What stands out worked out from the figures below

Moose River has the shortest commute (15 min average).

Merrill has the most people working from home (13.2%).

What matters to you?

Pick a few. We’ll pull those rows to the top and mark which town comes out ahead on each. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Raising kidsAffordabilityOwning a homeShort commuteWorking from homeYounger crowdSettled, older crowdGrowing town

Measure	Moose River	Merrill
People
Population	248Lowest	372Highest
Median age	32.9±8.2Lowest 27% below ME	33.2±9.9Highest 26% below ME
	Merrill and Moose River are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	32.3%±5.2Lowest ME: 18.1%	41.7%±11Highest ME: 18.1%
	Merrill and Moose River are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	8.5%±10.4Lowest ME: 22.4%	14%±5.8Highest ME: 22.4%
	Merrill and Moose River are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	14.6%Lowest ME: 36.2%	22.3%Highest ME: 36.2%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	4%±6.2Highest ME: 5.8%	0.3%±3.1Lowest ME: 5.8%
	Moose River and Merrill are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$76,324±$9kHighest about the ME average	$65,536±$8kLowest 12% below ME
	Moose River and Merrill are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$144,900±$31kHighest 51% below ME	$131,600±$21kLowest 56% below ME
	Moose River and Merrill are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$928Lowest 69% below ME	$1,449Highest 52% below ME
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	0%±100Lowest ME: 48.4%	60%±100Highest ME: 48.4%
	Merrill and Moose River are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	14.9%Highest ME: 10.7%	5.6%Lowest ME: 10.7%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	91.3%Highest ME: 74.3%	91.2%Lowest ME: 74.3%
Typical home builtmedian year	1951Lowest 26 yrs older than ME	1987Highest 10 yrs newer than ME
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	15 minLowest 39% below ME	29 minHighest 19% above ME
Work from home	4.5%±5.9Lowest ME: 15.9%	13.2%±6.6Highest ME: 15.9%
	Merrill and Moose River are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
On TownTapestry
Old photos in History	None yet	None yet

ME average · Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates 2020–2024; 2010 & 2020 decennial census; NCES Common Core of Data. “±” is the Census margin of error. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. School rank compares math and reading proficiency against the state average.