Small Town Guide
Menu

Towns / Michigan

Milan, Michigan

Milan is a small town of about 6,000 people in Washtenaw County, Michigan. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.5 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 36 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
5,973
down 1.6% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$247,100
Washtenaw County prices up 18% since 2022
Household income
$96,949
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Ann Arbor area
100.9
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
12 miles
Ann Arbor, MI
To Detroit
36 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 0.9% above the U.S. average in the Ann Arbor metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.5 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood17 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 2.8 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 6 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town4 public schools: 2 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byTrinity Health Ann Arbor Hospital in Ann Arbor, about 12 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityDetroit is about 36 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 Milan 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
$247,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 18%Washtenaw County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,162 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$96,949U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
68%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$3,927 a yearMichigan: $2,904
Homes built before 1940
21%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
5%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
100.9U.S. average = 100 (the Ann Arbor 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 18% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Ann Arbor metro area, not Milan 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
5,9732020: 6,070
Median age
38.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
17%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
20%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
37%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
5%U.S.: 6%
College students
8%share of all residents

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 (37%); manufacturing (16%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (11%)
Unemployment rate
6%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
29 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
13%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
10%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Trinity Health Ann Arbor Hospital, Ann Arbor, MI, about 12 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 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 Milan, run by Milan Area 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
77%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
88%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
137 a year
Rain and melted snow
34.8 inches a year
Snow
39 inches a year
Elevation
693 feet

Weather stations: Milan Wwtp (less than a mile away) and Dundee (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: Trinity Health Ann Arbor Hospital, Ann Arbor, Detroit.

Washtenaw County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, 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 Main Street Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • River Raisin National Battlefield Park19 miles
  • Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial53 miles

Read about Milan's history on Wikipedia.

Know Milan?

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

  • Britton, MI557 people, 10 miles
  • Maybee, MI578 people, 10 miles
  • Ida, MI (unincorporated)1,050 people, 14 miles
  • Deerfield, MI887 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.