Fenton, Michigan

Area Profile

11,906 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Fenton, in Livingston County.

68out of 100
Area Score
Top 20% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
Opportunity2,389th of 4,199 cities measured53
SchoolsTop 28% of 4,162 cities measured67
GrowthTop 29% of 4,224 cities measured60
Housing affordabilityTop 31% of 4,218 cities measured73
Climate3,580th of 4,225 cities measured60
Physical resilienceTop 10% of 4,226 cities measured92
Access3,440th of 4,226 cities measured78
Economic stabilityTop 20% of 4,226 cities measured72
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.2% and median household income $80,000, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured. The unemployment rate is published for Livingston County, MI, which contains Fenton, rather than for Fenton alone.

In the public schools here, 46% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 16.7 students for every teacher.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 49 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, against 7 the year before.

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
11,906
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$80,000
Top 33% nationally
Density
1,790/sq mi
6.7 sq mi of land
Median age
38.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Michigan
Nearest major airport
LAN
44 mi · Capital Region Intl
Median home value
$235,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Livingston County, MI, which contains Fenton, is 4.2%, lower than in 55% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Livingston County, MI, which contains Fenton, fell 0.8% over the past year, to 97,012 employed residents.

39% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 81% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsLivingston County, MI’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$82,47064th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftLivingston County, MI’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$75,97357th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$19,7532024 ACS 5-Year$80,000Top 33%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$4,5352024 ACS 5-Year$46,080Top 22%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year7.2%Top 34%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.9 min2024 ACS 5-Year34.0 minBottom 19%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year39.2%Top 19%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year76.3%47th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentLivingston County, MI’s figureJuly 202697,012Top 43%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Livingston County, MI’s figureJuly 2026−3.8%Bottom 8%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Livingston County, MI’s figureJuly 2026−0.8%Top 49%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceLivingston County, MI’s figureJuly 2026101,28057th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year87.6%Top 16%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageDetroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$69,210Top 48%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageDetroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$52,080Top 44%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year0.4%79th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Livingston County, MI’s figureJuly 2026+0.1%Bottom 34%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateLivingston County, MI’s figureJuly 20264.2%Top 45%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year16.2%79th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202483k71k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $80,000 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 — Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators55,100$49,240
Retail Salespersons48,610$35,130
Home Health and Personal Care Aides46,480$35,120
Registered Nurses44,310$97,280
Fast Food and Counter Workers42,430$29,590
Cashiers37,910$30,090

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.

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

46% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 62% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 16.7 students for every full-time teacher across 8 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
8
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
16.7
across all schools here
Math proficiency
46.4%
Top 30% in Michigan
Reading proficiency
61.9%
Top 22% in Michigan
All 8 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Fenton Senior High SchoolFenton Area Public Schools98216.942%74%
Andrew G Schmidt Middle SchoolFenton Area Public Schools71818.943%55%
West Shore Elementary SchoolLake Fenton Community Schools50518.7——
Lake Fenton Middle SchoolLake Fenton Community Schools44417.846%60%
Torrey Hill Intermediate SchoolLake Fenton Community Schools42219.254%60%
State Road Elementary SchoolFenton Area Public Schools39614.151%60%
TomekEastern Elem SchoolFenton Area Public Schools38014.653%54%
North Road Elementary SchoolFenton Area Public Schools35112.545%58%

31.2% 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 2% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 98.2, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,955 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.25% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,490, some 17% above the $1,275 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,490 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $59,600 a year, about 75% of the median household income here of $80,000.

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 $1,275 a month.

A median home at $235,900 costs 2.2 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $107,104, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
98.2

Prices here run about 2% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, 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
29.7%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.2×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,490
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,275
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$235,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Fenton’s median household income of $80,000, 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 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI Metro Area’s figure202398.2Top 37%of 3,7002023
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year2.2Top 40%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year63.1%25th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3252024 ACS 5-Year5,45189th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,260Top 42%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,930Top 39%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,490Top 40%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1052024 ACS 5-Year$1,275Bottom 28%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$22,0732024 ACS 5-Year$235,90062nd percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$2482024 ACS 5-Year$2,95572nd percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$9,8622024 ACS 5-Year$107,104Top 22%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.16%2024 ACS 5-Year1.25%66th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±7%2024 ACS 5-Year29.7%Bottom 42%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±182024 ACS 5-Year01st percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year4.5%36th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1202024 ACS 5-Year24381st 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

60/ 100
Top 29% of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been rising for the last 3 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 11,882 in 2024.

Permit activity rose in each of the 3 calendar years through 2025.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 49 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Livingston County, which contains Fenton, gained about 0.3% 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 $82,470, above the $75,973 of households that moved out.

At 4.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
49
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
4.1
Top 35% nationally
Year over year
+600%
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 holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.3%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
22%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$82,470
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$75,973
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Oakland County, MI 2,022 people · 23% of arrivals
  2. Wayne County, MI 1,254 people · 14% of arrivals
  3. Washtenaw County, MI 946 people · 11% of arrivals
  4. Genesee County, MI 712 people · 8.2% of arrivals
  5. Ingham County, MI 453 people · 5.2% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Oakland County, MI 1,473 people · 18% of departures
  2. Genesee County, MI 944 people · 12% of departures
  3. Washtenaw County, MI 691 people · 8.5% of departures
  4. Wayne County, MI 619 people · 7.6% of departures
  5. Ingham County, MI 547 people · 6.7% 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 Livingston County, MI. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2022202320242025172.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2022 (+750%).

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.

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, 11.6 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND3.7"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
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
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals48°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, tornado and cold wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 47% 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.

Strong windHigh
TornadoModerate
Ice stormModerate
Heat waveModerate
LightningModerate

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, inland flooding, hail, landslide, winter weather, earthquake, wildfire, hurricane, 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
194
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
1,216
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.

Fenton's police department reported 194 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,216.

Livingston County has a modeled homicide rate of about 2.3 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 13.2 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 10.2 per 100,000 residents in Livingston County.

Homicide
2.3
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
13.2
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
10.2
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
23.4
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 Fenton’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 Fenton (Livingston County) rather than Fenton 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.

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. 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 Capital Region Intl at 44 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year93.8%Top 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 cycle6Top 27%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year4.5%Top 33%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Capital Region IntlLAN44 mi8,506 ft
Detroit Metro Wayne CountyDTW45 mi12,003 ft
Mbs IntlMBS54 mi8,002 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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Area Score
68
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Other cities in Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
DetroitWayne County638,53047Detroit vs Fenton
WarrenMacomb County137,92852Warren vs Fenton
Sterling HeightsMacomb County133,57361Sterling Heights vs Fenton
DearbornWayne County107,42351
LivoniaWayne County93,85168
TroyOakland County87,89872
WestlandWayne County83,63351
Farmington HillsOakland County83,51565
Rochester HillsOakland County77,08969
SouthfieldOakland County76,23656
NoviOakland County66,71772
PontiacOakland County62,10453

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 Fenton side by side with a similar place.

Fenton vs CockeysvilleFenton vs Sycamore

Moving to Fenton 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
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
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
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 Fenton

1 ZIP area

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

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
4843039,309$100,193$326,40068