What stands out worked out from the figures below

Mount Chase has the most people working from home (22.2%).

Hersey has the most expensive homes ($163k median).

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	Mount Chase	Hersey
People
Population	280Highest	47Lowest
Median age	49.9±10.9Lowest 11% above ME	60.5±3.2Highest 35% above ME
	Hersey and Mount Chase are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	22.1%±10.6Highest ME: 18.1%	8.5%±58Lowest ME: 18.1%
	Mount Chase and Hersey are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	28.9%±6.3Lowest ME: 22.4%	34%±54.5Highest ME: 22.4%
	Hersey and Mount Chase are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	32.1%Highest ME: 36.2%	20.9%Lowest ME: 36.2%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	2.9%±5.7Highest ME: 5.8%	0%±33.1Lowest ME: 5.8%
	Mount Chase and Hersey are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$41,711±$7kHighest 44% below ME	$31,250±$26kLowest 58% below ME
	Mount Chase and Hersey are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$115,700±$15kLowest 61% below ME	$162,500±$113kHighest 45% below ME
	Hersey and Mount Chase are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,281±$1k 12% above ME	—
Property taxmedian, yearly	$1,548Lowest 49% below ME	$2,417Highest 20% below ME
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	28.6%±100Highest ME: 48.4%	0%±100Lowest ME: 48.4%
	Mount Chase and Hersey are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	30.7%Highest ME: 10.7%	21.3%Lowest ME: 10.7%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	90%Highest ME: 74.3%	65.2%Lowest ME: 74.3%
Typical home builtmedian year	1986Lowest 9 yrs newer than ME	2004Highest 27 yrs newer than ME
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	27 minHighest 9% above ME	25 minLowest about the ME average
Work from home	22.2%±12.8Highest ME: 15.9%	5.9%±23.3Lowest ME: 15.9%
	Mount Chase and Hersey are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
On TownTapestry
Old photos in Our Story	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.