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Buchanan, Michigan

Buchanan is a small town of about 4,100 people in Berrien County, Michigan. It has lost about 3% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.7 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Chicago, is about 68 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
4,143
down 3.3% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$154,300
Berrien County prices up 21% since 2022
Household income
$56,163
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Niles area
92.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
12 miles
South Bend, IN
To Chicago
68 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 7.6% below the U.S. average in the Niles metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.7 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood8 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1.9 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 12.6 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town4 public schools: 2 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byMemorial Hospital of South Bend in South Bend, about 12 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityChicago is about 68 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Buchanan meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$154,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 21%Berrien County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$903 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$56,163U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
58%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,128 a yearMichigan: $2,904
Homes built before 1940
28%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
0%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
92.4U.S. average = 100 (the Niles metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 21% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Niles metro area, not Buchanan alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
4,1432020: 4,286
Median age
32.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
15%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
22%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
13%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
9%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Manufacturing (34%); retail (20%); schools, health care and social services (9%)
Unemployment rate
2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
19 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
4%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
7%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Memorial Hospital of South Bend, South Bend, IN, about 12 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

4 public schools in Buchanan, run by Buchanan Community Schools.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Michigan's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
60%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
83%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
19°F
July average high
83°F
Days 90°F or hotter
12 a year
Nights at or below freezing
124 a year
Rain and melted snow
41.7 inches a year
Snow
62 inches a year
Elevation
730 feet

Weather station: Niles (5 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Memorial Hospital of South Bend, South Bend, Chicago.

Berrien County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

6 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Buchanan Downtown Historic District, the Buchanan North and West Neighborhoods Historic District, the Clark Equipment Company Administrative Complex and the Oak Ridge Cemetery.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Indiana Dunes National Park28 miles

Read about Buchanan's history on Wikipedia.

Know Buchanan?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Galien, MI529 people, 7 miles
  • Chain-O-Lakes, IN (unincorporated)490 people, 8 miles
  • Ardmore, IN (unincorporated)1,810 people, 10 miles
  • Roseland, IN850 people, 10 miles
  • New Troy, MI (unincorporated)413 people, 10 miles
  • Indian Village, IN117 people, 10 miles
  • Baroda, MI910 people, 11 miles
  • Eau Claire, MI542 people, 12 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.