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%

Niles$1,330/mo

Typical home $216K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.12% · or rent about $855/mo · Housing →

Howard Township$1,210/mo

Typical home $200K (Census) · tax rate 0.98% · Housing →

The difference: $120 a month, about $1,400 a year, between Niles and Howard Township.

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.

Where they are

Niles and Howard Township share a border

And the people who already live in one and work in the other.

NilesHoward Township

Niles ↔ Howard Township4.4 miles apart · They share a border

Who commutes between them

287 Howard Township residents work in Niles (11.1% of its workers)

Work & commute in Howard Township →

Report cards

Howard Township places higher on 12 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−NilesSafer than 23% of U.S. towns –Howard TownshipNot graded

Schools

B−NilesBetter than 45% of districts in the state B−Howard TownshipBetter than 45% of districts in the state

Health

C−NilesHealthier than 17% of U.S. towns CHoward TownshipHealthier than 26% of U.S. towns

6Niles

12Howard Township

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

Most conserved landOutdoors · 712 towns #271#703 Highest incomeIncome · 723 towns #657#330 Most walkableOutdoors · 723 towns #90#406 Most remote workersWork · 714 towns #623#360 Lowest depressionHealth · 723 towns #439#233 Most affordableCost of living · 723 towns #75#269 Lowest obesityHealth · 723 towns #602#411 Shortest commuteGetting around · 723 towns #261#426

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

NilesHoward Township

Snow a year63″63″

January low19°F 19°F

July high83°F 83°F

Growing season (days)180d 180d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)19th 24th

Outdoors & history

NilesHoward Township

Trails0 mi 0 mi

Conserved land5.8%0.1%

Settled1827 —

National Register places7 1

Archive photos18 1

Famous people born here28 —

Community

NilesHoward Township

Library hours a week59 hrs 40 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.

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

NilesHoward Township

People

Population 11,803Highest 6,278Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +3.3%Highest MI: +2% +1.1%Lowest MI: +2%

Median age 39.2±2.4Lowest about the MI average 50.7±2.5Highest 26% above MI

Kids under 18 21.4%±3.2Highest MI: 21.2% 17.5%±3.8Lowest MI: 21.2%

Niles and Howard Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 20.6%±2.7Lowest MI: 18.6% 25.1%±4.4Highest MI: 18.6%

Howard Township and Niles are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 17%Lowest MI: 32.4% 20.2%Highest MI: 32.4%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 2.3%±1Lowest MI: 6.1% 4.1%±2.4Highest MI: 6.1%

Howard Township and Niles are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $51,376±$4kLowest 30% below MI $79,226±$10kHighest 9% above MI

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $135,100±$12kLowest 42% below MI $200,000±$25kHighest 14% below MI

Rentmedian gross, monthly $855±$34 24% below MI —

Property taxmedian, yearly $1,517Lowest 48% below MI $1,967Highest 32% below MI

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 42.8%±8.5Lowest MI: 50.4% 51%±23.7Highest MI: 50.4%

Howard Township and Niles are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 17.8%Highest MI: 13.2% 5.7%Lowest MI: 13.2%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 63.2%Lowest MI: 73.2% 91.3%Highest MI: 73.2%

Typical home builtmedian year 1955Lowest 17 yrs older than MI 1971Highest 1 yr older than MI

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 23 minLowest 6% below MI 26 minHighest 6% above MI

Work from home 5.1%±2.5Lowest MI: 13.5% 10.1%±4Highest MI: 13.5%

Howard Township and Niles are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 12.8%Highest 3.4%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 11.8 miLowest 12.8 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.98Highest 0.17Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town South Bend (12%)Niles (11%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in Howard Township11% work in Niles

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 5.8%Highest 0.1%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 0.2 miLowest 0.3 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.0 mi 0.0 mi

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 19Highest 2Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 79.1Highest 7.0Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #286 of 493 in MI #278 of 493 in MI

School district Niles Community SchoolsNiles Community Schools

High school in town Niles Senior High SchoolNone in town

Students per teacherat that high school 20.4 —

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.

Niles neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Niles’s Town Square.

Howard Township neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Howard Township’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Niles and Howard Township

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

Bordering Niles

+ Compare

Niles Township14,328 people · $173K homes

Towns like Niles

+ Compare

Coldwater13,671 people · $138K homes

+ Compare

Owosso14,632 people · $133K homes

+ Compare

Cadillac10,445 people · $134K homes

+ Compare

Port Huron Township10,722 people · $196K homes

Not sure which town to add? Find your place ranks Michigan towns on what matters to you.Find your place →

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.

Niles vs Howard Township

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs about the same each month

Niles and Howard Township share a border

Howard Township places higher on 12 of 19 MI lists

What daily life feels like in each

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Niles and Howard Township

Bordering Niles

Towns like Niles

Post to Niles

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