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%

Three Rivers$1,470/mo

Typical home $230K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.38% · or rent about $839/mo · Housing →

Springfield$980/mo

Typical home $149K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.61% · or rent about $864/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

B+Three RiversBetter than 70% of districts in the state DSpringfieldBetter than 14% of districts in the state

Health

C−Three RiversHealthier than 24% of U.S. towns DSpringfieldHealthier than 7% of U.S. towns

16Three Rivers

5Springfield

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

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

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

Three RiversSpringfield

Snow a year41″65″

January low17°F 17°F

July high82°F 83°F

Growing season (days)170d 158d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)57th 19th

Outdoors & history

Three RiversSpringfield

Trails2 mi 0 mi

Conserved land3.1%3.1%

National Register places2 —

Famous people born here—1

Community

Three RiversSpringfield

Library hours a week42 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.

Where they are

33 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

Three RiversMI SpringfieldMI

Three Rivers ↔ Springfield33 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

Three RiversSpringfield

People

Population 7,943Highest 5,269Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +2.1%Highest MI: +2% +0.6%Lowest MI: +2%

Median age 35±2.2Highest 13% below MI 31.2±4.3Lowest 22% 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 25.5%±3.2Lowest MI: 21.2% 28.1%±6.2Highest 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+ 14.8%±3.1Highest MI: 18.6% 11.7%±3.2Lowest 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+ 14.2%Highest MI: 32.4% 11.9%Lowest MI: 32.4%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 2.6%±1Lowest MI: 6.1% 3.1%±1.9Highest 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 $49,503±$6kHighest 32% below MI $44,808±$9kLowest 39% 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 $134,900±$8kHighest 42% below MI $110,800±$13kLowest 52% below MI

Rentmedian gross, monthly $839±$46Lowest 26% below MI $864±$48Highest 23% 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 $1,863Highest 36% below MI $1,787Lowest 38% below MI

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 37.4%±9.8Lowest MI: 50.4% 43.7%±11.5Highest 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 15%Lowest MI: 13.2% 19.1%Highest MI: 13.2%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 53%Highest MI: 73.2% 52.1%Lowest MI: 73.2%

Typical home builtmedian year 1954Lowest 18 yrs older than MI 1971Highest 1 yr older than MI

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 19 minLowest 23% below MI 19 minHighest 21% below MI

Work from home 3.9%±1.8Highest MI: 13.5% 2.5%±2.3Lowest 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 22%Highest 4.1%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 19.3 miHighest 7.8 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.33Highest 0.91Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Kalamazoo (5%)Battle Creek (37%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in SpringfieldFew work in Three Rivers

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 3.1% 3.1%

Trailsmapped miles 1.7 miHighest 0.3 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.3 miHighest 0.1 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 9Highest 5Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 64.0Lowest 69.4Highest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #229 of 493 in MI #449 of 493 in MI

School district Three Rivers Community SchoolsBattle Creek Public Schools · Battle Creek Area Learning Center

High school in town Three Rivers High SchoolBattle Creek Area Learning Center

Students per teacherat that high school 18.3Highest 15.2Lowest

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.

Three Rivers neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Three Rivers’s Town Square.

Springfield neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Springfield’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Three Rivers and Springfield

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

Bordering Three Rivers

+ Compare

Lockport Township3,763 people · $198K homes

+ Compare

Fabius Township3,317 people · $271K homes

Towns like Three Rivers

+ Compare

Dowagiac5,732 people · $131K homes

+ Compare

Benton Township14,234 people · $149K homes

+ Compare

Lapeer9,082 people · $178K homes

+ Compare

Sturgis11,054 people · $153K 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.

Three Rivers vs Springfield

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

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

Three Rivers places higher on 16 of 21 MI lists

What daily life feels like in each

33 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Three Rivers and Springfield

Bordering Three Rivers

Towns like Three Rivers

Post to Three Rivers

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