Traverse City, Michigan
2026 Edition · 10 cards · data as of Oct 30, 2026
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Population
Growing. Up 1.0% since 2020.
15,832
people, the 61st-largest of Michigan's cities and towns.
Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among Michigan's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates
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The workday
9 in 10 jobs here go to people who live somewhere else.
88.8%
of 25,456 jobs located in Traverse City are filled by in-commuters.
Census LEHD LODES, 2021. Sources: Census LEHD LODES
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Rent
Median rent is up 37% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.
$995
a month. Michigan's median is $1,129.
Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Sources: Census ACS 5-year
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The seam
Cross one tract line and median rent doubles.
A $966 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Grand Traverse County.
- $643 Tract 5505
- $1,609 Tract 5507.02
Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year
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Room to build
Local wages can carry more rent than the median charged today.
$1,082–$1,623
is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.
- $995 median
Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2021 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year
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Building
Most of the housing here is older than 2000.
- 79% of all homes were built before 2000
Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census ACS 5-year
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Units needed
Closing the gap would add 0.3–3.0% to the 8,479 homes here.
24–255
is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.
Range computed by the Almanac from 2021 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac
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Home value
A median home costs 79% more than Michigan's.
$415,400
median home value in Traverse City.
- $415,400 Traverse City
- $231,600 Michigan
- $332,700 U.S.
Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census ACS 5-year