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%

Maple Rapids$820/mo

Typical home $131K (Census) · tax rate 1.19% · or rent about $433/mo · Housing →

Waldron$920/mo

Typical home $150K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.10% · or rent about $850/mo · Housing →

The difference: $110 a month, about $1,300 a year, between Waldron and Maple Rapids.

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.

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

Maple RapidsWaldron

Snow a year39″33″

January low15°F —

July high82°F —

Growing season (days)164d —

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)56th 31st

Outdoors & history

Maple RapidsWaldron

Trails0 mi —

Conserved land44.7%—

Settled1881 —

Archive photos4 6

Famous people born here—1

Community

Maple RapidsWaldron

Library hours a week24 hrs 37 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

97 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

Maple RapidsMI WaldronMI

Maple Rapids ↔ Waldron97 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

Maple RapidsWaldron

People

Population 727Highest 603Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -14.7%Lowest MI: +2% -6.1%Highest MI: +2%

Median age 36.5±3.6Lowest 9% below MI 39.2±7.5Highest about the MI average

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

Kids under 18 25%±7.1Highest MI: 21.2% 21.7%±5.1Lowest MI: 21.2%

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

Age 65+ 12.9%±4.7 MI: 18.6% 12.9%±4 MI: 18.6%

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 8.9%Highest MI: 32.4% 7.5%Lowest MI: 32.4%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 6.1%±5.6Highest MI: 6.1% 0.3%±1.9Lowest MI: 6.1%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $51,786±$15kLowest 29% below MI $52,750±$17kHighest 28% below MI

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $131,000±$33kHighest 43% below MI $83,700±$10kLowest 64% below MI

Rentmedian gross, monthly $433±$30Lowest 62% below MI $850±$186Highest 25% below MI

Property taxmedian, yearly $1,563Highest 46% below MI $918Lowest 68% below MI

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 32.9%±16.9Lowest MI: 50.4% 34.6%±23Highest MI: 50.4%

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

Below poverty line 34.7%Highest MI: 13.2% 8.8%Lowest MI: 13.2%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 71.7%Lowest MI: 73.2% 73.1%Highest MI: 73.2%

Typical home builtmedian year 1938 34 yrs older than MI 1938 34 yrs older than MI

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 25 minLowest about the MI average 26 minHighest 6% above MI

Work from home 7.5%±7.9Highest MI: 13.5% 1.9%±3.1Lowest MI: 13.5%

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

Work in townworking residents 0.4%Lowest 0.5%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 26.3 miHighest 23.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.09Lowest 0.12Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Lansing (16%)Hillsdale (8%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in WaldronFew work in Maple Rapids

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 44.7%Highest 0%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 0.1 miHighest 0.0 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.1 miHighest 0.0 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 3Highest 0Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 26.1Lowest 27.1Highest

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.

Maple Rapids neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Maple Rapids’s Town Square.

Waldron neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Waldron’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Maple Rapids and Waldron

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Towns like Maple Rapids

+ Compare

Augusta776 people · $141K homes

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Millington1,122 people · $118K homes

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Woodland488 people · $155K homes

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Thompsonville490 people · $116K 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.

Maple Rapids vs Waldron

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs about the same each month

What daily life feels like in each

97 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Maple Rapids and Waldron

Towns like Maple Rapids

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