What stands out worked out from the figures below

Perham has the highest household income ($63k).

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

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	Perham	Mount Chase
People
Population	326Highest	280Lowest
Median age	53±12.9Highest 18% above ME	49.9±10.9Lowest 11% above ME
	Perham and Mount Chase are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	19.6%±8.5Lowest ME: 18.1%	22.1%±10.6Highest ME: 18.1%
	Mount Chase and Perham are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	24.5%±2.3Lowest ME: 22.4%	28.9%±6.3Highest ME: 22.4%
	Mount Chase and Perham are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	18.7%Lowest ME: 36.2%	32.1%Highest ME: 36.2%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	2.5%±1.9Lowest ME: 5.8%	2.9%±5.7Highest ME: 5.8%
	Mount Chase and Perham are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$62,500±$22kHighest 16% below ME	$41,711±$7kLowest 44% below ME
	Perham and Mount Chase are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$117,600±$9kHighest 60% below ME	$115,700±$15kLowest 61% below ME
	Perham 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	$1,641Highest 46% below ME	$1,548Lowest 49% below ME
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	33.3%±100Highest ME: 48.4%	28.6%±100Lowest ME: 48.4%
	Perham and Mount Chase are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	2.5%Lowest ME: 10.7%	30.7%Highest ME: 10.7%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	92.5%Highest ME: 74.3%	90%Lowest ME: 74.3%
Typical home builtmedian year	1976Lowest 1 yr older than ME	1986Highest 9 yrs newer than ME
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	25 minLowest about the ME average	27 minHighest 9% above ME
Work from home	8.4%±7.2Lowest ME: 15.9%	22.2%±12.8Highest ME: 15.9%
	Mount Chase and Perham are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
On TownTapestry
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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.