Alpena County, MI
County Profile
28,880 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Alpena County, MI.
Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.
How this area ranks
Data updated · 13 sourcesEmployment conditions sit below most comparable counties measured: unemployment is 5.4% and the Opportunity signal places Alpena County in the bottom 1%.
In the public schools here, 34% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 16.7 students for every teacher.
49 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 9% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.
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
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment of 5.4% — higher than in all but 13% of the 1,467 measured US counties.
Employment fell 4.7% over the past year, to 12,214 employed residents.
Median household income of $53,950 is lower than in 79% of measured US counties.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023 | $47,989 | 16th percentileof 1,417 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023 | $49,054 | 20th percentileof 1,417 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Median household income ±$2,6792024 ACS 5-Year | $53,950 | Bottom 21%of 3,221 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$2,4752024 ACS 5-Year | $34,583 | Bottom 49%of 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per-capita personal income2023 | $51,327 | Bottom 30%of 1,389 | 2023 |
| Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 18.1% | Bottom 21%of 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute ±1.0 min2024 ACS 5-Year | 18.4 min | Top 10%of 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 18.3% | Bottom 29%of 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 77.3% | 48th percentileof 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| EmploymentJuly 2026 | 12,214 | Bottom 15%of 1,467 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years)July 2026 | −6.1% | Bottom 4%of 1,467 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year)July 2026 | −4.7% | Bottom 3%of 1,467 | July 2026 |
| Labor forceJuly 2026 | 12,907 | 15th percentileof 1,467 | July 2026 |
| Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 71.2% | Bottom 30%of 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Public transit to work ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year | 1.1% | 87th percentileof 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026 | −0.7% | Top 22%of 1,467 | July 2026 |
| Unemployment rateJuly 2026 | 5.4% | Bottom 13%of 1,467 | July 2026 |
| Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 7.8% | 42nd percentileof 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Unemployment rate
Median household income, successive ACS releases
34% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 47% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.
There are 16.7 students for every full-time teacher across 10 public schools, more than in most measured places.
| School | District | Students | Per teacher | Math | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpena High School | Alpena Public Schools | 1,091 | 18.2 | 41% | 65% |
| Thunder Bay Junior High School | Alpena Public Schools | 796 | 15.6 | 32% | 44% |
| Besser Elementary School | Alpena Public Schools | 470 | 18.8 | 33% | 41% |
| Ella M White Elementary | Alpena Public Schools | 440 | 18.3 | 32% | 43% |
| Wilson Elementary | Alpena Public Schools | 220 | 15.7 | 42% | 37% |
| Sanborn Elementary | Alpena Public Schools | 201 | 22.3 | 17% | 42% |
| Lincoln Elementary | Alpena Public Schools | 146 | 14.6 | 22% | 12% |
| Hinks Elementary | Alpena Public Schools | 132 | 16.5 | 37% | 37% |
| ACES Academy | Alpena Public Schools | 57 | 8.1 | 10% | 10% |
| Pied Piper School | Alpena-Montmorency-Alcona ESD | 45 | 6.4 | — | — |
61.6% 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.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated — housing affordability →The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of Michigan is up 58% over five years, and up 5.6% 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 $1,639 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.06% of the median home value.
HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $973, some 45% above the $673 tenants already here pay.
At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $973 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $38,900 a year, about 72% of the median household income here of $53,950.
The typical renter household here spends 30% of its income on rent, at the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $673 a month.
A median home at $153,900 costs 2.5 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $62,245, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.
The figures above are measured against Alpena County’s median household income of $53,950, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Michigan’s figure2026 Q2 | +5.6% | 83rd percentileof 1,431 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Michigan’s figure2026 Q2 | +57.9% | 92nd percentileof 1,431 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Michigan’s figure2026 Q2 | +119.4% | 88th percentileof 1,431 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year | 2.5 | Top 48%of 3,217 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 80.0% | 80th percentileof 3,221 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±852024 ACS 5-Year | 15,707 | 57th percentileof 3,221 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Market rent, one bedroomFY2026 | $767 | Top 18%of 1,423 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, three bedroomFY2026 | $1,212 | Top 13%of 1,423 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, two bedroomFY2026 | $973 | Top 18%of 1,423 | FY2026 |
| Median gross rent ±$372024 ACS 5-Year | $673 | Top 11%of 3,215 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$4,6902024 ACS 5-Year | $153,900 | 32nd percentileof 3,219 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median property taxes ±$752024 ACS 5-Year | $1,639 | 52nd percentileof 3,172 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Owner household income ±$3,4402024 ACS 5-Year | $62,245 | Bottom 19%of 3,218 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Property tax rate ±0.06%2024 ACS 5-Year | 1.06% | 70th percentileof 3,126 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 30.4% | Bottom 25%of 3,216 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Seasonal and second homes ±1952024 ACS 5-Year | 1,635 | 82nd percentileof 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year | 10.4% | 82nd percentileof 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year | 6.7% | 30th percentileof 3,221 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacant housing units ±2732024 ACS 5-Year | 2,688 | 63rd percentileof 3,222 | 2024 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.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated — growth →Development Momentum
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.
Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 34 units authorized in 2025, 26% below the prior year.
Federal tax returns show Alpena County gained about 0.6% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $47,989, close to the $49,054 of households that moved out.
At 1.7 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US counties.
Population, annual estimates
People moving in and out
Where newcomers came from
- Presque Isle County, MI 110 people · 11% of arrivals
- Montmorency County, MI 79 people · 7.9% of arrivals
- Alcona County, MI 75 people · 7.5% of arrivals
- Oakland County, MI 37 people · 3.7% of arrivals
- Macomb County, MI 36 people · 3.6% of arrivals
Where people who left went
- Presque Isle County, MI 100 people · 12% of departures
- Alcona County, MI 79 people · 9.3% of departures
- Montmorency County, MI 65 people · 7.7% of departures
- Wayne County, MI 35 people · 4.1% 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. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.
Housing units permitted per year
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.
Precipitation
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals | 31.9" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals | 59.4" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low1991-2020 Normals | 13°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high1991-2020 Normals | 77°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals | 4 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals | 48°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.
Physical risk
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 73% of it. Every one of these is independently rated low or minimal nationally — this describes how a small risk is composed, not a large one.
Overall hazard risk is lower than 97% of measured US counties.
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, drought, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.
Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.
These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.
Alpena County has a modeled homicide rate of about 2.6 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.
Firearm deaths of all intents run at about 19.7 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.
Drug overdose deaths run at about 11.4 per 100,000 residents in Alpena County.
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.
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 Alpena County as a whole. They are shown and not scored. How to read 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.
- Reported crime
- Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
- Cost of living
- Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
- Air quality
- The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this 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. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
- Anything about a specific address
- Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.
Access
3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Alpena County Rgnl at 14 miles.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 85.1% | Bottom 37%of 3,221 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Distance to major airportNASR current cycle | 14 mi | Top 16%of 1,463 | NASR current cycle |
| Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle | 3 | Bottom 35%of 1,463 | NASR current cycle |
| No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 10.5% | Bottom 48%of 3,221 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpena County Rgnl | APN | 14 mi | 9,001 ft |
| Oscoda/Wurtsmith | OSC | 31 mi | 11,801 ft |
| Mbs Intl | MBS | 100 mi | 8,002 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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Similar places
Matched on AreaProfile signals, not geographyData & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) |
| Demographics, Income | Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county) | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Income | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional price parities and county personal income | 2023 |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | July 2026 |
| Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate |
| Safety | U.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 |
| Schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year |
| Housing | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research Fair Market Rents | FY2026 |
| Housing | U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions) | 2026 Q2 |
| Current conditions | NOAA 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.
Cities in Alpena County, MI
ZIP areas
Only ZIP areas whose income or home value differ from their city’s by at least ten percent get a profile of their own, so this is a selection rather than every ZIP code in the county.