Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US metro and micro areas.

Safety68#297/924
Economy9#838/925
Housing13#804/925
Health23#714/925
Healthcare65#322/923
Environment21#725/917
Education71#265/925
Infrastructure33#624/925
Community36#589/925
Leisure & amenities67#309/925

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Mount Pleasant, MI micropolitan area ranks highest and lowest among US metro and micro areas (score = percentile, 100 = best).

Strengths

Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
93/100Michigan 4.7 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionAggregated from counties
Job growth · high2.1%
92/100Michigan 0.3%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional data
Injury deaths · low67 /100k
90/100Michigan 88 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties
Drug overdose deaths · low10.0 /100k
82/100Michigan 16.2 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionAggregated from counties
Average commute time · low19.5 min
82/100Michigan 24.2 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Mental health providers · high398 /100k
77/100Michigan 371 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties

Weaknesses

Depression · high29.8%
5/100Michigan 26.5%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionAggregated from counties
Broadband subscriptions · low81.7%
6/100Michigan 90.5%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Poverty rate · high21.9%
7/100Michigan 13.4%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Adult obesity · high43.1%
7/100Michigan 38.3%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties
Frequent mental distress · high20.8%
8/100Michigan 20.0%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties
Unemployment rate · high5.6%
9/100Michigan 5.2%United States 4.3%2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPartial year

Trends

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

Homicide rateImproving
4.1 /100k (2021) → 0.0 /100k (May 2025–Apr 2026)
−100%5 yearsUS 7.8 /100k → 4.8 /100k
Child care cost burdenImproving
46.0% (2020 & 2021) → 27.6% (2023 & 2024)
−18 pts3 yearsUS 24.5% → 27.9%
New homes permittedImproving
0.9 /1k (2021) → 1.6 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+81%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Drug overdose deathsImproving
23.3 /100k (2021) → 10.0 /100k (Mar 2025–Feb 2026)
−57%5 yearsUS 30.8 /100k → 18.4 /100k
Violent crime rateWorsening
216 /100k (2020) → 336 /100k (2025)
+56%5 yearsUS 389 /100k → 328 /100k
Drought exposureWorsening
19% (2021) → 30% (Oct 2025–Sep 2026)
+11 pts5 yearsUS 40% → 43%

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, Mount Pleasant, MI micropolitan area improved on 18 of 31 measures with a comparison and declined on 5. 6 moved within the margin of error and 2 barely changed.

Earlier period
Latest period
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among metro and micro areas: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts. Periods differ by measure (most compare 2015-2019 with 2020-2024); each row names its own in its tooltip and in the table.

Improved18

Homicides−100%3.0 /100k → 0.0 /100k
Rent / income−3.9 points34.9% → 31.0%
Inequality−0.0290.491 → 0.461
Poverty−4.1 points26.0% → 21.9%
Libraries+7.3%0.9 /10k → 0.9 /10k

Declined5

Violent crime+56%216 /100k → 336 /100k
Suicides+48%13.7 /100k → 20.3 /100k
Firearm deaths+23%9.5 /100k → 11.7 /100k
Traffic deaths+12%15.0 /100k → 16.7 /100k
Pharmacies−10%1.5 /10k → 1.4 /10k

All 31 measures

Change of every measure of Mount Pleasant, MI micropolitan area between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Arts, entertainment and recreation	3.4 /10k2020	3.7 /10k2025	+8.8%	Improved	50%
Average commute time	18.2 min2015-2019	19.6 min2020-2024	+1.4 min	Within the margin of error	22%
Average weekly wage	$8362020	$1,0052025	+20%	Improved	23%
Bachelor's degree or higher	29.1%2015-2019	31.3%2020-2024	+2.3 points	Improved	37%
Broadband subscriptions	76.7%2015-2019	81.7%2020-2024	+5 points	Improved	9%
Child poverty rate	20.4%2015-2019	19.3%2020-2024	−1.1 points	Within the margin of error	34%
Distance to an airport	62 mi2020	62 mi2025	0 mi	Little change	50%
Drug overdose deaths	15.5 /100k2020	10.0 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026	−35%	Improved	64%
Effective property tax rate	1.35%2015-2019	1.17%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Little change	66%
Firearm deaths	9.5 /100k2020	11.7 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026	+23%	Declined	22%
Grocery stores	1.5 /10k2020	1.9 /10k2025	+20%	Improved	89%
Gyms and fitness centers	0.8 /10k2020	0.9 /10k2025	+20%	Improved	69%
High school diploma or higher	91.5%2015-2019	91.9%2020-2024	+0.5 points	Within the margin of error	14%
Home price to income ratio	3.0×2015-2019	3.1×2020-2024	+0.1×	Within the margin of error	90%
Homicide rate	3.0 /100k2020	0.0 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026	−100%	Improved	95%
Income adjusted for local prices	$43,8942019	$56,1252024	+28%	Improved	22%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4912015-2019	0.4612020-2024	−0.029	Improved	95%
Median household income	$45,1162015-2019	$55,2372020-2024	+22%	Improved	25%
New business applications	6.3 /1k2020	8.7 /1k2025	+38%	Improved	38%
Pharmacies	1.5 /10k2020	1.4 /10k2025	−10%	Declined	46%
Poverty rate	26.0%2015-2019	21.9%2020-2024	−4.1 points	Improved	94%
Public libraries	0.9 /10k2019	0.9 /10k2024	+7.3%	Improved	89%
Public transit commuters	1.0%2015-2019	0.8%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	55%
Rent as share of income	34.9%2015-2019	31.0%2020-2024	−3.9 points	Improved	96%
Rent-burdened households	58.5%2015-2019	51.9%2020-2024	−6.6 points	Improved	93%
Restaurants and bars	8.7 /10k2020	10.2 /10k2025	+18%	Improved	90%
Suicide rate	13.7 /100k2020	20.3 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026	+48%	Declined	9%
Traffic deaths	15.0 /100k2015-2019	16.7 /100k2020-2024	+12%	Declined	42%
Unemployment rate	8.8%2020	5.6%2025	−3.2 points	Improved	57%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	9.4%2015-2019	9.0%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	57%
Violent crime rate	216 /100k2020	336 /100k2025	+56%	Declined	3%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 708 metro and micro areas that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: Regional Economic Accounts; Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages; Mapping Injury, Overdose, and Violence; American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates; Business Formation Statistics; Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Return A master files; Public Libraries Survey; Fatality Analysis Reporting System; Distance to airports and intercity rail. 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 925 metro and micro areas 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.

Metro and micro areas like Mount Pleasant, MI micropolitan area five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Mount Pleasant, MI micropolitan area 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, Mount Pleasant, MI micropolitan area itself moved −0.6 points in standing on average over the same 29 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

64,565 residents

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

24,914 households (±426)

Mount Pleasant, MI micropolitan area
United States share

Under $25k22%5,589
$25k–50k23%5,747
$50k–75k17%4,320

Homes

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

Owners and renters

24,914 households (±426)

Mount Pleasant, MI micropolitan area
United States share

Own62%15,406
Rent38%9,508

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

30,616 workers (±754)

Mount Pleasant, MI micropolitan area
United States share

Drive alone74%22,619
Carpool9.7%2,967
Public transit0.8%†230

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 no occupation wages for Mount Pleasant, MI micropolitan area.

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.

Mount Pleasant, MI has 1,423 employer establishments, 221 for every 10,000 residents (0.89× the US rate of 248), with 25,575 paid employees at an average annual pay of $48,548. The Census Bureau also counts 4,243 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,423; 4,243 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 221; US 248
Paid employees: 25,575
Average annual pay: $48,548; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Mount Pleasant, MI by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	131	20.3	0.98×About typical	1,439	$48,713	169
Restaurants and other eating places	116	18	0.98×About typical	2,702	$17,720	14
Specialty trade contractors	84	13	0.84×About typical	786	$78,186	315
Lessors of real estate	66	10.3	0.83×About typical	1,157	$46,235	492
Offices of physicians	58	9	1.39×More than typical	397	$72,458	25
Full-service restaurants	53	8.2	1.07×About typical	1,319	$19,734	4
Limited-service restaurants	47	7.3	0.91×About typical	1,156	$16,330	6
Automotive repair and maintenance	37	5.7	1.14×About typical	218	$35,844	46
Construction of buildings	35	5.4	0.72×Fewer than typical	201	$55,169	151
Services to buildings and dwellings	32	5	0.74×Fewer than typical	435	$54,917	261
Building equipment contractors	31	4.8	0.80×About typical	581	$79,411	42
Offices of other health practitioners	31	4.8	0.79×Fewer than typical	186	$48,226	85

Rank places for an industry

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 64,390 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.
A metro area's figures are the exact sums of its counties.
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 contract spending

In FY2026, federal agencies obligated $0 on contracts performed in Mount Pleasant, MI micropolitan area: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0; −100% vs FY2025
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

594.4KFY2017
811.1KFY2018
399KFY2019
569.6KFY2020
374.6KFY2021
607.8KFY2022
275.7KFY2023
609.1KFY2024
230.8KFY2025

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.

Federal grants & assistance

Grants, loans (counted at their subsidy cost), direct payments and insurance, by fiscal year of the action (USAspending.gov, FABS). Reported apart from contracts and never added to them.

In FY2026, federal agencies obligated $393.9M in grants, loans, direct payments and insurance for Mount Pleasant, MI micropolitan area: $6,089 per resident (US $12,955).

Assistance · FY2026: $393.9M; −0.4% vs FY2025
Per resident: $6,089; US $12,955
Loan face value: $6.4M; lent or guaranteed
To individuals: 1.6%; counted, never named

Top programs

96.002 · Social Security Retirement Insurance$218.6M55%
96.001 · Social Security Disability Insurance$33.6M8.5%
64.109 · Veterans Compensation for Service-Connected Disability$25.8M6.5%
96.004 · Social Security Survivors Insurance$21.2M5.4%
84.063 · Federal Pell Grant Program$20.7M5.3%
96.006 · Supplemental Security Income$11M2.8%
14.195 · Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA)$8.1M2.1%
93.774 · Medicare Supplementary Medical Insurance$6.8M1.7%

Top recipients (organizations)

CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY$28.8M7.3%
MOUNT PLEASANT, MI
SAGINAW CHIPPEWA INDIAN TRIBE$7.9M2.0%
MOUNT PLEASANT, MI
TRANSPORTATION, MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF$5.1M1.3%
LANSING, MI
CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY RESEARCH CORPORATION$3.6M0.9%
MOUNT PLEASANT, MI
THE INSTITUTE FOR EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION INC

Organizations only: awards to individuals and county aggregate records count in the totals but are never listed. Grants to state governments recorded at the agency's own address are counted statewide, not in the capital's county.

Top agencies

Social Security Administration$284.4M72%
Under Secretary for Benefits/Veterans Benefits Administration$29.7M7.5%
Department of Veterans Affairs
Department of Education$28.2M7.2%
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services$13.7M3.5%
Department of Health and Human Services
Assistant Secretary for Housing--Federal Housing Commissioner

Assistance by fiscal year

411.4MFY2021
334.9MFY2022
355.1MFY2023
394.7MFY2024
395.4MFY2025
393.9MFY2026

County aggregates

83%

Share of obligations reported only as county totals of many small awards (for example Social Security or Medicare payments), with no recipient named.

Source: Federal financial assistance transactions (Financial Assistance Broker Submission) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026 · FY2021–FY2026.

Counties in Mount Pleasant, MI

Whole counties, as the U.S. Office of Management and Budget delineates the area. Federal spending below is the exact sum of these counties.

Isabella CountyCentral county3964,691

Principal cities

The cities the area is named for.

Mount PleasantPrincipal city21,236

Largest cities and towns

By population, for places with most of their residents in the area.

Other metro and micro areas in Michigan

Areas based in Michigan, best score first.

Neighboring metro and micro areas

Places that share a border, best score first.

Similar metro and micro areas

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.

Mapping Injury, Overdose, and ViolenceCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2026-10-01
PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Daily county PM2.5 and ozone (EPA downscaler model)Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · release 2022
Care Compare: Hospital General Information and Timely and Effective CareCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services · release 2026-07-22
Distance to airports and intercity railFederal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census Bureau · release 2025+amtrak-2026-04-23
Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Return A master filesFederal Bureau of Investigation · release 2025
Public Libraries SurveyInstitute of Museum and Library Services · release FY2024
U.S. Drought Monitor county statisticsNational Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAA · release 2026-09-29
Fatality Analysis Reporting SystemNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration · release 2024
nClimGrid-Daily county averagesNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · release 2025
Regional Economic AccountsU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis · release 2024
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
Quarterly Census of Employment and WagesU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2026 Q1
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Business Formation StatisticsU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-10-01
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
Alternative Fuels Data Center station locatorU.S. Department of Energy · release 2026-10
Election Administration and Voting SurveyU.S. Election Assistance Commission · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/M34380

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends

What changed in five years

Improved18

Declined5

Metro and micro areas like Mount Pleasant, MI micropolitan area five years ago that improved

Who lives here

Age and sex

Income

Household income

Homes

Owners and renters

Getting to work

How people get to work

Jobs and pay

Local businesses

Federal contract spending

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

What was bought

Federal grants & assistance

Top programs

Top recipients (organizations)

Top agencies

Assistance by fiscal year

County aggregates

Counties in Mount Pleasant, MI

Principal cities

Largest cities and towns

Other metro and micro areas in Michigan

Neighboring metro and micro areas

Similar metro and micro areas

Data and sources

Improved18

Declined5

Age and sex

Household income

Owners and renters

How people get to work

Race and Hispanic origin

Education

Rent paid

Home values

Age of homes

Size of homes

Time to get to work

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

What was bought

Top programs

Top recipients (organizations)

Top agencies

Assistance by fiscal year

County aggregates

By type