Counties / Michigan / Delta County

Delta County, MI

FIPS 26041 · population 36,813 · outside every metro area

$204k
Zillow home value · 2026-06
The numbers

What this county costs and earns

Everything here joins on the county FIPS code, so each figure comes from the agency that publishes it with no name matching in between.

Zillow home value
$204k
▲ 9.4% year over year
Zillow ZHVI · direct
ACS median gross rent
$692
occupied-unit survey; not current asking rent
Census ACS · surveyed
Gross yield
n/a
gross yield cannot be computed without measured market rent
requires both measured price and measured rent
HUD 2-bed standard
$973
the Section 8 payment standard
HUD Fair Market Rent · direct
Independent price check

Do two methods point the same way?

Zillow estimates a current home value. FHFA tracks repeat mortgage transactions. Their growth rates should be read side by side, not averaged.

Both annual signals move in the same direction
FHFA five-year cumulative+71.6%not annualized · through 2025
0%ZILLOW ZHVI2026-06+9.4%FHFA HPI2025+15.4%
Annual changes use different methods and may use different periods. The comparison checks direction and magnitude; it does not create a blended estimate. Zillow county ZHVI pulled 2026-07-26; FHFA annual county HPI pulled 2026-07-28.
Owner-reported value$157k
Surveyed gross rent$692
Rent burden 30%+40.8%
Median year built1970
Housing composition

Who occupies the stock—and what it is

ACS 2024 5-year
19.5%vacant
19,845estimated housing units
Occupied tenure18.0% renter
owner 82.0%renter 18.0%
Structure mix81.4% single-family
Single-family 81.4%20+ units 3.8%Mobile home 7.3%Other 7.5%
ACS estimates describe the standing housing stock and occupied tenure. They do not measure current listings, transaction prices or asking rents.

Survey source: Census ACS 5-year — county housing value, tenure and stock · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30. These values describe different housing universes and are not combined into gross yield.

Annual average covered jobs13,885▲ 0.3% from the prior annual release
Covered establishments1,080annual average reporting locations
Average weekly wage$969▲ 5.0% from the prior annual release
Largest private supersectorTrade, transportation, and utilities23.5% of disclosed private covered jobs
Local labor base

Jobs, pay and private-sector concentration

2025
0%COVERED JOBS+0.3%WEEKLY WAGE+5.0%Trade, transportation, and utilities23.5%
Annual QCEW counts cover jobs located at reporting establishments. The industry share uses disclosed private covered employment; it is not a resident-employment measure or a forecast.

Workplace source: BLS QCEW — county employment and wages · annual county employment and wages 2025 vs 2024 · pulled 2026-07-31. QCEW counts covered jobs located in the county, not employed residents or the metro score’s CES/LAUS series.

County brief

What the local evidence says

01Decision frame

Delta County presents a valuation-versus-cash-flow question: the county-level Zillow median home value was $203,879 in 2026-06, after a 9.4% year-over-year rise, while market rent is not published. That calls for further diligence by buyers able to validate leases and all-in carrying costs, and caution for yield-led underwriting. FHFA’s 2025 annual repeat-transaction HPI rose 15.4%, with a 71.62% cumulative five-year increase. It supports a positive price direction but is not a home value; its index period and Zillow’s value observation cannot be merged or averaged.

02Housing economics

No median asking market rent is published, so gross yield cannot be computed. HUD’s two-bedroom FMR of $973 per month is a payment standard, not evidence of asking rent, and cannot substitute for it. The effective property-tax rate is 1.13%, a carrying-cost input that requires property-specific assessment data and insurance quotes. Operating expenses, insurance costs, vacancy evidence, and achieved rents are not published, preventing an NOI conclusion from this record.

03Demand & competition

Demand evidence is mixed rather than proof of tenant depth. Net tax-return migration was 33, while incoming movers’ average AGI was $2,125 below that of outgoing movers. Among purchase mortgages, 5 of 110, or 4.55%, went to non-occupants; this measures financed investor participation, not cash-buyer activity. QCEW annual covered employment at county workplaces rose 0.27%, while average weekly covered-worker wage rose 4.98%. Trade, transportation, and utilities is the largest disclosed private supersector, not the county’s whole economy.

04Risk & next checks

Dominant inland-flood exposure aligns with modeled climate loss of 0.10% of building value per year, a county-level estimate that does not price risk for a particular parcel. Realtor.com median MLS listing price, active-listing count, days on market, and price-reduced share are not published; this prevents a reading of visible supply, marketing time, or seller concessions. Next checks are flood zone, insurance quote, condition, tax assessment, leases, and closed-sale comparables. County evidence cannot establish neighborhood demand or property-specific costs.

Cities & communities

Where people live within Delta County

Census-recognized incorporated places and CDPs that intersect this county. The list does not pretend to include every neighborhood or informal community.

Population scale

Largest Census places

ACS 2024 5-year
Escanaba city12.4KGladstone city5.3KRapid River CDP223Rock CDP160Garden village154
Bars use total place population, not a county-share estimate. An asterisk marks a place that crosses a county line.
Official directory

5 Census places

Population
  1. 01
    Escanaba cityIncorporated place
    12,354
  2. 02
    Gladstone cityIncorporated place
    5,253
  3. 03
    Rapid River CDPCensus-designated place
    223
  4. 04
    Rock CDPCensus-designated place
    160
  5. 05
    Garden villageIncorporated place
    154

Population is the total place-wide ACS estimate, not an allocated county share. A place crossing a county line is labelled explicitly. Source: Census ACS 5-year — cities and communities · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30.

Risk, demand and competition

The three things a price does not tell you

01
Risk & carrying costFEMA NRI + Census ACS
Dominant hazardinland flooding

0.097% of building value expected lost per year

Effective property tax1.13%

$1,771 median annual bill

02
DemandIRS SOI household flows
Net migration+33

656 in · 623 out

Arriving vs leaving income−$2,125

$54,506 arriving · $56,631 leaving

03
CompetitionHMDA financed purchases
Purchases by investors4.5%

5 of 110 mortgages

investorother financed
No rent index is published for this county.Zillow’s county rent series does not cover every county, and estimating one from a neighbouring county would be a guess wearing a number’s clothes. Everything above is measured here; no wider market is mapped for it either.
Bear case

What can break the county thesis

  1. Actual rents, vacancy, operating costs, and insurance could materially change the unmeasured cash-flow result.
  2. Inland-flood exposure may create parcel-specific insurance, repair, or financing constraints beyond the county climate model.
  3. County workplace employment and migration evidence may not translate into demand for a specific neighborhood or property type.
Underwriting questions

Before pricing a property

Can gross yield be calculated from the supplied record?

No. Median asking market rent is not published, and HUD FMR cannot be used as market rent.

What does the HUD two-bedroom FMR represent?

It is a $973 monthly payment standard, not an estimate of county asking rent.

How much measured purchase-mortgage activity went to investors?

5 of 110 purchase mortgages, or 4.55%, went to non-occupants.