Niles, MI

Metro Area Profile

153,288 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Niles, MI metropolitan area.

59out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 31% of 379 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity357th of 379 metros measured28
Growth728th of 821 metros measured23
Housing affordabilityTop 47% of 822 metros measured95
Climate574th of 822 metros measured61
Physical resilienceTop 2% of 822 metros measured94
AccessTop 22% of 822 metros measured91
Economic stability562nd of 822 metros measured37
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable published metro profiles: unemployment is 4.9% and the Opportunity signal places Niles in the bottom 6%.

Residential permitting has slowed: 317 units authorized over the past twelve months, 24% below the prior year.

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

At a glance

Population
153,288
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$65,425
Bottom 45% nationally
Density
270/sq mi
567.8 sq mi of land
Median age
42.7
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
Niles, MI
Nearest major airport
SBN
23 mi · South Bend Intl
Median home value
$224,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.9% is lower than 25% of the 379 measured US metros.

Employment fell 7.1% over the past year, to 68,412 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$1,108$65,425Bottom 45%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$895$38,351Top 35%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate15.1%Top 39%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute22.4 minBottom 32%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher30.9%Top 31%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Employment68,412Bottom 27%of 379June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-7.7%Bottom 2%of 379June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-7.1%Bottom 3%of 379June 2026
Labor force71,904Bottom 26%of 379June 2026
Labor force participation59.9%Bottom 48%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$58,170Bottom 33%of 3812025 OEWS
Median annual wage$45,980Bottom 30%of 3812025 OEWS
Metro employment59,970Bottom 26%of 3812025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.8%Bottom 7%of 379June 2026
Unemployment rate4.9%Top 25%of 379June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/066.43.7
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.9% 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 — Niles, MI
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers1,670$27,740
Cashiers1,610$29,550
Retail Salespersons1,590$34,170
Waiters and Waitresses1,390$38,130
Registered Nurses1,330
Stockers and Order Fillers1,200$34,750

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 $942 takes 17% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.4 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
17.3%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.4×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$942
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$224,300
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income3.43Top 42%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate72.8%Top 31%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±7377,276Top 28%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$24$942Bottom 45%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$3,751$224,300Top 45%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income17.3%Bottom 38%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate17.2%Top 20%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
23/ 100
Ranks 728 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 fallen 1% since 2020, reaching 152,703 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 3% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 2.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
317
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.1
Bottom 41% nationally
Year over year
−24%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
3.2%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024154k153k
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 39.2 inches, including 64.5 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 SOUTH BEND MICHIANA RGNL AP, 22.7 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND4.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation39.2"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall64.5"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

94 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are cold wave, hail and heat wave.

HailModerate
Cold waveModerate
Heat waveModerate
LightningModerate

Low or minimal exposure: strong wind, inland flooding, tornado, winter weather, earthquake, landslide, ice storm, coastal flooding, 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

5 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 23 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
South Bend IntlSBN23 mi8,412 ft
Gary/Chicago IntlGYY37 mi8,859 ft
Chicago O'Hare IntlORD61 mi11,245 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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Put Niles side by side with a similar place.

Niles vs Battle CreekNiles vs SpringfieldNiles vs JacksonNiles vs Flint

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.

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