproving
$36,631 (2015-2019) → $59,444 (2020-2024)
+62%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
75.5% (2015-2019) → 85.4% (2020-2024)
+9.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Poverty rateImproving
20.3% (2015-2019) → 14.8% (2020-2024)
−5.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
50.1% (2015-2019) → 44.7% (2020-2024)
−5.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateImproving
33.3% (2015-2019) → 28.8% (2020-2024)
−4.5 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, Vassar, Michigan improved on 2 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 11 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+62%$36,631 → $59,444
Broadband+9.9 points75.5% → 85.4%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Vassar, Michigan between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	26.3 min2015-2019	30.0 min2020-2024	+3.7 min	Within the margin of error	15%
Bachelor's degree or higher	14.0%2015-2019	17.4%2020-2024	+3.4 points	Within the margin of error	55%
Broadband subscriptions	75.5%2015-2019	85.4%2020-2024	+9.9 points	Improved	59%
Child poverty rate	33.3%2015-2019	28.8%2020-2024	−4.5 points	Within the margin of error	66%
Effective property tax rate	1.71%2015-2019	1.73%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	13%
High school diploma or higher	90.0%2015-2019	90.3%2020-2024	+0.3 points	Within the margin of error	37%
Home price to income ratio	2.3×2015-2019	2.4×2020-2024	+0.1×	Within the margin of error	75%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4192015-2019	0.3762020-2024	−0.043	Within the margin of error	81%
Median household income	$36,6312015-2019	$59,4442020-2024	+62%	Improved	92%
Poverty rate	20.3%2015-2019	14.8%2020-2024	−5.5 points	Within the margin of error	82%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	30.3%2015-2019	27.6%2020-2024	−2.7 points	Within the margin of error	73%
Rent-burdened households	50.1%2015-2019	44.7%2020-2024	−5.4 points	Within the margin of error	73%

“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 Vassar, Michigan five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Vassar, 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, Vassar, Michigan itself moved +6.2 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

2,707 residents (±17)

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

1,106 households (±97)

Vassar, Michigan
Michigan share

Under $25k22%†245
$25k–50k18%†197
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,106 households (±97)

Vassar, Michigan
Michigan share

Own69%759
Rent31%347

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+12.3 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

1,081 workers (±121)

Vassar, Michigan
Michigan share

Drive alone76%817
Carpool15%†166
Public transit0.0%0

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 Tuscola County, the county holding most of Vassar's residents.

Tuscola County has 842 employer establishments, 159 for every 10,000 residents (0.64× the US rate of 248; 0.70× Michigan's), with 9,643 paid employees at an average annual pay of $48,482. The Census Bureau also counts 3,682 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 842; 3,682 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 159; US 248 · Michigan 228
Paid employees: 9,643
Average annual pay: $48,482; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	76	14.4	0.69×Fewer than typical	753	$45,871	127
Specialty trade contractors	72	13.6	0.88×About typical	267	$63,184	380
Restaurants and other eating places	53	10	0.55×Fewer than typical	768	$16,326	14
Religious organizations	44	8.3	1.50×More than typical	255	$18,216	—
Construction of buildings	31	5.9	0.78×Fewer than typical	111	$46,757	216
Offices of physicians	27	5.1	0.79×Fewer than typical	164	$73,482	13
Full-service restaurants	26	4.9	0.64×Fewer than typical	283	$15,117	4
Insurance agencies and brokerages	26	4.9	1.12×About typical	108	$48,120	50
Limited-service restaurants	24	4.5	0.57×Fewer than typical	474	$17,171	5
Building equipment contractors	23	4.3	0.72×Fewer than typical	82	$49,549	45
Other specialty trade contractors	20	3.8	1.51×More than typical	66	$82,318	91
Gasoline stations	19	3.6	1.11×About typical	175	$33,040	—

Rank places for an industry Open Tuscola County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 52,880 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 Vassar, 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

581.7FY2017
278.1FY2019
0FY2021

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

Vassar, Michigan's figures are part of those of Tuscola County, MI ($79.8K 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: Vassar is mostly in Tuscola County.

See federal money in Tuscola 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.

Vassar, Michigan is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Tuscola County45100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Tuscola 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/2681840

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends