Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety41#9,166/15,637
Economy20#12,457/15,631
Housing40#9,002/14,977
Health26#11,499/15,609
Healthcare19#12,605/15,650
Environment39#9,399/15,453
Education8#14,465/15,649
Infrastructure47#8,346/15,650
Community51#7,691/15,651
Leisure & amenities33#10,494/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where White Pigeon, 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
New homes permitted · high13.6 /1k
92/100Michigan 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
Average commute time · low18.9 min
83/100Michigan 24.2 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013

Weaknesses

Depression · high29.8%
6/100Michigan 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
Poverty rate · high26.0%
8/100Michigan 13.4%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
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
Bachelor's degree or higher · low11.6%
10/100Michigan 32.5%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003

Trends

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

PopulationRising
1,613 (2015-2019) → 1,760 (2020-2024)
+9.1%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
36.4% (2015-2019) → 65.4% (2020-2024)
+29 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
1.9× (2015-2019) → 2.9× (2020-2024)
+52%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
26.1% (2015-2019) → 36.4% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
80.8% (2015-2019) → 91.0% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateWorsening
26.3% (2015-2019) → 34.7% (2020-2024)
+8.5 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, White Pigeon, Michigan improved on 0 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 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.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined2

Rent burden+29 points36.4% → 65.4%
Rent / income+10 points26.1% → 36.4%

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of White Pigeon, Michigan between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.0 min2015-2019	18.9 min2020-2024	−2.2 min	Within the margin of error	72%
Bachelor's degree or higher	10.6%2015-2019	11.6%2020-2024	+1 points	Within the margin of error	35%
Broadband subscriptions	80.8%2015-2019	91.0%2020-2024	+10 points	Within the margin of error	61%
Child poverty rate	26.3%2015-2019	34.7%2020-2024	+8.5 points	Within the margin of error	14%
High school diploma or higher	89.3%2015-2019	84.7%2020-2024	−4.6 points	Within the margin of error	6%
Home price to income ratio	1.9×2015-2019	2.9×2020-2024	+1.0×	Within the margin of error	22%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3962015-2019	0.4312020-2024	+0.035	Within the margin of error	24%
Median household income	$43,6032015-2019	$51,2502020-2024	+18%	Within the margin of error	28%
Poverty rate	19.7%2015-2019	26.0%2020-2024	+6.3 points	Within the margin of error	9%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	26.1%2015-2019	36.4%2020-2024	+10 points	Declined	9%
Rent-burdened households	36.4%2015-2019	65.4%2020-2024	+29 points	Declined	3%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	7.7%2015-2019	4.4%2020-2024	−3.3 points	Within the margin of error	78%

“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 White Pigeon, Michigan five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of White Pigeon, 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, White Pigeon, Michigan itself moved −21.3 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

1,760 residents (±253)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 30–39 women (+5.5 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

1,760 residents (±253)

White Pigeon, Michigan
Michigan share

White82%1,440
Black1.0%†18
Hispanic or Latino14%†239

Education

1,269 residents (±213)

White Pigeon, Michigan
Michigan share

No high school diploma15%†194
High school or GED48%611
Some college16%†205

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

731 households (±128)

White Pigeon, Michigan
Michigan share

Under $25k27%†195
$25k–50k23%†167
$50k–75k12%†89
$75k–100k10%†75
$100k–150k18%†135
$150k–200k5.9%†43
$200k or more3.7%†27

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

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

Owners and renters

731 households (±128)

White Pigeon, Michigan
Michigan share

Own67%488
Rent33%†243

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+8.9 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

202 households (±75)

White Pigeon, Michigan
Michigan share

Under $75050%†101
$750–1,00021%†42
$1,000–1,50029%†59

Home values

488 homes (±92)

White Pigeon, Michigan
Michigan share

Under $150k50%†245
$150k–250k43%†210
$250k–400k5.3%†26

Age of homes

778 homes (±131)

White Pigeon, Michigan
Michigan share

2010 or later3.6%†28
2000–20097.3%†57
1980–199914%†108

Size of homes

778 homes (±131)

White Pigeon, Michigan
Michigan share

Studio1.7%†13
1 bedroom13%†105
2 bedrooms23%181

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

805 workers (±155)

White Pigeon, Michigan
Michigan share

Drive alone85%682
Carpool7.7%†62
Public transit0.0%0
Walk0.4%†3
Bike0.0%0
Work from home6.7%†54
Other0.5%†4

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Walk (−8.2 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

751 workers (±151)

White Pigeon, Michigan
Michigan share

Under 15 min35%†261
15–29 min50%372
30–44 min8.0%†60

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

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 White Pigeon'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 White Pigeon, Michigan: $0 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,995
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

-131.9FY2018
521.3FY2020

What was bought

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 6, 2026, loaded Oct 6, 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 White Pigeon, Michigan, so they do not add up across cities.

White Pigeon, 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: White Pigeon 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.

White Pigeon, 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/2686920