Living in Dryden, Michigan: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 0.3% above the U.S. average in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3 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 Dryden 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 town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
A hospital close byMcLaren Lapeer Region in Lapeer, about 13 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityDetroit is about 39 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 Dryden 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: $208,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 19%Lapeer County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,238 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $70,352U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill: $2,640 a yearMichigan: $2,904
Homes built since 2010: 8%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 2%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 100.3U.S. average = 100 (the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn 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 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn metro area, not Dryden 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: 1,0372020: 1,032
Median age: 39 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 21%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 25%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 17%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 8%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 (27%); schools, health care and social services (24%); retail (12%)
Unemployment rate: 8%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 34 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 6%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 5%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: McLaren Lapeer Region, Lapeer, MI, about 13 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

2 public schools in Dryden, run by Dryden 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: 87%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 95%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: 15°F
July average high: 82°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 9 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 148 a year
Rain and melted snow: 31.9 inches a year
Snow: 34 inches a year
Elevation: 942 feet

Weather station: Lapeer Wwtp (12 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

McLaren Lapeer RegionEmergency room13

Rochester Hills, MICity of 78,00020

Detroit, MIMetro of 4.4 million39

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: McLaren Lapeer Region, Rochester Hills, Detroit.

Lapeer County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Druden Community Country Club-General Squier Historic Park Complex.

Read about Dryden's history on Wikipedia.

Know Dryden?

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

Almont, MI2,800 people, 4 miles
Imlay City, MI3,800 people, 5 miles
Oxford, MI3,500 people, 11 miles
Capac, MI1,900 people, 11 miles
Romeo, MI3,800 people, 12 miles
Lapeer, MI9,200 people, 12 miles

Smaller places

Leonard, MI356 people, 6 miles
Attica, MI (unincorporated)627 people, 6 miles
Metamora, MI613 people, 9 miles

Sources

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.