Living in Kalkaska, MI
Kalkaska is a small town of 2,539 people in Kalkaska County, Michigan. It's about 21 miles from Traverse City, MI and 125 miles from Grand Rapids, MI, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 79°F and winter highs 26°F, with about 132 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $156k and rent runs about $633 a month.
2,539people
$156kTypical home
$633/moRent
79° / 26°Summer / winter
132"Snow
189Sunny days
149Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Small town of 2,539
- Part of a metro area
- About 963 people per sq mi
- 125 mi to Grand Rapids, MI
- 21 mi to Traverse City, MI
- 21 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $156k (≈$981/mo)
- Median rent $633/mo
- Median household income $57k
- Property tax about 1.0% of value
- 4.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 79°F
- Winter highs around 26°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 57°F)
- 189 sunny days a year (50 totally clear)
- 176 cloudy days a year
- 65 of 90 winter days are gray
- 149 days a year with rain or snow
- 132" of snow a year
- 45 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 46 nights a year below 10°F
- Usually calm
Safety
- Low violent crime (198 per 100k)
- Very low property crime (833 per 100k)
People
- Median age 44
- 28% of households have kids
- 22% are 65 or older
- 19% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 1% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 25 min
- 4% walk or take transit to work
- 20 mi to TVC airport
- 129 mi to GRR (major hub)
- 125 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 70% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1967
- 85% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Gently rolling terrain
- Elevation 1,037 ft
- 476 mi to the ocean
- 16 mi to a big lake
- 37 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 15 mi to the nearest ski area
- 2 mi to the nearest campground
- 29 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 120 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 18 bars within 25 mi
- 25 coffee shops within 25 mi
- 1 music venue or club within 25 mi
- 13 museums within 25 mi
- 5 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 17 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 37% of Michigan districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 7 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 25 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 11 mi to the nearest vet
- 15 mi to the nearest dog park
- 5 congregations per 10k people
- 19 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Kalkaska County: R+43 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