AreaProfile

Saginaw, Michigan

Area Profile

43,536 residents. Jobs, income, climate, physical risk, development and airport access for Saginaw, in Saginaw County.

45
Area Score
Bottom 3% of 1,482 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity1567th of 1,567 published cities7
Growth1501st of 1,503 published cities3
Housing affordabilityTop 50% of 1,876 published cities76
Climate1560th of 1,876 published cities60
Physical resilienceTop 38% of 1,849 published cities69
AccessTop 19% of 1,876 published cities99
Economic stability1849th of 1,876 published cities23
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable published city profiles: unemployment is 10.0% and the Opportunity signal places Saginaw in the bottom 0%.

A major airport is 10 miles away, giving the area unusually direct access to the national air network.

Its Area Score of 45 places Saginaw in the top 97% of published city profiles.

At a glance

Population
43,536
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$38,579
Bottom 9% nationally
Density
2,547/sq mi
17.1 sq mi of land
Median age
35.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Saginaw County
Michigan
Metro area
Saginaw, MI
Nearest major airport
MBS
10 mi · Mbs Intl
Median home value
$60,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 10.0% is lower than 1% of the 1,567 measured US cities.

Employment fell 6.3% over the past year, to 14,774 employed residents.

Median household income of $38,579 is below 91% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$1,907$38,579Bottom 9%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,264$21,177Bottom 11%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate34.0%Top 8%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute20.7 minBottom 20%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher13.3%Bottom 29%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment14,774Bottom 17%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-7.2%Bottom 1%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-6.3%Bottom 1%June 2026
Labor force16,414Bottom 21%June 2026
Labor force participation55.6%Bottom 34%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$59,450Bottom 13%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$46,200Bottom 10%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)-1.3%Bottom 2%June 2026
Unemployment rate10.0%Top 1%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032026/012026/06138.0
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 10.0% in June 2026.
Median household income, successive ACS releases
202120222023202439k32k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $38,579 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 — Saginaw, MI
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Retail Salespersons3,410$31,210
Registered Nurses2,570$95,160
Customer Service Representatives2,320$36,150
Cashiers2,000$29,300
Fast Food and Counter Workers1,940$28,280
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators1,910$42,610

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.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $922 takes 29% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 1.6 times median household income here, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
28.7%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
1.6×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$922
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$60,000
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income1.56Bottom 12%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate60.0%Bottom 21%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±53021,063Top 3%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$23$922Bottom 44%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$3,208$60,000Bottom 5%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income28.7%Top 8%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate15.5%Top 33%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
3/ 100
Ranks 1501 of 1,503 published city profiles
Permitting is broadly steady, measured from 2022 to 2025.

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 3% since 2020, reaching 43,001 in 2024.

At 0.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
0
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.0
Bottom 1% nationally
Year over year
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
2020202120222023202444k43k
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.
Housing units permitted per year
20222023202420256.00.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2022 (−100%).

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 32.1 inches, including 49.0 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 SAGINAW MBS INTL AP, 10.2 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND3.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation32.1"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall49.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low16°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high82°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing49°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

69 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, strong wind and heat wave.

Strong windHigh
Inland floodingElevated
HailModerate
Heat waveModerate
LightningModerate

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

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.

Taxes

AreaProfile does not yet publish tax comparisons. No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, methodology transparency and update cadence, and the product rule is to omit a dimension rather than estimate it. The Area Score is calculated without a tax component and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Nothing on AreaProfile is individualized tax advice.

Access

5 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 10 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Mbs IntlMBS10 mi8,002 ft
Capital Region IntlLAN55 mi8,506 ft
Oscoda/WurtsmithOSC76 mi11,801 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
45
Your Score

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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 29, 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 browse every source.

ZIP codes in Saginaw

4 published ZIP profiles
ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeArea Score
4860131,601$38,90045
4860227,127$46,98447
4863812,875$69,45953
486071,614$37,97346