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Three Oaks, Michigan

Three Oaks is a small town of about 1,400 people in Berrien County, Michigan. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.2 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, Chicago, is about 55 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,390
down 2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$215,700
Berrien County prices up 21% since 2022
Household income
$66,985
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Niles area
92.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
14 miles
La Porte, IN
To Chicago
55 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 7.6% below the U.S. average in the Niles metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.2 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood2 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1.4 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 5 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byNorthwest Health-La Porte in La Porte, about 14 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityChicago is about 55 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 Three Oaks 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
$215,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 21%Berrien County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,074 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$66,985U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill
$1,936 a yearMichigan: $2,904
Homes built before 1940
31%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
7%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
10%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
92.4U.S. average = 100 (the Niles 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 Niles metro area, not Three Oaks 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
1,3902020: 1,418
Median age
36.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
13%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
29%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
28%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
20%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
Arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (18%); professional and business services (17%); manufacturing (17%)
Unemployment rate
5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
19 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
15%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: Northwest Health-La Porte, La Porte, IN, about 14 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

2 public schools in Three Oaks, run by River Valley 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
71%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
17°F
July average high
82°F
Days 90°F or hotter
10 a year
Nights at or below freezing
119 a year
Rain and melted snow
42.6 inches a year
Snow
62 inches a year
Elevation
674 feet

Weather stations: Laporte (14 miles away) and New Carlisle (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: Northwest Health-La Porte, South Bend, Chicago.

Berrien 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

2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Indiana Dunes National Park17 miles
  • Pullman National Historical Park51 miles
  • Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument52 miles

Read about Three Oaks's history on Wikipedia.

Know Three Oaks?

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

  • Saugany Lake, IN (unincorporated)217 people, 5 miles
  • Shorewood-Tower Hills-Harbert, MI (unincorporated)1,459 people, 6 miles
  • Galien, MI529 people, 6 miles
  • New Troy, MI (unincorporated)413 people, 7 miles
  • Hudson Lake, IN (unincorporated)1,347 people, 7 miles
  • Rolling Prairie, IN (unincorporated)238 people, 9 miles
  • Grand Beach, MI294 people, 9 miles
  • Michiana, MI211 people, 10 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.