Alpena, MI

Metro Area Profile

28,880 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Alpena, MI metropolitan area.

Area Score unavailable

Missing required signal: opportunity. AreaProfile withholds a score rather than inferring the missing dimensions.

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Growth525th of 821 metros measured42
Housing affordabilityTop 27% of 822 metros measured100
Climate734th of 822 metros measured55
Physical resilienceTop 2% of 822 metros measured94
AccessTop 17% of 822 metros measured94
Economic stability756th of 822 metros measured18
The quick read

49 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 9% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

Natural-hazard exposure is lower than in most comparable published metro profiles, placing Alpena in the top 2% for physical resilience.

A major airport is 14 miles away, giving the area unusually direct access to the national air network.

At a glance

Population
28,880
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$53,950
Bottom 12% nationally
Density
50/sq mi
571.9 sq mi of land
Median age
47.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
Alpena, MI
Nearest major airport
APN
14 mi · Alpena County Rgnl
Median home value
$153,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Median household income of $53,950 is below 88% of measured US metros.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$2,679$53,950Bottom 12%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,475$34,583Bottom 43%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate18.0%Top 20%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute18.4 minBottom 6%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher18.3%Bottom 16%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Labor force participation53.9%Bottom 14%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $673 takes 15% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 2.9 times median household income here, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
15.0%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.9×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$673
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$153,900
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income2.85Bottom 33%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate80.0%Top 4%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±8515,707Bottom 14%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$37$673Bottom 2%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$4,690$153,900Bottom 17%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income15.0%Bottom 9%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate17.1%Top 21%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
42/ 100
Ranks 525 of 821 published city profiles
Permitting is decreasing, measured from 2024 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has been broadly flat since 2020, at 28,903 in 2024.

At 1.7 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
49
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.7
Bottom 33% nationally
Year over year
+9%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
20.4%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
2020202120222023202429k29k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.

Weather & climate

4 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 77°F and January a low of 13°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 31.9 inches, including 59.4 inches of snow.

0°20°40°60°80°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station ALPENA WWTP, 11.4 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND3.5"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation31.9"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall59.4"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low13°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high77°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months41991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing48°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

94 / 100
Physical resilience

Overall hazard risk is lower than 97% of measured US metros.

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, inland flooding, lightning, coastal flooding, hail, hurricane, landslide, tornado, heat wave, earthquake, wildfire, winter weather, ice storm, strong wind.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offences reported to police are published by department rather than by town, and only where a department reported every month of the year. No municipal department reports for this place — many smaller communities are policed by the county — so there is no figure to show. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Taxes
Taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Cost of living now is — the index above is the Bureau of Economic Analysis price parity for this area — but it is a price level for all consumption rather than a budget for a household, its spread is driven mostly by housing, and it excludes taxes. Housing affordability is computed separately from rent, price and income, because that answers a narrower and more actionable question. Nothing here is individualised tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house. School attendance zones, insurance pricing and the character of a neighbourhood all vary within the places measured here.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 14 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Alpena County RgnlAPN14 mi9,001 ft
Oscoda/WurtsmithOSC31 mi11,801 ft
Mbs IntlMBS100 mi8,002 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)

Profile recalculated August 30, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.

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