Living in Chatham, MI
Chatham is a tiny town of 135 people in Alger County, Michigan. It's about 127 miles from Traverse City, MI and 232 miles from Milwaukee, WI, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 77°F and winter highs 24°F, with about 164 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $131k and rent runs about $713 a month.
135people
$131kTypical home
$713/moRent
77° / 24°Summer / winter
164"Snow
145Sunny days
173Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Tiny town of 135
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 55 people per sq mi
- 232 mi to Milwaukee, WI
- 127 mi to Traverse City, MI
- 26 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $131k (≈$828/mo)
- Median rent $713/mo
- Median household income $48k
- Property tax about 1.4% of value
- 7.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 77°F
- Winter highs around 24°F
- Comfortable summers (dew point 55°F)
- 145 sunny days a year (17 totally clear)
- 220 cloudy days a year
- 71 of 90 winter days are gray
- 173 days a year with rain or snow
- 164" of snow a year
- 53 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 56 nights a year below 10°F
- Breezy
Safety
- Very low violent crime (23 per 100k), county-wide
- Very low property crime (91 per 100k), county-wide
People
- Median age 62
- 19% of households have kids
- 31% are 65 or older
- 21% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 4% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 24 min
- 5% walk or take transit to work
- 22 mi to MQT airport
- 239 mi to MKE (major hub)
- 230 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 87% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1965
- 83% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Gently rolling terrain
- Elevation 879 ft
- 422 mi to the ocean
- 8 mi to a big lake
- 3 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 26 mi to the nearest ski area
- 4 mi to the nearest campground
- 5 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 6 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- Few or no bars within 25 mi
- Few or no coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 5 museums within 25 mi
- 1 brewery or distillery within 25 mi
- 26 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the top 38% of Michigan districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 10 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 95 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 23 mi to the nearest vet
- 97 mi to the nearest dog park
- 10 congregations per 10k people
- 27 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Alger County: R+20 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