A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Arcada Township$1,360/mo

Typical home $219K (Census) · tax rate 1.17% · or rent about $725/mo · Housing →

Alma$1,120/mo

Typical home $167K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.72% · or rent about $836/mo · Housing →

The difference: $250 a month, about $2,900 a year, between Arcada Township and Alma.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Where they are

Arcada Township and Alma share a border

And the people who already live in one and work in the other.

Arcada TownshipAlma

Arcada Township ↔ Alma3.8 miles apart · They share a border

Who commutes between them

139 Arcada Township residents work in Alma (21.1% of its workers)

Work & commute in Arcada Township →

Report cards

Grades and rankings, side by side

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every Michigan ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Safety

–Arcada TownshipNot graded CAlmaSafer than 34% of U.S. towns

Schools

–Arcada TownshipNot graded BAlmaBetter than 60% of districts in the state

Health

C+Arcada TownshipHealthier than 41% of U.S. towns C+AlmaHealthier than 42% of U.S. towns

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

Arcada TownshipAlma

Snow a year39″39″

January low15°F 15°F

July high82°F 82°F

Growing season (days)164d 164d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)49th 56th

Outdoors & history

Arcada TownshipAlma

Trails1 mi 5 mi

Conserved land1.2%4.9%

Settled—1853

National Register places—2

Archive photos—27

Famous people born here—14

Community

Arcada TownshipAlma

Library hours a week—50 hrs

Colleges in town—1

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs Michigan average

Arcada TownshipAlma

People

Population 1,684Lowest 9,396Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -0.6%Lowest MI: +2% +1.1%Highest MI: +2%

Median age 45±6.9Highest 12% above MI 33.1±2.6Lowest 18% below MI

Kids under 18 18.3%±3.5Lowest MI: 21.2% 19.3%±3Highest MI: 21.2%

Alma and Arcada Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 19.9%±2.9Highest MI: 18.6% 17.5%±2.8Lowest MI: 18.6%

Arcada Township and Alma are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 38.2%Highest MI: 32.4% 28%Lowest MI: 32.4%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 6.7%±4.7Lowest MI: 6.1% 17.8%±2.1Highest MI: 6.1%

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $88,523±$12kHighest 21% above MI $53,307±$9kLowest 27% below MI

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $218,900±$19kHighest 5% below MI $115,900±$15kLowest 50% below MI

Rentmedian gross, monthly $725±$446Lowest 36% below MI $836±$39Highest 26% below MI

Alma and Arcada Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Property taxmedian, yearly $2,568Highest 12% below MI $1,991Lowest 31% below MI

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 61.3%±61.1Highest MI: 50.4% 50.7%±13Lowest MI: 50.4%

Arcada Township and Alma are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 12.9%Lowest MI: 13.2% 21.7%Highest MI: 13.2%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 95%Highest MI: 73.2% 65.9%Lowest MI: 73.2%

Typical home builtmedian year 1975Highest 3 yrs newer than MI 1964Lowest 8 yrs older than MI

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 22 minHighest 8% below MI 19 minLowest 20% below MI

Work from home 15.6%±7Highest MI: 13.5% 10.7%±3.9Lowest MI: 13.5%

Arcada Township and Alma are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 0.6%Lowest 24.1%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 13.3 miLowest 15.8 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.13Lowest 1.65Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Alma (21%)Mount Pleasant (7%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others 21% work in AlmaFew work in Arcada Township

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 1.2%Lowest 4.9%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 0.9 miLowest 5.4 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.0 miLowest 0.9 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 1Lowest 13Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 2.0Lowest 49.2Highest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading —#270 of 493 in MI

School district —Alma Public Schools · Ashley Community Schools

High school in town —Alma Senior High School

Students per teacherat that high school — 15.9

Michigan average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Arcada Township neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Arcada Township’s Town Square.

Alma neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Alma’s Town Square.

Add a town

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Bordering Arcada Township

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Sumner Township1,858 people · $126K homes

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Ithaca2,817 people · $133K homes

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Emerson Township751 people · $184K homes

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Pine River Township2,687 people · $156K homes

Towns like Arcada Township

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Stanton Township1,496 people · $254K homes

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Charleston Township2,002 people · $245K homes

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Locke Township1,698 people · $293K homes

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Roxand Township1,808 people · $179K homes

Not sure which town to add? Find your place ranks Michigan towns on what matters to you.Find your place →

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Arcada Township vs Alma

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $250 more a month in Arcada Township

Arcada Township and Alma share a border

Grades and rankings, side by side

What daily life feels like in each

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Arcada Township and Alma

Bordering Arcada Township

Towns like Arcada Township

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