Delta County, MI

County Profile

36,813 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Delta 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.

50out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 19% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
Opportunity1,434th of 1,463 counties measured18
Schools1,227th of 1,377 counties measured18
Growth816th of 1,453 counties measured47
Housing affordabilityTop 23% of 1,462 counties measured80
Climate1,412th of 1,463 counties measured51
Physical resilienceTop 6% of 1,463 counties measured92
Access1,068th of 1,463 counties measured69
Economic stability953rd of 1,463 counties measured49
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable counties measured: unemployment is 5.6% and the Opportunity signal places Delta County in the bottom 2%.

In the public schools here, 33% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 16.7 students for every teacher.

Rent takes 27% of renter income here, below the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 2.4 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
36,813
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$57,809
Bottom 29% nationally
Density
31/sq mi
1,171.1 sq mi of land
Median age
48.0
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Delta County
Michigan
Micro area
Nearest major airport
SAW
44 mi · Marquette/Sawyer Rgnl
Median home value
$157,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.6% — higher than in all but 11% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment fell 6.3% over the past year, to 15,281 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$54,50638th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$56,63147th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$3,2012024 ACS 5-Year$57,809Bottom 29%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,5332024 ACS 5-Year$36,649Top 41%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$47,573Bottom 15%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year12.4%Top 46%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.0 min2024 ACS 5-Year19.0 minTop 11%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year20.6%Bottom 41%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year81.7%79th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202615,281Bottom 21%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−3.3%Bottom 14%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−6.3%Bottom 2%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202616,18322nd percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year69.0%Bottom 23%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.4%68th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−1.2%Top 6%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20265.6%Bottom 11%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year5.8%24th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/077.54.3
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 5.6% in July 2026. It has been rising, 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

202120222023202458k51k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $57,809 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.

33% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 45% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 16.7 students for every full-time teacher across 12 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
15
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
16.7
across 12 of them
Math proficiency
33.3%
Bottom 17% in Michigan
Reading proficiency
45.0%
Bottom 17% in Michigan
The 12 largest of 15 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Escanaba JuniorSenior High SchoolEscanaba Area Public Schools1,08920.237%52%
Gladstone Area High SchoolGladstone Area Schools47221.532%47%
Escanaba Upper ElementaryEscanaba Area Public Schools42615.834%45%
James T Jones Elementary SchoolGladstone Area Schools35517.839%46%
Gladstone Area Middle SchoolGladstone Area Schools34620.430%42%
Cameron Elementary SchoolGladstone Area Schools32114.0——
Lemmer Elementary SchoolEscanaba Area Public Schools29616.437%47%
TriTownship SchoolRapid River Public Schools24313.537%47%
Mid Peninsula SchoolMid Peninsula School District22013.812%27%
Webster Kindergarten CenterEscanaba Area Public Schools21512.6——
Big Bay De Noc SchoolBig Bay De Noc School District19214.837%37%
Escanaba Student Success CenterEscanaba Area Public Schools104104.010%10%

47.4% 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.

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 $1,771 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.13% 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 41% above the $692 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 67% of the median household income here of $57,809.

The typical renter household here spends 27% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $692 a month.

A median home at $157,100 costs 2.4 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $66,721, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
26.9%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.4×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$973
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$692
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$157,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Delta County’s median household income of $57,809, 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
Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Michigan’s figure2026 Q2+5.6%83rd percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Michigan’s figure2026 Q2+57.9%92nd percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Michigan’s figure2026 Q2+119.4%88th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year2.4Top 41%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year82.0%89th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±382024 ACS 5-Year19,84564th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$742Top 12%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,288Top 24%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$973Top 18%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$912024 ACS 5-Year$692Top 14%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$4,5892024 ACS 5-Year$157,10035th percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$772024 ACS 5-Year$1,77157th percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$2,7592024 ACS 5-Year$66,721Bottom 28%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.06%2024 ACS 5-Year1.13%74th percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year26.9%Top 41%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±2452024 ACS 5-Year2,73488th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year13.8%87th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year5.7%23rd percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3182024 ACS 5-Year3,87473rd percentileof 3,2222024 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.

Development Momentum

47/ 100
Ranks 816 of 1,453 published county profiles
Permitting has been rising for the last 2 years of 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 36,687 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 71 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Delta 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 $54,506, close to the $56,631 of households that moved out.

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

Units permitted
71
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.9
Bottom 35% nationally
Year over year
+31%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202437k37k
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 falling, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.6%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
50%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$54,506
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$56,631
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Menominee County, MI 107 people · 9.3% of arrivals
  2. Marquette County, MI 102 people · 8.8% of arrivals
  3. Schoolcraft County, MI 68 people · 5.9% of arrivals
  4. Alger County, MI 43 people · 3.7% of arrivals
  5. Brown County, WI 41 people · 3.6% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Menominee County, MI 119 people · 12% of departures
  2. Marquette County, MI 105 people · 11% of departures
  3. Dickinson County, MI 41 people · 4.2% of departures
  4. Brown County, WI 38 people · 3.9% 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

20222023202420255834
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2022 (+57%).

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 8°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 28.8 inches, including 46.9 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 ESCANABA, 11.0 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND3.5"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals28.8"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals46.9"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals8°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals77°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals41991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals50°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

92 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and hail, with inland flooding alone responsible for 53% 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 94% of measured US counties.

HailElevated
LightningModerate
Strong windModerate

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

Delta County has a modeled homicide rate of about 2.0 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 27.2 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 8.8 per 100,000 residents in Delta County.

Homicide
2.0
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
27.2
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
8.8
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
32.6
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.

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 Delta 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

1 major airport lies within 100 miles, the nearest Marquette/Sawyer Rgnl at 44 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year87.1%Top 48%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle44 miBottom 37%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle1Bottom 3%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year9.5%Top 44%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Marquette/Sawyer RgnlSAW44 mi9,072 ft
Green Bay/Austin Straubel IntlGRB109 mi8,700 ft
Appleton IntlATW133 mi8,003 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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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
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
IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
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
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.

Cities in Delta 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.