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%

Grosse Pointe$3,260/mo

Typical home $488K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.74% · or rent about $1,725/mo · Housing →

Dexter$3,350/mo

Typical home $512K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.56% · or rent about $1,761/mo · Housing →

The difference: $80 a month, about $1,000 a year, between Dexter and Grosse Pointe.

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

Dexter places higher on 10 of 19 MI lists

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+Grosse PointeSafer than 41% of U.S. towns –DexterNot graded

Schools

AGrosse PointeBetter than 94% of districts in the state ADexterBetter than 93% of districts in the state

Health

A+Grosse PointeHealthier than 98% of U.S. towns A+DexterHealthier than 98% of U.S. towns

8Grosse Pointe

10Dexter

Lists won, of 19 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Most conserved landOutdoors · 712 towns #636#246 Lowest depressionHealth · 723 towns #28#233 Most walkableOutdoors · 723 towns #198#44 Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 723 towns #7#140 Fastest growingGrowth · 723 towns #210#84 Best schoolsSchools · 493 towns #2#80 Highest graduation rateSchools · 540 towns #68#6 Highest incomeIncome · 723 towns #14#95

Left end = #1 in Michigan. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Grosse Pointe’s rankings →

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

Grosse PointeDexter

Snow a year28″33″

January low17°F 16°F

July high82°F 82°F

Growing season (days)176d 163d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)66th 11th

Outdoors & history

Grosse PointeDexter

Trails1 mi 1 mi

Conserved land0.8%6.4%

Settled1934 1824

National Register places2 1

Archive photos12 24

Famous people born here48 10

Community

Grosse PointeDexter

Library hours a week—70 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

50 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

Grosse PointeMI DexterMI

Grosse Pointe ↔ Dexter50 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

Grosse PointeDexter

People

Population 5,541Highest 4,521Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +4.7%Lowest MI: +2% +10.6%Highest MI: +2%

Median age 43.8±5.4Highest 9% above MI 43.4±4.6Lowest 8% above MI

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

Kids under 18 26.6%±4.1Lowest MI: 21.2% 28.2%±6Highest MI: 21.2%

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

Age 65+ 23.2%±3.6Highest MI: 18.6% 21.7%±4.7Lowest MI: 18.6%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 73.1%Highest MI: 32.4% 70.3%Lowest MI: 32.4%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 2.6%±1.2Lowest MI: 6.1% 5.2%±2Highest MI: 6.1%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $158,853±$11kHighest 118% above MI $106,637±$14kLowest 46% above MI

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $436,800±$56kHighest 89% above MI $421,000±$23kLowest 82% above MI

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

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,725±$95Lowest 53% above MI $1,761±$282Highest 56% above MI

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

Property taxmedian, yearly $7,596Highest 162% above MI $6,552Lowest 126% above MI

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 18.9%±8.6Lowest MI: 50.4% 56.9%±21.8Highest MI: 50.4%

Below poverty line 2.8%Highest MI: 13.2% 0.8%Lowest MI: 13.2%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 85.9%Highest MI: 73.2% 77.2%Lowest MI: 73.2%

Typical home builtmedian year 1938Lowest 34 yrs older than MI 1997Highest 25 yrs newer than MI

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 24 minHighest about the MI average 24 minLowest about the MI average

Work from home 25.5%±4.7Lowest MI: 13.5% 26.9%±5.5Highest MI: 13.5%

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

Work in townworking residents 5.3%Lowest 9%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 11.8 miHighest 9.8 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.35Highest 1.29Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Detroit (24%)Ann Arbor (31%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in DexterFew work in Grosse Pointe

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 0.8%Lowest 6.4%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 0.7 miHighest 0.5 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.3 mi 0.3 mi

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 2Lowest 9Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 46.4Lowest 99.3Highest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #2 of 493 in MI #80 of 493 in MI

School district Grosse Pointe Public SchoolsDexter Community School District

High school in town None in townDexter Alternative School

Students per teacherat that high school — 8.1

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.

Grosse Pointe neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Grosse Pointe’s Town Square.

Dexter neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Dexter’s Town Square.

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Set another town beside Grosse Pointe and Dexter

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Bordering Grosse Pointe

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Grosse Pointe Farms9,904 people · $442K homes

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Grosse Pointe Park11,319 people · $473K homes

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Detroit638,530 people · $84K homes

Towns like Grosse Pointe

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Northville6,069 people · $465K homes

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Webster Township6,575 people · $564K homes

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Beverly Hills10,524 people · $511K homes

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Huntington Woods6,328 people · $474K 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.

Grosse Pointe vs Dexter

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs about the same each month

Dexter places higher on 10 of 19 MI lists

What daily life feels like in each

50 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Grosse Pointe and Dexter

Bordering Grosse Pointe

Towns like Grosse Pointe

Post to Grosse Pointe

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