Living in Rapid City, MI
Rapid City is a small town of 1,328 people in Kalkaska County, Michigan. It's about 16 miles from Traverse City, MI and 131 miles from Grand Rapids, MI, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 81°F and winter highs 28°F, with about 124 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $215k and rent runs about $969 a month.
1,328people
$215kTypical home
$969/moRent
81° / 28°Summer / winter
124"Snow
189Sunny days
148Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Small town of 1,328
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 246 people per sq mi
- 131 mi to Grand Rapids, MI
- 16 mi to Traverse City, MI
- 16 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $215k (≈$1,354/mo)
- Median rent $969/mo
- Median household income $73k
- Property tax about 0.9% of value
- 5.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 81°F
- Winter highs around 28°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
- 148 days a year with rain or snow
- 124" of snow a year
- 43 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 39 nights a year below 10°F
- Breezy
Safety
- About average violent crime (323 per 100k), county-wide
- Very low property crime (779 per 100k), county-wide
People
- Median age 50
- 30% of households have kids
- 24% are 65 or older
- 15% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 2% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 33 min
- 1% walk or take transit to work
- 16 mi to TVC airport
- 136 mi to GRR (major hub)
- 132 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 84% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1978
- 92% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Gently rolling terrain
- Elevation 617 ft
- 471 mi to the ocean
- 9 mi to a big lake
- 31 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 9 mi to the nearest ski area
- 5 mi to the nearest campground
- 30 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 120 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 11 bars within 25 mi
- 25 coffee shops within 25 mi
- 1 music venue or club within 25 mi
- 11 museums within 25 mi
- 6 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 10 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 37% of Michigan districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 15 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 20 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 7 mi to the nearest vet
- 13 mi to the nearest dog park
- 5 congregations per 10k people
- 15 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