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%

Cassopolis$1,780/mo

Typical home $281K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.32% · or rent about $823/mo · Housing →

Sandusky$1,110/mo

Typical home $176K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.25% · or rent about $784/mo · Housing →

The difference: $670 a month, about $8,100 a year, between Cassopolis and Sandusky.

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.

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

C+CassopolisSafer than 44% of U.S. towns B−SanduskySafer than 53% of U.S. towns

Schools

–CassopolisNot graded B+SanduskyBetter than 71% of districts in the state

Health

C−CassopolisHealthier than 17% of U.S. towns CSanduskyHealthier than 29% 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

CassopolisSandusky

Snow a year41″43″

January low17°F 13°F

July high82°F 80°F

Growing season (days)170d 152d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)7th 24th

Outdoors & history

CassopolisSandusky

Trails0 mi 0 mi

Conserved land5.9%12.6%

Settled1831 —

Archive photos10 6

Famous people born here4 3

Community

CassopolisSandusky

Library hours a week53 hrs 49 hrs

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.

Where they are

192 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

CassopolisMI SanduskyMI

Cassopolis ↔ Sandusky192 miles apart

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

CassopolisSandusky

People

Population 1,834Lowest 2,694Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -3.5%Lowest MI: +2% +1.1%Highest MI: +2%

Median age 39.9±5.9Highest about the MI average 39.1±2.9Lowest about the MI average

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

Kids under 18 21%±3.8Highest MI: 21.2% 18.7%±4.6Lowest MI: 21.2%

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

Age 65+ 15.6%±3.7Lowest MI: 18.6% 19.7%±4Highest MI: 18.6%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 12.1%Lowest MI: 32.4% 15.6%Highest MI: 32.4%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 2.2%±1.5Lowest MI: 6.1% 2.4%±1.4Highest MI: 6.1%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $40,781±$9kLowest 44% below MI $56,563±$31kHighest 22% below MI

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $110,000±$9kLowest 53% below MI $113,800±$12kHighest 51% below MI

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

Rentmedian gross, monthly $823±$115Highest 27% below MI $784±$41Lowest 31% below MI

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

Property taxmedian, yearly $1,455Highest 50% below MI $1,425Lowest 51% below MI

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 64.8%±12.7Highest MI: 50.4% 45%±11.3Lowest MI: 50.4%

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

Below poverty line 20.5%Highest MI: 13.2% 16.1%Lowest MI: 13.2%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 57.3%Highest MI: 73.2% 55.4%Lowest MI: 73.2%

Typical home builtmedian year 1957Lowest 15 yrs older than MI 1966Highest 6 yrs older than MI

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 28 minHighest 14% above MI 24 minLowest about the MI average

Work from home 7.3%±3.5Highest MI: 13.5% 1.1%±2Lowest MI: 13.5%

Work in townworking residents 8.3%Lowest 32.8%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 17.8 miHighest 14.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.68Lowest 2.71Highest

Top workplaceoutside town LaGrange Township (10%)Watertown Township (4%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in SanduskyFew work in Cassopolis

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 5.9%Lowest 12.6%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 0.1 miLowest 0.4 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.0 miLowest 0.2 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 4Highest 2Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 37.9Lowest 65.2Highest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading —#193 of 493 in MI

School district —Sandusky Community School District

High school in town —Sandusky JuniorSenior High School

Students per teacherat that high school — 19.2

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.

Cassopolis neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Cassopolis’s Town Square.

Sandusky neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Sandusky’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Cassopolis and Sandusky

One tap adds it. Up to 4 towns at once.

Towns like Cassopolis

+ Compare

Marlette1,850 people · $132K homes

+ Compare

Reed City2,517 people · $115K homes

+ Compare

Standish1,554 people · $98K homes

+ Compare

Evart1,667 people · $106K homes

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.

Cassopolis vs Sandusky

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $670 more a month in Cassopolis

Grades and rankings, side by side

What daily life feels like in each

192 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Cassopolis and Sandusky

Towns like Cassopolis

Post to Cassopolis

Check your email