Living in Chelsea, MI
Chelsea is a big small town of 5,426 people in Washtenaw County, Michigan. It's about 15 miles from Ann Arbor, MI and 47 miles from Detroit, MI, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 82°F and winter highs 31°F, with about 33 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $313k and rent runs about $2k a month.
5,426people
$313kTypical home
$1,619/moRent
82° / 31°Summer / winter
33"Snow
205Sunny days
123Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Big small town of 5,426
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 1,501 people per sq mi
- 47 mi to Detroit, MI
- 15 mi to Ann Arbor, MI
- 15 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $313k (≈$1,972/mo)
- Median rent $1,619/mo
- Median household income $72k
- Property tax about 1.6% of value
- 5.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 82°F
- Winter highs around 31°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 60°F)
- 205 sunny days a year (65 totally clear)
- 160 cloudy days a year
- 59 of 90 winter days are gray
- 123 days a year with rain or snow
- 33" of snow a year
- 13 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 25 nights a year below 10°F
- Breezy
Safety
- Low violent crime (227 per 100k)
- Very low property crime (837 per 100k)
People
- Median age 51
- 19% of households have kids
- 33% are 65 or older
- 52% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 6% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 26 min
- 3% walk or take transit to work
- 35 mi to DTW airport
- 35 mi to DTW (major hub)
- 14 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 73% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1971
- 90% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Flat, open land
- Elevation 929 ft
- 434 mi to the ocean
- 45 mi to a big lake
- 17 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 19 mi to the nearest ski area
- 5 mi to the nearest campground
- 80 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 500 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 43 bars within 25 mi
- 137 coffee shops within 25 mi
- 5 music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 22 museums within 25 mi
- 11 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- Farmers market in town
Everyday
- Schools in the top 10% of Michigan districts (reading)
- 8 mi to the nearest grocery store
- 1 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 1 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- Vet in town
- Dog park in town
- 6 congregations per 10k people
- 15 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Washtenaw County: D+44 in 2024
- Michigan: Purple — split almost evenly
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- Moderate tornado risk
- Very low wildfire risk
- Very low earthquake risk
- Low flood risk
- Very low drought risk
- Moderate winter storm risk
- Low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk