Census-designated place · Muskegon County, Michigan

Wolf Lake, Michigan

Wolf Lake is a census-designated place in Muskegon County, Michigan, part of the Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI metro area. It has 4,654 residents. Wolf Lake, Michigan has a quality-of-life score of 23 out of 100 (low), ranking #12,055 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Michigan it ranks #369 of 444 cities and towns. It ranks best on natural hazard risk (low), income inequality (Gini index) (low) and job growth (high). It ranks worst on bachelor's degree or higher (low), rent as share of income (high) and depression (high).

23Low

Quality-of-life score: #12,055 of 15,651 cities and towns
Michigan: #369 of 444 in MI
Population: 4,654 (2020-2024)
Land area: 4 mi²
Density: 1,313.4 /mi²
FIPS code: 2688220

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.

Safety16#13,197/15,637
Economy28#11,222/15,631
Housing29#10,624/14,977
Health13#13,557/15,609
Healthcare41#9,176/15,650
Environment68#4,965/15,453
Education6#14,773/15,649
Infrastructure52#7,554/15,650
Community61#6,090/15,651
Leisure & amenities26#11,571/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Natural hazard risk · low2.3
97/100Michigan 10.32025Federal Emergency Management AgencyMuskegon County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.347
92/100Michigan 0.465United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Job growth · high2.0%
88/100Michigan 0.3%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataMuskegon County value
Hot days · low5 days
85/100Michigan 5 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationMuskegon County value
Dental care shortage · low0.0
84/100Michigan 6.3United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationMuskegon County value
Child care cost burden · low23.5%
82/100Michigan 25.4%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMuskegon County value

Weaknesses

Bachelor's degree or higher · low2.1%
1/100Michigan 32.5%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003High uncertainty
Rent as share of income · high51.0%
2/100Michigan 30.2%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071At least this value: the publisher's top bracket is open-ended
Depression · high30.6%
4/100Michigan 26.5%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Adult obesity · high44.5%
6/100Michigan 38.3%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Grocery stores · low0.8 /10k
7/100Michigan 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMuskegon County value
High ozone days · high9 days
8/100Michigan 3 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyMuskegon County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
3,884 (2015-2019) → 4,654 (2020-2024)
+20%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
39.8% (2015-2019) → 73.9% (2020-2024)
+34 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
28.4% (2015-2019) → 51.0% (2020-2024)
+23 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
74.3% (2015-2019) → 92.5% (2020-2024)
+18 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateWorsening
12.0% (2015-2019) → 19.1% (2020-2024)
+7.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Bachelor's degree or higherWorsening
8.3% (2015-2019) → 2.1% (2020-2024)
−6.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%

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, Wolf Lake, Michigan improved on 1 of 10 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 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.

Improved1

Broadband+18 points74.3% → 92.5%

Declined1

Rent / income+23 points28.4% → 51.0%

All 10 measures

Change of every measure of Wolf Lake, Michigan between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	29.4 min2015-2019	22.5 min2020-2024	−6.8 min	Within the margin of error	95%
Broadband subscriptions	74.3%2015-2019	92.5%2020-2024	+18 points	Improved	87%
Effective property tax rate	0.81%2015-2019	0.97%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	4%
High school diploma or higher	90.2%2015-2019	84.1%2020-2024	−6.1 points	Within the margin of error	4%
Home price to income ratio	2.0×2015-2019	2.5×2020-2024	+0.5×	Within the margin of error	47%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4102015-2019	0.3472020-2024	−0.063	Within the margin of error	88%
Median household income	$43,8112015-2019	$51,6372020-2024	+18%	Within the margin of error	29%
Poverty rate	20.1%2015-2019	14.1%2020-2024	−6 points	Within the margin of error	84%
Rent as share of income	28.4%2015-2019	51.0%2020-2024	+23 points	Declined	2%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	5.2%2015-2019	5.9%2020-2024	+0.7 points	Within the margin of error	38%

“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 Wolf Lake, Michigan five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Wolf Lake, 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, Wolf Lake, Michigan itself moved −1.6 points in standing on average over the same 8 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

4,654 residents (±633)

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

1,742 households (±247)

Wolf Lake, Michigan
Michigan share

Under $25k17%†298
$25k–50k28%†480
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,742 households (±247)

Wolf Lake, Michigan
Michigan share

Own94%1,634
Rent6.2%†108

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

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

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

2,045 workers (±427)

Wolf Lake, Michigan
Michigan share

Drive alone85%1,744
Carpool9.5%†195
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 Muskegon-Norton Shores, 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 Muskegon County, the county holding most of Wolf Lake's residents.

Muskegon County has 3,147 employer establishments, 179 for every 10,000 residents (0.72× the US rate of 248; 0.78× Michigan's), with 51,826 paid employees at an average annual pay of $50,802. The Census Bureau also counts 11,153 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 3,147; 11,153 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 179; US 248 · Michigan 228
Paid employees: 51,826
Average annual pay: $50,802; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	258	14.6	0.80×Fewer than typical	4,760	$22,921	43
Ambulatory health care services	246	14	0.67×Fewer than typical	3,753	$68,842	478
Specialty trade contractors	179	10.2	0.66×Fewer than typical	1,743	$73,367	851
Limited-service restaurants	129	7.3	0.91×About typical	2,333	$21,351	13
Religious organizations	119	6.7	1.22×About typical	637	$22,300	—
Full-service restaurants	104	5.9	0.77×Fewer than typical	2,287	$24,331	20
Construction of buildings	99	5.6	0.74×Fewer than typical	461	$59,779	506
Automotive repair and maintenance	83	4.7	0.93×About typical	419	$46,437	147
Building equipment contractors	78	4.4	0.74×Fewer than typical	1,070	$75,530	132
Services to buildings and dwellings	76	4.3	0.64×Fewer than typical	464	$31,834	786
Lessors of real estate	70	4	0.32×Fewer than typical	304	$36,655	1,002
Fabricated metal product manufacturing	67	3.8	2.38×More than typical	2,593	$61,089	41

Rank places for an industry Open Muskegon County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 176,299 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 $7.5M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Wolf Lake, Michigan: $1,613 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $7.5M; −71% vs FY2025
Per resident: $1,613; US $1,994
Sole-source: 100%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; 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

Defense Logistics Agency$5.2M69%
Department of the Army$2.3M31%

Top recipients

RENK AMERICA LLC$7.3M97%
EOS INC$209K2.8%

Spending by fiscal year

6.8MFY2017
10.6MFY2018
11.4MFY2019
19.5MFY2020
5.9MFY2021
7.6MFY2022
15MFY2023
15.1M

Top industries (NAICS)

Engine, turbine, and power transmission equipment manufacturing · 3336$5M66%
Motor vehicle parts manufacturing · 3363$2M27%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$522.5K7.0%

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 Wolf Lake, Michigan, so they do not add up across cities.

Wolf Lake, Michigan's figures are part of those of Muskegon County, MI ($93.8M in FY2026), never added to them: 8.0% of that total.

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

See federal money in Muskegon 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.

Wolf Lake, 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.

Muskegon County39100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI39

Other cities and towns in Muskegon 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/2688220

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends