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Grand Marais is a tiny town of 153 people in Alger County, Michigan. It's about 134 miles from Traverse City, MI and 257 miles from Grand Rapids, MI, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 75°F and winter highs 24°F, with about 155 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $167k and rent runs about $714 a month.
153people
$167kTypical home
$714/moRent
75° / 24°Summer / winter
155"Snow
152Sunny days
160Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Tiny town of 153
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 81 people per sq mi
- 257 mi to Grand Rapids, MI
- 134 mi to Traverse City, MI
- 68 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $167k (≈$1,051/mo)
- Median rent $714/mo
- Median household income $50k
- Property tax about 0.8% of value
- 5.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 75°F
- Winter highs around 24°F
- Comfortable summers (dew point 55°F)
- 152 sunny days a year (24 totally clear)
- 213 cloudy days a year
- 70 of 90 winter days are gray
- 160 days a year with rain or snow
- 155" of snow a year
- 49 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 44 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 70
- 16% of households have kids
- 39% are 65 or older
- 19% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 5% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 20 min
- 8% walk or take transit to work
- 72 mi to MQT airport
- 263 mi to GRR (major hub)
- 257 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 88% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1980
- 88% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Gently rolling terrain
- Elevation 591 ft
- 376 mi to the ocean
- 3 mi to a big lake
- 3 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 70 mi to the nearest ski area
- Campground in town
- No 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
- 6 museums within 25 mi
- No breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 67 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Grocery store in town
- 24 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 128 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 67 mi to the nearest vet
- 86 mi to the nearest dog park
- 10 congregations per 10k people
- 69 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
Some of this place's Census numbers are blended with county figures because its survey sample is small.