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%

Melvindale$940/mo

Typical home $143K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.58% · or rent about $1,110/mo · Housing →

Three Rivers$1,470/mo

Typical home $230K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.38% · or rent about $839/mo · Housing →

The difference: $530 a month, about $6,300 a year, between Three Rivers and Melvindale.

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

Three Rivers places higher on 13 of 20 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

CMelvindaleSafer than 33% of U.S. towns –Three RiversNot graded

Schools

CMelvindaleBetter than 25% of districts in the state B+Three RiversBetter than 70% of districts in the state

Health

D−MelvindaleHealthier than 2% of U.S. towns C−Three RiversHealthier than 24% of U.S. towns

6Melvindale

13Three Rivers

Lists won, of 20 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Most new homesHousing · 512 towns #443#133 Best schoolsSchools · 493 towns #485#229 Shortest commuteGetting around · 723 towns #393#86 Cheapest rentCost of living · 687 towns #415#126 Fastest growingGrowth · 723 towns #30#324 Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 723 towns #272#556 Most activeHealth · 723 towns #713#489 Most remote workersWork · 714 towns #515#662

Left end = #1 in Michigan. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Melvindale’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

MelvindaleThree Rivers

Snow a year31″41″

January low18°F 17°F

July high84°F 82°F

Growing season (days)166d 170d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)28th 57th

Outdoors & history

MelvindaleThree Rivers

Trails1 mi 2 mi

Conserved land2.2%3.1%

Settled1924 —

National Register places—2

Archive photos12 —

Famous people born here3 —

Community

MelvindaleThree Rivers

Library hours a week37 hrs 42 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

128 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

MelvindaleMI Three RiversMI

Melvindale ↔ Three Rivers128 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

MelvindaleThree Rivers

People

Population 12,554Highest 7,943Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +19.9%Highest MI: +2% +2.1%Lowest MI: +2%

Median age 31.3±3.1Lowest 22% below MI 35±2.2Highest 13% below MI

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

Kids under 18 32.3%±5.3Highest MI: 21.2% 25.5%±3.2Lowest MI: 21.2%

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

Age 65+ 10.6%±2.6Lowest MI: 18.6% 14.8%±3.1Highest MI: 18.6%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 14%Lowest MI: 32.4% 14.2%Highest MI: 32.4%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 6.4%±3.4Highest MI: 6.1% 2.6%±1Lowest MI: 6.1%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $42,185±$6kLowest 42% below MI $49,503±$6kHighest 32% below MI

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $125,800±$11kLowest 46% below MI $134,900±$8kHighest 42% below MI

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

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,110±$109Highest about the MI average $839±$46Lowest 26% below MI

Property taxmedian, yearly $1,993Highest 31% below MI $1,863Lowest 36% below MI

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 66.2%±18.8Highest MI: 50.4% 37.4%±9.8Lowest MI: 50.4%

Below poverty line 39.1%Highest MI: 13.2% 15%Lowest MI: 13.2%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 60.8%Highest MI: 73.2% 53%Lowest MI: 73.2%

Typical home builtmedian year 1950Lowest 22 yrs older than MI 1954Highest 18 yrs older than MI

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 25 minHighest 4% above MI 19 minLowest 23% below MI

Work from home 7.5%±4.4Highest MI: 13.5% 3.9%±1.8Lowest MI: 13.5%

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

Work in townworking residents 3.8%Lowest 22%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 12.8 miLowest 19.3 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.60Lowest 1.33Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Detroit (15%)Kalamazoo (5%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in Three RiversFew work in Melvindale

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 2.2%Lowest 3.1%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 0.8 miLowest 1.7 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.3 mi 0.3 mi

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 6Lowest 9Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 94.7Highest 64.0Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #485 of 493 in MI #229 of 493 in MI

School district Academy for Business and Technology · Melvindale-Northern Allen Park SchoolsThree Rivers Community Schools

High school in town Academy for Business and Technology High SchoolThree Rivers High School

Students per teacherat that high school 11.7Lowest 18.3Highest

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.

Melvindale neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Melvindale’s Town Square.

Three Rivers neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Three Rivers’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Melvindale and Three Rivers

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

Bordering Melvindale

+ Compare

Dearborn107,423 people · $219K homes

+ Compare

Allen Park27,925 people · $184K homes

+ Compare

Detroit638,530 people · $84K homes

+ Compare

Lincoln Park39,257 people · $131K homes

Towns like Melvindale

+ Compare

Sturgis11,054 people · $153K homes

+ Compare

Benton Township14,234 people · $149K homes

+ Compare

Charlotte9,277 people · $154K homes

+ Compare

Ionia12,753 people · $165K 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.

Melvindale vs Three Rivers

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $530 more a month in Three Rivers

Three Rivers places higher on 13 of 20 MI lists

What daily life feels like in each

128 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Melvindale and Three Rivers

Bordering Melvindale

Towns like Melvindale

Post to Melvindale

Check your email