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%

Oak Park$1,490/mo

Typical home $235K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.34% · or rent about $1,396/mo · Housing →

Walker$2,150/mo

Typical home $359K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.91% · or rent about $1,202/mo · Housing →

The difference: $660 a month, about $7,900 a year, between Walker and Oak Park.

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

Walker places higher on 17 of 22 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−Oak ParkSafer than 23% of U.S. towns C−WalkerSafer than 23% of U.S. towns

Schools

DOak ParkBetter than 12% of districts in the state AWalkerBetter than 86% of districts in the state

Health

B−Oak ParkHealthier than 51% of U.S. towns A−WalkerHealthier than 80% of U.S. towns

5Oak Park

17Walker

Lists won, of 22 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Lowest depressionHealth · 723 towns #14#610 Most new homesHousing · 512 towns #491#86 Best schoolsSchools · 493 towns #459#99 Lowest obesityHealth · 723 towns #478#106 Most remote workersWork · 714 towns #40#367 Most conserved landOutdoors · 712 towns #448#135 Fastest growingGrowth · 723 towns #396#143 Most walkableOutdoors · 723 towns #17#260

Left end = #1 in Michigan. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Oak Park’s rankings →

Life in each

Walker gets 44 more inches of snow a year

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

Oak ParkWalker

Snow a year31″75″

January low18°F 17°F

July high84°F 82°F

Growing season (days)166d 157d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)26th 8th

Outdoors & history

Oak ParkWalker

Trails2 mi 25 mi

Conserved land2.8%9.9%

Settled1927 1962

Archive photos5 —

Famous people born here9 1

Community

Oak ParkWalker

Library hours a week49 hrs 55 hrs

Colleges in town1 —

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

136 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

Oak ParkMI WalkerMI

Oak Park ↔ Walker136 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

Oak ParkWalker

People

Population 29,318Highest 25,386Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +0.8%Lowest MI: +2% +6.8%Highest MI: +2%

Median age 38.1±1.8Highest 5% below MI 36.9±2.1Lowest 8% below MI

Oak Park and Walker are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 19.4%±2.4Lowest MI: 21.2% 20.4%±2.2Highest MI: 21.2%

Walker and Oak Park are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 17.4%±2.2Lowest MI: 18.6% 18.3%±2.2Highest MI: 18.6%

Walker and Oak Park are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 37.1%Lowest MI: 32.4% 38.6%Highest MI: 32.4%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 5.3%±1.1Lowest MI: 6.1% 6%±1.2Highest MI: 6.1%

Walker and Oak Park are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $71,510±$6kLowest about the MI average $76,360±$5kHighest 5% above MI

Walker and Oak Park are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $212,300±$8kLowest 8% below MI $295,200±$14kHighest 27% above MI

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,396±$85Highest 24% above MI $1,202±$40Lowest 6% above MI

Property taxmedian, yearly $2,839Highest about the MI average $2,698Lowest 7% below MI

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 49.6%±6.7Highest MI: 50.4% 43.4%±9.5Lowest MI: 50.4%

Oak Park and Walker are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 12%Highest MI: 13.2% 7.6%Lowest MI: 13.2%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 63.3%Lowest MI: 73.2% 65.2%Highest MI: 73.2%

Typical home builtmedian year 1958Lowest 14 yrs older than MI 1984Highest 12 yrs newer than MI

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 23 minHighest 4% below MI 20 minLowest 17% below MI

Work from home 23.2%±3.7Highest MI: 13.5% 10%±2.1Lowest MI: 13.5%

Work in townworking residents 3%Lowest 10.8%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 10.3 miHighest 8.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.60Lowest 2.12Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Detroit (18%)Grand Rapids (28%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in WalkerFew work in Oak Park

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 2.8%Lowest 9.9%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 2.2 miLowest 24.8 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.4 miLowest 1.0 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 8Lowest 12Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 129Highest 27.0Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #459 of 493 in MI #99 of 493 in MI

School district Detroit Service Learning Academy · Berkley School DistrictGrand Rapids Public Schools · Grandville Public Schools

High school in town Oak Park High SchoolNone in town

Students per teacherat that high school 18.9 —

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.

Oak Park neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Oak Park’s Town Square.

Walker neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Walker’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Oak Park and Walker

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

Bordering Oak Park

+ Compare

Ferndale19,190 people · $248K homes

+ Compare

Southfield76,236 people · $236K homes

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Huntington Woods6,328 people · $474K homes

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Royal Oak Township2,337 people · $161K homes

Towns like Oak Park

+ Compare

Madison Heights28,419 people · $199K homes

+ Compare

Kalamazoo Township22,649 people · $180K homes

+ Compare

Delhi Township28,024 people · $234K homes

+ Compare

Saginaw Township41,281 people · $182K 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.

Oak Park vs Walker

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $660 more a month in Walker

Walker places higher on 17 of 22 MI lists

Walker gets 44 more inches of snow a year

136 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Oak Park and Walker

Bordering Oak Park

Towns like Oak Park

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