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Towns / Michigan

Carleton, Michigan

Carleton is a small town of about 2,300 people in Monroe County, Michigan. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.8 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, Detroit, is about 27 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
2,302
down 1.3% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$207,400
Monroe County prices up 19% since 2022
Household income
$73,365
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Monroe area
93.5
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
9 miles
Monroe, MI
To Detroit
27 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 6.5% below the U.S. average in the Monroe metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.8 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Carleton itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town6 public schools: 2 elementary, 2 middle and 2 high schools.
  • A hospital close byPromedica Monroe Regional Hospital in Monroe, about 9 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityDetroit is about 27 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 Carleton 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
$207,400U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 19%Monroe County, 2022 to 2025
Typical household income
$73,365U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
79%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,652 a yearMichigan: $2,904
Homes built before 1940
16%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
12%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
93.5U.S. average = 100 (the Monroe 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 19% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Monroe metro area, not Carleton 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
2,3022020: 2,332
Median age
38.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
17%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
28%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
11%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
5%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 (21%); schools, health care and social services (19%); retail (12%)
Unemployment rate
2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
31 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
8%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
8%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Promedica Monroe Regional Hospital, Monroe, MI, about 9 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 1 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

6 public schools in Carleton, run by Airport 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
78%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
86%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
17°F
July average high
84°F
Days 90°F or hotter
12 a year
Nights at or below freezing
130 a year
Rain and melted snow
33.3 inches a year
Snow
41 inches a year
Elevation
615 feet

Weather stations: Carleton 2W (2 miles away) and Newport 4SSE (9 miles away, rain and snow). 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: Promedica Monroe Regional Hospital, Taylor, Detroit.

Monroe 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

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • River Raisin National Battlefield Park10 miles
  • Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial40 miles

Read about Carleton's history on Wikipedia.

Know Carleton?

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

  • Maybee, MI578 people, 7 miles
  • Woodland Beach, MI (unincorporated)1,919 people, 9 miles
  • Estral Beach, MI413 people, 9 miles
  • Stony Point, MI (unincorporated)1,825 people, 10 miles
  • Ida, MI (unincorporated)1,050 people, 14 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.