Burton, Michigan

Area Profile

29,500 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Burton, in Genesee County.

48out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 15% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
Opportunity4,162nd of 4,199 cities measured18
Schools3,843rd of 4,162 cities measured16
Growth2,888th of 4,224 cities measured42
Housing affordabilityTop 37% of 4,218 cities measured71
Climate3,580th of 4,225 cities measured60
Physical resilienceTop 20% of 4,226 cities measured83
Access3,422nd of 4,226 cities measured78
Economic stability3,146th of 4,226 cities measured43
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 5.6% and the Opportunity signal places Burton in the bottom 1%.

In the public schools here, 16% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.5 students for every teacher.

Rent takes 31% of renter income here, above the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 2.1 times what its owners earn.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
29,500
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$60,052
Bottom 39% nationally
Density
1,263/sq mi
23.4 sq mi of land
Median age
43.7
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Michigan
Metro area
Nearest major airport
MBS
43 mi · Mbs Intl
Median home value
$141,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.6% — higher than in all but 11% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment fell 5.2% over the past year, to 12,741 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsGenesee County, MI’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$54,04814th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftGenesee County, MI’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$56,42217th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$4,8742024 ACS 5-Year$60,052Bottom 39%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,8312024 ACS 5-Year$30,917Bottom 40%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year16.5%Bottom 31%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.8 min2024 ACS 5-Year28.1 minBottom 42%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year16.8%Bottom 40%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year78.0%53rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202612,741Bottom 8%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−5.4%Bottom 3%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−5.2%Bottom 1%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202613,4958th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year76.9%Bottom 45%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageFlint, MI Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$57,810Bottom 9%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageFlint, MI Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$45,880Bottom 9%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year0.6%80th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−1.4%Top 3%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20265.6%Bottom 11%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year6.6%45th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/078.64.2
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 5.6% in July 2026. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. 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.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202460k51k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $60,052 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Flint, MI

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers4,800$28,330
Home Health and Personal Care Aides4,090$34,740
Retail Salespersons4,080$34,320
Registered Nurses3,910$97,780
Stockers and Order Fillers3,710$37,800
Cashiers3,560$29,380

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

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.

16% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 30% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.5 students for every full-time teacher across 15 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
16
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.5
across 15 of them
Math proficiency
15.7%
Bottom 4% in Michigan
Reading proficiency
29.9%
Bottom 10% in Michigan
The 12 largest of 16 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Burton Glen Charter Academy · charterBurton Glen Charter Academy70921.513%18%
Weston Elementary SchoolKearsley Community School District38018.1——
Atherton Jr Sr High SchoolAtherton Community Schools32317.017%37%
Barhitte Elementary SchoolBentley Community School District30917.217%32%
Bendle High SchoolBendle Public Schools30717.112%37%
Madison Academy High School · charterMadison Academy2766.45%25%
Atherton Elementary SchoolAtherton Community Schools26712.117%27%
South Bendle Elementary SchoolBendle Public Schools24616.4——
Flex High Burton · charterFlex High School of Michigan23629.5——
Bentley Senior High SchoolBentley Community School District22718.915%35%
Bendle Middle SchoolBendle Public Schools21913.78%26%
Gladys Dillon Elementary SchoolCarman-Ainsworth Community Schools21512.645%45%

85.8% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Michigan’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 10% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 89.9, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Flint, MI Metro Area is up 41% over five years, and up 3.8% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,281 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.61% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,033, close to the $1,009 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,033 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $41,300 a year, about 69% of the median household income here of $60,052.

The typical renter household here spends 31% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,009 a month.

A median home at $141,600 costs 2.1 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $68,952, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
89.9

Prices here run about 10% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Flint, MI Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
30.8%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.1×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,033
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,009
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$141,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Burton’s median household income of $60,052, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Flint, MI Metro Area’s figure202389.9Top 7%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Flint, MI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+3.8%63rd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Flint, MI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+40.7%45th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Flint, MI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+102.1%67th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.1Top 35%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year76.2%50th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4192024 ACS 5-Year13,14496th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$856Top 11%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,272Top 6%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,033Top 9%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1102024 ACS 5-Year$1,009Bottom 46%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$13,8132024 ACS 5-Year$141,60035th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1242024 ACS 5-Year$2,28161st percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$2,9632024 ACS 5-Year$68,952Bottom 36%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.18%2024 ACS 5-Year1.61%83rd percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±10%2024 ACS 5-Year30.8%Bottom 37%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±392024 ACS 5-Year2373rd percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.2%53rd percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year5.2%40th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2442024 ACS 5-Year71293rd percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

42/ 100
Ranks 2,888 of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2022 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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, to 29,420 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 25 units authorized in 2025, 4% below the prior year.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 34 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show that people moving in from elsewhere in the US and people moving out roughly balanced across Genesee County, which contains Burton, in the most recent year. Households that moved in reported an average income of $54,048, close to the $56,422 of households that moved out.

At 1.2 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
34
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.2
Bottom 28% nationally
Year over year
+21%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202430k29k
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. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.1%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
29%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$54,048
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$56,422
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Oakland County, MI 2,565 people · 19% of arrivals
  2. Livingston County, MI 944 people · 7.1% of arrivals
  3. Lapeer County, MI 829 people · 6.3% of arrivals
  4. Wayne County, MI 658 people · 5.0% of arrivals
  5. Saginaw County, MI 654 people · 4.9% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Oakland County, MI 2,062 people · 16% of departures
  2. Lapeer County, MI 744 people · 5.8% of departures
  3. Saginaw County, MI 720 people · 5.6% of departures
  4. Livingston County, MI 712 people · 5.5% of departures
  5. Shiawassee County, MI 579 people · 4.5% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Genesee County, MI. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20222023202420252612
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2022 (+79%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 82°F and January a low of 16°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 32.0 inches, including 52.1 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 42, in the Good band, and one day a year passes 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station FLINT BISHOP INTL AP, 7.0 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND3.7"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year612024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals32.0"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals52.1"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals16°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals82°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year12024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year422024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals48°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
42
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
61
90th percentile index
Days above 100
1
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

83 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and cold wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 45% of it. Inland flooding and cold wave are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 80% of measured US cities.

TornadoModerate
Strong windElevated
Heat waveModerate
Winter weatherModerate

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, inland flooding, hail, ice storm, lightning, earthquake, landslide, hurricane, wildfire, drought, avalanche, coastal flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
702
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
1,972
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Burton's police department reported 702 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,972.

Genesee County records 12.0 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 20.4 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 28.1 per 100,000 residents in Genesee County.

Homicide
12.0
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
20.4
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
28.1
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
15.4
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Burton’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Burton (Genesee County) rather than Burton itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

6 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Mbs Intl at 43 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year86.3%Bottom 36%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle43 miBottom 16%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle6Top 27%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year9.2%Bottom 41%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Mbs IntlMBS43 mi8,002 ft
Capital Region IntlLAN51 mi8,506 ft
Detroit Metro Wayne CountyDTW56 mi12,003 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
48
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Other cities in Flint, MI

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
FlintGenesee County80,17541Flint vs Burton

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Burton side by side with a similar place.

Burton vs SturgisBurton vs Albert Lea

Moving to Burton from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 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 every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Burton

3 ZIP areas

Every ZIP area in Burton with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Burton closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
485299,339$41,333$86,70042
485098,645$64,160$135,800—
485198,096$64,351$159,10051