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Springfield vs Three Rivers

33 miles apart. The biggest differences: trails (5.7× in Three Rivers) and work in town (+17.9 pts in Three Rivers).

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Springfield, MIHomes around $149KMichigan · 5,269 people
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Three Rivers, MIHomes around $230KMichigan · 7,943 people
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Where each one shines

Two towns, two different strengths

What each town does better than most of its state (not better than each other). Tap one to see the page behind it.

SpringfieldHomes around $149K
Housing$149K typical home44% below the MI typical home Outdoors#111 most walkable in MI0.3 miles of trails across 5 parks and preserves Health93% of U.S. towns are healthieron CDC estimates All about Springfield →
Three RiversHomes around $230K
Housing$230K typical home14% below the MI typical home Outdoors#127 most walkable in MI1.7 miles of trails across 9 parks and preserves Schools#229 for schools in MIof 493 towns All about Three Rivers →
The biggest differences

Where they differ most

The rows below where the towns are furthest apart, beyond the Census margin of error. The full table is further down.

Trails5.7×
Three Rivers has more miles of trail
Three Rivers 1.7 miSpringfield 0.3 mi
Work in town+17.9 pts
More of Three Rivers’s workers stay in town
Three Rivers 22%Springfield 4.1%
Home values+22%
Homes cost more in Three Rivers
Three Rivers $134,900Springfield $110,800
Typical home built17 yrs
Three Rivers’s homes are older
Springfield 1971Three Rivers 1954
★ What stands out · Monthly cost

A typical home costs $490 more a month in Three Rivers

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.

Springfield$980/mo
Typical home $149K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.61% · or rent about $864/mo · Housing →
Three Rivers$1,470/mo
Typical home $230K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.38% · or rent about $839/mo · Housing →

The difference: $490 a month, about $5,900 a year, between Three Rivers and Springfield.

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

Three Rivers places higher on 16 of 21 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.

Schools
DSpringfieldBetter than 14% of districts in the state B+Three RiversBetter than 70% of districts in the state
Health
DSpringfieldHealthier than 7% of U.S. towns C−Three RiversHealthier than 24% of U.S. towns
5Springfield
16Three Rivers

Lists won, of 21 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Most new homesHousing · 512 towns #495#133 Highest graduation rateSchools · 540 towns #522#256 Best schoolsSchools · 493 towns #449#229 Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 723 towns #324#556 Most activeHealth · 723 towns #694#489 Rent easiest to affordCost of living · 142 towns #51#17 Lowest depressionHealth · 723 towns #439#610 Lowest obesityHealth · 723 towns #702#551

Left end = #1 in Michigan. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Springfield’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
SpringfieldThree Rivers
Snow a year65″41″
January low17°F17°F
July high83°F82°F
Growing season (days)158d170d
Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)19th57th
Outdoors & history
SpringfieldThree Rivers
Trails0 mi2 mi
Conserved land3.1%3.1%
National Register places—2
Famous people born here1—
Community
SpringfieldThree Rivers
Library hours a week—42 hrs
Posts this month00
Neighbors joined00

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

33 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

SpringfieldMIThree RiversMI
Springfield ↔ Three Rivers33 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.

SpringfieldThree Rivers
People
Population 5,269Lowest 7,943Highest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +0.6%Lowest MI: +2% +2.1%Highest MI: +2%
Median age 31.2±4.3Lowest 22% below MI 35±2.2Highest 13% below MI
Three Rivers and Springfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18 28.1%±6.2Highest MI: 21.2% 25.5%±3.2Lowest MI: 21.2%
Springfield and Three Rivers are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+ 11.7%±3.2Lowest MI: 18.6% 14.8%±3.1Highest MI: 18.6%
Three Rivers and Springfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 11.9%Lowest MI: 32.4% 14.2%Highest MI: 32.4%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 3.1%±1.9Highest MI: 6.1% 2.6%±1Lowest MI: 6.1%
Springfield and Three Rivers are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian $44,808±$9kLowest 39% below MI $49,503±$6kHighest 32% below MI
Three Rivers and Springfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $110,800±$13kLowest 52% below MI $134,900±$8kHighest 42% below MI
Rentmedian gross, monthly $864±$48Highest 23% below MI $839±$46Lowest 26% below MI
Springfield and Three Rivers are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly $1,787Lowest 38% below MI $1,863Highest 36% below MI
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 43.7%±11.5Highest MI: 50.4% 37.4%±9.8Lowest MI: 50.4%
Springfield and Three Rivers are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line 19.1%Highest MI: 13.2% 15%Lowest MI: 13.2%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes 52.1%Lowest MI: 73.2% 53%Highest MI: 73.2%
Typical home builtmedian year 1971Highest 1 yr older than MI 1954Lowest 18 yrs older than MI
Getting to work
Average commuteone way 19 minHighest 21% below MI 19 minLowest 23% below MI
Work from home 2.5%±2.3Lowest MI: 13.5% 3.9%±1.8Highest MI: 13.5%
Three Rivers and Springfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Work in townworking residents 4.1%Lowest 22%Highest
Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 7.8 miLowest 19.3 miHighest
Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.91Lowest 1.33Highest
Top workplaceoutside town Battle Creek (37%)Kalamazoo (5%)
Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in Three RiversFew work in Springfield
Outdoors
Conserved landshare of the town 3.1% 3.1%
Trailsmapped miles 0.3 miLowest 1.7 miHighest
Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.1 miLowest 0.3 miHighest
Parks & preservesnamed on the map 5Lowest 9Highest
Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 69.4Highest 64.0Lowest
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #449 of 493 in MI#229 of 493 in MI
School district Battle Creek Public Schools · Battle Creek Area Learning CenterThree Rivers Community Schools
High school in town Battle Creek Area Learning CenterThree Rivers High School
Students per teacherat that high school 15.2Lowest 18.3Highest
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.

Springfield neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Springfield’s Town Square.

Three Rivers neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Three Rivers’s Town Square.

Add a town

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Bordering Springfield

B
+ Compare
Bedford Township9,164 people · $142K homes

Towns like Springfield

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Buchanan4,223 people · $154K homes
M
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Mount Morris3,117 people · $87K homes
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Imlay City3,721 people · $150K homes
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Paw Paw3,289 people · $148K 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.

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