Counties / Michigan / Gogebic County

Gogebic County, MI

FIPS 26053 · population 14,319 · outside every metro area

$135k
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
$135k
▲ 5.8% year over year
Zillow ZHVI · direct
ACS median gross rent
$623
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+85.2%not annualized · through 2025
0%ZILLOW ZHVI2026-06+5.8%FHFA HPI2025+7.5%
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$107k
Surveyed gross rent$623
Rent burden 30%+40.8%
Median year built1955
Housing composition

Who occupies the stock—and what it is

ACS 2024 5-year
32.8%vacant
10,394estimated housing units
Occupied tenure19.0% renter
owner 81.0%renter 19.0%
Structure mix88.5% single-family
Single-family 88.5%20+ units 1.9%Mobile home 2.0%Other 7.7%
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 jobs4,848▼ 3.9% from the prior annual release
Covered establishments422annual average reporting locations
Average weekly wage$931▲ 0.1% from the prior annual release
Largest private supersectorTrade, transportation, and utilities26.8% of disclosed private covered jobs
Local labor base

Jobs, pay and private-sector concentration

2025
0%COVERED JOBS−3.9%WEEKLY WAGE+0.1%Trade, transportation, and utilities26.8%
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

Gogebic County’s underwriting tension is a $134,547 Zillow county median home value at 2026-06 that was 5.77% higher year over year, while the record has no market-rent observation to test income against price. This is a diligence case for buyers able to obtain unit-level leases and expense records; those needing a county-level yield screen should be cautious. FHFA’s annual 2025 repeat-transaction HPI rose 7.5%, directionally consistent with Zillow but not a home value or a comparable time frame, so the measures should not be merged.

02Housing economics

Gross yield cannot be calculated because median asking market rent is not published. The $973 two-bedroom HUD FMR is a payment standard, not asking rent, and cannot fill that gap. Carrying costs require separate testing: the effective property-tax rate is 1.43%, and median annual property tax is $1,535. The published modeled annual building-loss ratio is 0.07%; paired with the inland-flood designation, it is a county-level modeled exposure rather than a parcel-specific loss estimate.

03Demand & competition

Annual 2025 QCEW reports 4,848 covered jobs at county workplaces, down 3.92% from the prior annual average; this is not resident employment or unemployment. Trade, transportation, and utilities is the largest disclosed private supersector. Tax-return inflows only narrowly exceeded outflows, while average income of incoming movers exceeded that of outgoing movers by $3,817. That limited migration evidence is not proof of tenant or buyer demand. Within 131 recorded purchase mortgages, 9 were non-occupant loans, a 6.87% investor share, indicating some investor participation but not the full competitive buyer set.

04Risk & next checks

Risk limits remain material. Realtor.com listing price, active inventory, days on market, and price-reduced share are not published for its 2026-06 inventory period, preventing a read on MLS asking-price competition, visible supply, marketing time, and seller concessions. Even if available, those measures would not be closed-sale prices or demand proof. Next checks are property-level market rents, lease turnover, insurance quotes, flood-zone status, condition, and repair history; without them, operating costs, asset-level flood exposure, and rental feasibility remain unresolved.

Cities & communities

Where people live within Gogebic 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
Ironwood city5KBessemer city1.7KWakefield city1.7KRamsay CDP312Watersmeet CDP250Marenisco CDP223
Bars use total place population, not a county-share estimate. An asterisk marks a place that crosses a county line.
Official directory

6 Census places

Population
  1. 01
    Ironwood cityIncorporated place
    4,997
  2. 02
    Bessemer cityIncorporated place
    1,733
  3. 03
    Wakefield cityIncorporated place
    1,683
  4. 04
    Ramsay CDPCensus-designated place
    312
  5. 05
    Watersmeet CDPCensus-designated place
    250
  6. 06
    Marenisco CDPCensus-designated place
    223

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

0.070% of building value expected lost per year

Effective property tax1.43%

$1,535 median annual bill

02
DemandIRS SOI household flows
Net migration+5

315 in · 310 out

Arriving vs leaving income+$3,817

$53,594 arriving · $49,777 leaving

03
CompetitionHMDA financed purchases
Purchases by investors6.9%

9 of 131 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. Unpublished market rent leaves gross yield and rent-to-price feasibility unresolved.
  2. Declining covered workplace employment may weaken the income backdrop relevant to tenant screening.
  3. Inland-flood exposure and unavailable parcel-specific insurance information could materially change carrying costs.
Underwriting questions

Before pricing a property

Can gross yield be calculated from the record?

No. Market rent is not published, and the $973 HUD two-bedroom FMR is a payment standard rather than market asking rent.

How large was recorded investor mortgage participation?

Non-occupant investors accounted for 9 of 131 recorded purchase mortgages, or 6.87%.

What does the county QCEW record show?

Annual 2025 QCEW recorded 4,848 covered jobs located at county workplaces, down 3.92% from the prior annual average.