Living in Frankenmuth, Michigan: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 9.1% below the U.S. average in the Saginaw metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.5 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood7 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1.3 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 8.4 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
A hospital close byMymichigan Medical Center Saginaw in Saginaw, about 12 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityDetroit is about 73 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 Frankenmuth 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: $300,500U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 21%Saginaw County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $851 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $85,433U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 71%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $3,652 a yearMichigan: $2,904
Homes built before 1940: 11%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 6%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 3%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 90.9U.S. average = 100 (the Saginaw 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 Saginaw metro area, not Frankenmuth 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: 5,1972020: 5,034
Median age: 53.6 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 31%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 17%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 52%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 6%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: Schools, health care and social services (23%); manufacturing (17%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (14%)
Unemployment rate: 5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 21 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 16%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: Mymichigan Medical Center Saginaw, Saginaw, MI, about 12 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 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

3 public schools in Frankenmuth, run by Frankenmuth School District.

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: 79%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 92%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: 81°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 5 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 149 a year
Rain and melted snow: 34 inches a year
Snow: 41 inches a year
Elevation: 637 feet

Weather stations: Frankenmuth 1SE (1 mile away) and Saginaw #3 (12 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

Mymichigan Medical Center SaginawEmergency room12

Flint, MICity of 79,00021

Detroit, MIMetro of 4.4 million73

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: Mymichigan Medical Center Saginaw, Flint, Detroit.

Saginaw 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

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.

Read about Frankenmuth's history on Wikipedia.

Know Frankenmuth?

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

Birch Run, MI1,500 people, 6 miles
Bridgeport, MI6,900 people, 8 miles
Vassar, MI2,700 people, 9 miles
Reese, MI1,300 people, 9 miles
Buena Vista, MI5,800 people, 10 miles
Clio, MI2,500 people, 11 miles

Smaller places

Robin Glen-Indiantown, MI (unincorporated)660 people, 10 miles
Burt, MI (unincorporated)1,339 people, 11 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.