What stands out worked out from the figures below

Perham has the shortest commute (25 min average).

Springfield has the most people working from home (9.6%).

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	Springfield
People
Population	326Highest	310Lowest
Median age	53±12.9Highest 18% above ME	52.4±7Lowest 17% above ME
	Perham and Springfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	19.6%±8.5Highest ME: 18.1%	18.1%±5.6Lowest ME: 18.1%
	Perham and Springfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	24.5%±2.3Highest ME: 22.4%	21.6%±5.4Lowest ME: 22.4%
	Perham and Springfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	18.7%Highest ME: 36.2%	17.3%Lowest ME: 36.2%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	2.5%±1.9Highest ME: 5.8%	0.6%±3.7Lowest ME: 5.8%
	Perham and Springfield 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	$60,833±$23kLowest 19% below ME
	Perham and Springfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$117,600±$9kLowest 60% below ME	$122,500±$28kHighest 59% below ME
	Springfield and Perham are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$1,641Highest 46% below ME	$1,067Lowest 65% below ME
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	33.3%±100 ME: 48.4%	—
Below poverty line	2.5%Lowest ME: 10.7%	5.5%Highest ME: 10.7%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	92.5%Lowest ME: 74.3%	96.2%Highest ME: 74.3%
Typical home builtmedian year	1976Lowest 1 yr older than ME	1987Highest 10 yrs newer than ME
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	25 minLowest about the ME average	30 minHighest 21% above ME
Work from home	8.4%±7.2Lowest ME: 15.9%	9.6%±5.2Highest ME: 15.9%
	Springfield and Perham 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.