Escanaba, Michigan

Area Profile

12,354 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Escanaba, in Delta County.

53out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 29% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
Opportunity4,177th of 4,199 cities measured16
Schools2,351st of 4,162 cities measured45
Growth2,499th of 4,224 cities measured46
Housing affordabilityTop 7% of 4,218 cities measured84
Climate4,179th of 4,225 cities measured51
Physical resilienceTop 10% of 4,226 cities measured91
Access3,795th of 4,226 cities measured69
Economic stability3,840th of 4,226 cities measured30
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 5.6% and the Opportunity signal places Escanaba in the bottom 1%. The unemployment rate is published for Delta County, MI, which contains Escanaba, rather than for Escanaba alone.

In the public schools here, 35% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 16.7 students for every teacher.

Housing is more affordable relative to local incomes than in most cities measured: rent takes 25% of renter income 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
12,354
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$45,369
Bottom 16% nationally
Density
969/sq mi
12.7 sq mi of land
Median age
44.4
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Michigan
Micro area
Nearest major airport
SAW
44 mi · Marquette/Sawyer Rgnl
Median home value
$125,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Delta County, MI, which contains Escanaba, is 5.6% — higher than in all but 11% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Delta County, MI, which contains Escanaba, fell 6.3% over the past year, to 15,281 employed residents.

Median household income of $45,369 is lower than in 84% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsDelta County, MI’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$54,50615th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftDelta County, MI’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$56,63118th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$2,5622024 ACS 5-Year$45,369Bottom 16%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,8592024 ACS 5-Year$32,014Bottom 44%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year17.8%Bottom 27%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.4 min2024 ACS 5-Year12.6 minTop 3%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year19.8%Bottom 48%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year76.8%49th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentDelta County, MI’s figureJuly 202615,281Bottom 14%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Delta County, MI’s figureJuly 2026−3.3%Bottom 11%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Delta County, MI’s figureJuly 2026−6.3%Bottom 1%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceDelta County, MI’s figureJuly 202616,18314th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year66.5%Bottom 20%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year0.8%83rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Delta County, MI’s figureJuly 2026−1.2%Top 7%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateDelta County, MI’s figureJuly 20265.6%Bottom 11%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year6.1%42nd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202445k36k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $45,369 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.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Delta County, MI, which contains this city.

35% 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 5 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
8
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
16.7
across 5 of them
Math proficiency
34.7%
Bottom 45% in Michigan
Reading proficiency
47.5%
Bottom 47% in Michigan
All 8 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Escanaba JuniorSenior High SchoolEscanaba Area Public Schools1,08920.237%52%
Escanaba Upper ElementaryEscanaba Area Public Schools42615.834%45%
Lemmer Elementary SchoolEscanaba Area Public Schools29616.437%47%
Webster Kindergarten CenterEscanaba Area Public Schools21512.6——
Escanaba Student Success CenterEscanaba Area Public Schools104104.010%10%
Learning CenterDelta-Schoolcraft ISD747.430%50%
Bay Pines CenterMichigan Department of Human Services29———
DeltaSchoolcraft Area CenterDelta-Schoolcraft ISD0———

55.8% 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.

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 $1,843 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.47% 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 48% above the $657 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 86% of the median household income here of $45,369.

The typical renter household here spends 25% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $657 a month.

A median home at $125,200 costs 2.1 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $59,479, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
25.1%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.1×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$973
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$657
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$125,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Escanaba’s median household income of $45,369, 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 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Michigan’s figure2026 Q2+57.9%93rd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Michigan’s figure2026 Q2+119.4%86th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year2.1Top 36%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year63.9%26th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±2722024 ACS 5-Year6,46491st percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$742Top 3%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,288Top 7%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$973Top 5%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1182024 ACS 5-Year$657Top 12%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$11,4082024 ACS 5-Year$125,20030th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$2202024 ACS 5-Year$1,84352nd percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$6,3322024 ACS 5-Year$59,479Bottom 22%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.22%2024 ACS 5-Year1.47%77th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year25.1%Top 34%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1302024 ACS 5-Year25895th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year4.0%78th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year7.6%53rd percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2202024 ACS 5-Year74993rd 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.

Development Momentum

46/ 100
Ranks 2,499 of 4,224 published city profiles

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 12,296 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. The multifamily share is published for Delta County, MI, which contains Escanaba, rather than for Escanaba alone.

Federal tax returns show Delta County, which contains Escanaba, 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 cities. The permit rate is published for Delta County, MI, which contains Escanaba, rather than for Escanaba alone.

Units permitted
71
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.9
Bottom 40% nationally
Year over year
+31%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202412k12k
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 for the last 4 years, 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. This is the figure for Delta County, MI. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

The Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey lists only jurisdictions that issue their own permits, and Escanaba, MI is not one. This is the figure for Delta County, MI, which contains this city.

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, 2.0 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

91 / 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 90% of measured US cities.

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). 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
310
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
1,484
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.

Escanaba's police department reported 310 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,484.

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.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Escanaba’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 Escanaba (Delta County) rather than Escanaba 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.

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 ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year84.9%Bottom 31%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle44 miBottom 16%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle1Bottom 1%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year9.5%Bottom 40%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Marquette/Sawyer RgnlSAW44 mi9,072 ft
Green Bay/Austin Straubel IntlGRB101 mi8,700 ft
Appleton IntlATW124 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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Area Score
53
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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
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
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
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.

ZIP codes in Escanaba

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Escanaba with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
4982916,416$50,277$146,30052