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%

Waldron$920/mo

Typical home $150K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.10% · or rent about $850/mo · Housing →

Maple Rapids$820/mo

Typical home $131K (Census) · tax rate 1.19% · or rent about $433/mo · Housing →

The difference: $110 a month, about $1,300 a year, between Waldron and Maple Rapids.

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.

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

WaldronMaple Rapids

Snow a year33″39″

January low—15°F

July high—82°F

Growing season (days)—164d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)31st 56th

Outdoors & history

WaldronMaple Rapids

Trails—0 mi

Conserved land—44.7%

Settled—1881

Archive photos6 4

Famous people born here1 —

Community

WaldronMaple Rapids

Library hours a week37 hrs 24 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

97 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

WaldronMI Maple RapidsMI

Waldron ↔ Maple Rapids97 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

WaldronMaple Rapids

People

Population 603Lowest 727Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -6.1%Highest MI: +2% -14.7%Lowest MI: +2%

Median age 39.2±7.5Highest about the MI average 36.5±3.6Lowest 9% below MI

Waldron and Maple Rapids are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 21.7%±5.1Lowest MI: 21.2% 25%±7.1Highest MI: 21.2%

Maple Rapids and Waldron are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 12.9%±4 MI: 18.6% 12.9%±4.7 MI: 18.6%

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 7.5%Lowest MI: 32.4% 8.9%Highest MI: 32.4%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 0.3%±1.9Lowest MI: 6.1% 6.1%±5.6Highest MI: 6.1%

Maple Rapids and Waldron are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $52,750±$17kHighest 28% below MI $51,786±$15kLowest 29% below MI

Waldron and Maple Rapids are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $83,700±$10kLowest 64% below MI $131,000±$33kHighest 43% below MI

Rentmedian gross, monthly $850±$186Highest 25% below MI $433±$30Lowest 62% below MI

Property taxmedian, yearly $918Lowest 68% below MI $1,563Highest 46% below MI

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 34.6%±23Highest MI: 50.4% 32.9%±16.9Lowest MI: 50.4%

Waldron and Maple Rapids are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 8.8%Lowest MI: 13.2% 34.7%Highest MI: 13.2%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 73.1%Highest MI: 73.2% 71.7%Lowest MI: 73.2%

Typical home builtmedian year 1938 34 yrs older than MI 1938 34 yrs older than MI

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 26 minHighest 6% above MI 25 minLowest about the MI average

Work from home 1.9%±3.1Lowest MI: 13.5% 7.5%±7.9Highest MI: 13.5%

Maple Rapids and Waldron are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 0.5%Highest 0.4%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 23.3 miLowest 26.3 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.12Highest 0.09Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Hillsdale (8%)Lansing (16%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in Maple RapidsFew work in Waldron

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 0%Lowest 44.7%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 0.0 miLowest 0.1 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.0 miLowest 0.1 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 0Lowest 3Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 27.1Highest 26.1Lowest

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.

Waldron neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Waldron’s Town Square.

Maple Rapids neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Maple Rapids’s Town Square.

Add a town

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Towns like Waldron

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Cement City629 people · $105K 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.

Waldron vs Maple Rapids

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs about the same each month

What daily life feels like in each

97 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Waldron and Maple Rapids

Towns like Waldron

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