City · Ogemaw County, Michigan

West Branch, Michigan

West Branch is a city in Ogemaw County, Michigan. It has 2,225 residents. West Branch, Michigan has a quality-of-life score of 31 out of 100 (low), ranking #10,742 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Michigan it ranks #304 of 444 cities and towns. It ranks best on drug overdose deaths (low), hospital quality rating (high) and restaurants and bars (high). It ranks worst on primary care physicians (low), depression (high) and flu vaccinations (low).

31Low

Quality-of-life score: #10,742 of 15,651 cities and towns
Michigan: #304 of 444 in MI
Population: 2,225 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 1,446.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 2685580

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.

Safety42#9,031/15,637
Economy9#14,185/15,631
Housing30#10,443/14,977
Health18#12,742/15,609
Healthcare22#12,184/15,650
Environment84#2,457/15,453
Education34#10,402/15,649
Infrastructure56#6,872/15,650
Community40#9,318/15,651
Leisure & amenities66#5,280/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Drug overdose deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Michigan 16.2 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataOgemaw County value
Hospital quality rating · high5.0
98/100Michigan 3.1United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesOgemaw County value
Restaurants and bars · high16.1 /10k
96/100Michigan 9.1 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsOgemaw County value
Pharmacies · high2.8 /10k
95/100Michigan 1.9 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsOgemaw County value
Job growth · high3.2%
94/100Michigan 0.3%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataOgemaw County value
Public libraries · high1.9 /10k
90/100Michigan 0.7 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesOgemaw County value

Weaknesses

Primary care physicians · low14 /100k
2/100Michigan 81 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteOgemaw County value
Depression · high31.4%
3/100Michigan 26.5%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Flu vaccinations · low26.0%
3/100Michigan 43.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteOgemaw County value
Average weekly wage · low$900
5/100Michigan $1,362United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsOgemaw County value
Distance to an airport · high120 mi
6/100Michigan 44 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauOgemaw County value
Median household income · low$41,250
6/100Michigan $72,336United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013

Trends

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

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
67.6% (2015-2019) → 93.9% (2020-2024)
+26 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
High school diploma or higherImproving
83.7% (2015-2019) → 92.7% (2020-2024)
+9 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Median household incomeImproving
$29,206 (2015-2019) → $41,250 (2020-2024)
+41%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
14.5% (2015-2019) → 21.7% (2020-2024)
+7.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Average commute timeWorsening
16.1 min (2015-2019) → 21.5 min (2020-2024)
+33%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.7× (2015-2019) → 3.6× (2020-2024)
+33%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×

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, West Branch, Michigan improved on 5 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 8 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−0.6 points1.76% → 1.12%
Broadband+26 points67.6% → 93.9%
High school++9 points83.7% → 92.7%
Bachelor's++7.2 points14.5% → 21.7%
Household income+41%$29,206 → $41,250

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of West Branch, Michigan between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	16.1 min2015-2019	21.5 min2020-2024	+5.4 min	Within the margin of error	9%
Bachelor's degree or higher	14.5%2015-2019	21.7%2020-2024	+7.2 points	Improved	80%
Broadband subscriptions	67.6%2015-2019	93.9%2020-2024	+26 points	Improved	96%
Child poverty rate	34.2%2015-2019	31.5%2020-2024	−2.7 points	Within the margin of error	59%
Effective property tax rate	1.76%2015-2019	1.12%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Improved	95%
High school diploma or higher	83.7%2015-2019	92.7%2020-2024	+9 points	Improved	94%
Home price to income ratio	2.7×2015-2019	3.6×2020-2024	+0.9×	Within the margin of error	27%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4342015-2019	0.4162020-2024	−0.019	Within the margin of error	67%
Median household income	$29,2062015-2019	$41,2502020-2024	+41%	Improved	75%
Poverty rate	23.3%2015-2019	23.1%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	45%
Rent as share of income	33.6%2015-2019	32.9%2020-2024	−0.7 points	Within the margin of error	61%
Rent-burdened households	56.7%2015-2019	55.7%2020-2024	−0.9 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	7.5%2015-2019	8.6%2020-2024	+1.1 points	Within the margin of error	33%

“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 West Branch, Michigan five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of West Branch, 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, West Branch, Michigan itself moved +12 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

2,225 residents (±244)

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

1,056 households (±130)

West Branch, Michigan
Michigan share

Under $25k36%378
$25k–50k25%260
$50k–75k23%†239

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,056 households (±130)

West Branch, Michigan
Michigan share

Own41%435
Rent59%621

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

716 workers (±148)

West Branch, Michigan
Michigan share

Drive alone82%587
Carpool9.8%†70
Public transit1.5%†

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 Ogemaw County, the county holding most of West Branch's residents.

Ogemaw County has 567 employer establishments, 270 for every 10,000 residents (1.09× the US rate of 248; 1.18× Michigan's), with 5,498 paid employees at an average annual pay of $41,900. The Census Bureau also counts 1,341 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 567; 1,341 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 270; US 248 · Michigan 228
Paid employees: 5,498
Average annual pay: $41,900; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	62	29.5	1.41×More than typical	579	$48,819	48
Restaurants and other eating places	51	24.2	1.32×More than typical	747	$19,150	—
Specialty trade contractors	35	16.6	1.07×About typical	82	$71,720	138
Offices of physicians	30	14.3	2.20×More than typical	263	$49,837	5
Full-service restaurants	29	13.8	1.80×More than typical	446	$20,969	3
Truck transportation	20	9.5	1.88×More than typical	104	$53,731	46
Automotive repair and maintenance	17	8.1	1.61×More than typical	66	$42,576	31
Religious organizations	17	8.1	1.46×More than typical	101	$17,723	—
Construction of buildings	16	7.6	1.01×About typical	40	$48,075	76
Limited-service restaurants	16	7.6	0.95×About typical	248	$18,028	—
Gasoline stations	15	7.1	2.20×More than typical	105	$26,810	—
Banks and credit unions	14	6.7	2.06×More than typical	71	$59,887	—

Rank places for an industry Open Ogemaw County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 21,033 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

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

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

See federal money in Ogemaw 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.

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

House

Jack BergmanR-MI-1 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 2.4%

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.

Ogemaw County36100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Ogemaw 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/2685580

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends