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Big small town

Living in Alpena, MI

Alpena is a big small town of 10,154 people in Alpena County, Michigan. It's about 105 miles from Bay City, MI and 183 miles from Grand Rapids, MI, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 77°F and winter highs 27°F, with about 60 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $119k and rent runs about $625 a month.

10,154people
$119kTypical home
$625/moRent
77° / 27°Summer / winter
60"Snow
149Sunny days
174Rain/snow days

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Size & setting

  • Big small town of 10,154
  • Its own small hub, not a suburb
  • About 1,243 people per sq mi
  • 183 mi to Grand Rapids, MI
  • 105 mi to Bay City, MI
  • Has its own stores and services

Money

  • Typical home $119k (≈$749/mo)
  • Median rent $625/mo
  • Median household income $48k
  • Property tax about 1.5% of value
  • 6.0% unemployment

Weather

  • Summer highs around 77°F
  • Winter highs around 27°F
  • Comfortable summers (dew point 57°F)
  • 149 sunny days a year (23 totally clear)
  • 216 cloudy days a year
  • 72 of 90 winter days are gray
  • 174 days a year with rain or snow
  • 60" of snow a year
  • 22 days a year with 1"+ of snow
  • Rarely hits 100°F
  • 33 nights a year below 10°F
  • Usually calm

Safety

  • About average violent crime (393 per 100k)
  • Very low property crime (833 per 100k)

People

  • Median age 46
  • 19% of households have kids
  • 23% are 65 or older
  • 16% have a college degree
  • Not very diverse
  • 3% of residents are college students

Getting around & homes

  • Average commute 13 min
  • 4% walk or take transit to work
  • 6 mi to APN airport
  • 183 mi to GRR (major hub)
  • 143 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
  • 71% single-family homes
  • Typical home built around 1955
  • 83% of homes have broadband

Outdoors

  • Flat, open land
  • Elevation 591 ft
  • 426 mi to the ocean
  • 1 mi to a big lake
  • 4 mi to the nearest trailhead
  • 56 mi to the nearest ski area
  • 6 mi to the nearest campground
  • 7 golf courses within 25 mi

Things to do

  • 20 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
  • 5 bars within 25 mi
  • 4 coffee shops within 25 mi
  • No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
  • 3 museums within 25 mi
  • 1 brewery or distillery within 25 mi
  • 2 mi to the nearest farmers market

Everyday

  • Schools in the bottom 43% of Michigan districts (reading)
  • Grocery store in town
  • 2 mi to the nearest ER hospital
  • 60 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
  • 3 mi to the nearest vet
  • 63 mi to the nearest dog park
  • 9 congregations per 10k people
  • 30 mi to the nearest college

Politics

  • Alpena County: R+29 in 2024
  • Michigan: Purple — split almost evenly

Natural hazards

  • Very low hurricane risk
  • Low tornado risk
  • Very low wildfire risk
  • Very low earthquake risk
  • Very low flood risk
  • Very low drought risk
  • High winter storm risk
  • Very low heat wave risk
  • Very low volcano risk

Places near Alpena

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