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Petoskey, Michigan

Petoskey is a small town of about 5,800 people in Emmet County, Michigan. It's the county seat. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 4.9 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, Grand Rapids, is about 169 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
5,772
down 1.5% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$364,100
Emmet County prices up 29% since 2022
Household income
$74,196
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Michigan
89
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
2 miles
Petoskey, MI
To Grand Rapids
169 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 11% below the U.S. average in the parts of Michigan outside metro areas.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 4.9 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood9 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1.6 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 5 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town8 public schools: 5 elementary, 1 middle, 1 high school and 1 other.
  • A hospital close byMcLaren Northern Michigan in Petoskey, about 2 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityGrand Rapids is about 169 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 Petoskey 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
$364,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 29%Emmet County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,006 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$74,196U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
61%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$3,841 a yearMichigan: $2,904
Homes built before 1940
30%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
4%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
12%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
89U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Michigan outside metro areas)

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 29% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Michigan outside metro areas, not Petoskey 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
5,7722020: 5,861
Median age
41 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
23%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
18%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
53%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
7%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 (32%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (19%); retail (11%)
Unemployment rate
2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
15 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
13%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
9%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: McLaren Northern Michigan, Petoskey, MI, about 2 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

8 public schools in Petoskey, run by Public Schools of Petoskey and Concord Academy - Petoskey.

Colleges in or next to town: North Central Michigan College (1,000 to 4,999 students).

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
82%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
91%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
12°F
July average high
76°F
Days 90°F or hotter
3 a year
Nights at or below freezing
166 a year
Rain and melted snow
36.6 inches a year
Snow
120 inches a year
Elevation
789 feet

Weather station: Petoskey Ncmc (3 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: McLaren Northern Michigan, Green Bay, Grand Rapids.

Emmet County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, not next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 7, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

39 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Bay View, the East Mitchell Street Historic District and Petoskey Downtown Historic District (Additional Documentation). One is a National Historic Landmark, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore48 miles

Read about Petoskey's history on Wikipedia.

Know Petoskey?

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

  • Bay View, MI (unincorporated)164 people, 4 miles
  • Bay Shore, MI (unincorporated)697 people, 5 miles
  • Horton Bay, MI (unincorporated)374 people, 7 miles
  • Walloon Lake, MI (unincorporated)294 people, 7 miles
  • Conway, MI (unincorporated)237 people, 7 miles
  • Oden, MI (unincorporated)150 people, 10 miles
  • Advance, MI (unincorporated)377 people, 11 miles
  • Ironton, MI (unincorporated)173 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.