Lansing-East Lansing, MI

Metro Area Profile

472,669 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Lansing-East Lansing, MI metropolitan area.

65out of 100
Area Score
Top 44% of 379 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity324th of 379 metros measured37
Growth500th of 821 metros measured44
Housing affordabilityTop 27% of 822 metros measured100
Climate563rd of 822 metros measured61
Physical resilienceTop 9% of 822 metros measured85
AccessTop 2% of 822 metros measured99
Economic stabilityTop 26% of 822 metros measured69
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable published metro profiles: unemployment is 4.6% and the Opportunity signal places Lansing-East Lansing in the bottom 15%.

Natural-hazard exposure is lower than in most comparable published metro profiles, placing Lansing-East Lansing in the top 9% for physical resilience.

A major airport is 5 miles away, giving the area unusually direct access to the national air network.

At a glance

Population
472,669
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$72,550
Top 33% nationally
Density
278/sq mi
1698.6 sq mi of land
Median age
36.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
Lansing-East Lansing, MI
Nearest major airport
LAN
5 mi · Capital Region Intl
Median home value
$216,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.6% is lower than 33% of the 379 measured US metros.

Employment fell 8.1% over the past year, to 220,821 employed residents.

38% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 85% of measured US metros.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$1,364$72,550Top 33%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$677$39,863Top 28%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate13.5%Bottom 49%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute23.2 minBottom 41%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher37.5%Top 15%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Employment220,821Top 29%of 379June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-7.3%Bottom 2%of 379June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-8.1%Bottom 1%of 379June 2026
Labor force231,473Top 30%of 379June 2026
Labor force participation64.0%Top 24%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$65,450Top 26%of 3812025 OEWS
Median annual wage$52,800Top 16%of 3812025 OEWS
Metro employment217,180Top 28%of 3812025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.7%Bottom 8%of 379June 2026
Unemployment rate4.6%Top 33%of 379June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/066.03.1
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.6% in June 2026. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.
Largest occupations — Lansing-East Lansing, MI
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators6,170$55,120
Office Clerks, General4,830$45,830
Fast Food and Counter Workers4,810$28,640
Retail Salespersons4,750$33,840
General and Operations Managers4,470$119,140
Business Operations Specialists, All Other4,360$82,940

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,086 takes 18% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.0 times median household income here, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
18.0%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.0×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,086
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$216,700
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income2.99Bottom 39%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate66.6%Bottom 30%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±215207,300Top 12%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$13$1,086Top 33%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$2,805$216,700Top 48%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income18.0%Bottom 47%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate6.3%Bottom 11%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
44/ 100
Ranks 500 of 821 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing, 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 grown 1% since 2020, reaching 479,971 in 2024.

At 1.9 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
914
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.9
Bottom 38% nationally
Year over year
+22%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
43.9%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024480k460k
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

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 83°F and January a low of 17°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 33.3 inches, including 50.2 inches of snow.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station LANSING CAPITAL CITY AP, 4.8 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND3.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation33.3"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall50.2"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low17°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high83°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months51991-2020 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

85 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are tornado, strong wind and hail.

Strong windHigh
TornadoElevated
HailModerate
Heat waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, inland flooding, ice storm, winter weather, earthquake, lightning, landslide, hurricane, wildfire.

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 and full cost of living
No public source publishes either with national coverage and a method open enough to check. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings. 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

6 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 5 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Capital Region IntlLAN5 mi8,506 ft
Battle Creek Exec At Kellogg FldBTL43 mi10,004 ft
Gerald R Ford IntlGRR48 mi10,001 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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Area Score
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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)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
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)

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.