Counties / Michigan / Wexford County

Wexford County, MI

FIPS 26165 · population 34,077 · part of Cadillac, MI

$242k
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
$242k
▲ 3.6% year over year
Zillow ZHVI · direct
Median asking rent
$1,075
n/a year over year
Zillow ZORI · direct
Gross yield
5.3%
annual rent ÷ price, before costs
derived: rent × 12 ÷ price ✓
HUD 2-bed standard
$1,084
market rent is 0.99x the 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+68.7%not annualized · through 2025
0%ZILLOW ZHVI2026-06+3.6%FHFA HPI2025+4.3%
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$170k
Surveyed gross rent$897
Rent burden 30%+52.3%
Median year built1979
Housing composition

Who occupies the stock—and what it is

ACS 2024 5-year
17.4%vacant
16,585estimated housing units
Occupied tenure19.1% renter
owner 80.9%renter 19.1%
Structure mix77.6% single-family
Single-family 77.6%20+ units 2.0%Mobile home 13.6%Other 6.7%
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 jobs13,082▼ 0.6% from the prior annual release
Covered establishments916annual average reporting locations
Average weekly wage$1,060▲ 5.3% from the prior annual release
Largest private supersectorManufacturing27.4% of disclosed private covered jobs
Local labor base

Jobs, pay and private-sector concentration

2025
0%COVERED JOBS−0.6%WEEKLY WAGE+5.3%Manufacturing27.4%
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

Wexford County has a measurable income screen but a more negotiable MLS backdrop, creating a decision tension rather than a clear county-level yes. Buyers able to verify parcel rent, costs and resale alternatives should investigate; those needing a near-term exit should be cautious. In Zillow’s 2026-06 county observation, median home value was $241,755, median asking rent was $1,075 per month, and supplied gross yield was 5.34% before costs.

02Housing economics

Market asking rent, rather than HUD Fair Market Rent, supports that yield. The supplied HUD two-bedroom FMR is a payment standard, not an estimate of asking rent, and cannot replace market rent in underwriting. Zillow’s value measure rose 3.64% year over year, while FHFA’s separately dated 2025 repeat-transaction HPI rose 4.30%. Those readings align directionally, but their methods and vintages cannot be averaged. Gross yield remains before costs; tax figures are screening inputs, not parcel bills. Missing operating expenses, insurance and vacancy prevent a net-yield conclusion.

03Demand & competition

Realtor.com’s 2026-06 MLS evidence calls for exit-price discipline: active listings rose 10.11% year over year, 17.31% carried a reduction, and the pending-to-active ratio was 51.21%. Median listing price declined, but listings are asking prices, active counts are visible supply, and these signals do not establish closed-sale pricing or buyer demand alone. Movers-in exceeded movers-out, with average AGI $6,715 higher. QCEW’s 2025 annual series reports covered jobs at county workplaces declining and covered-worker weekly wages rising; this is not resident employment. Manufacturing is the largest disclosed private supersector, not the entire economy. Nonoccupant mortgages were 4.19% of 310 purchase mortgages, excluding other investor channels.

04Risk & next checks

Inland flood is the dominant hazard. The modeled annual climate-loss ratio is 0.07% of building value; it is a modeled county-level loss measure, not a parcel flood determination or an insurance quote. Obtain parcel flood-zone and elevation records, insurance terms, tax bill, condition scope, lease comparables, vacancy history and closed-sale comparables. Those parcel-specific items are not published in the record and prevent conclusions on net cash flow, replacement risk and realizable exit value.

Cities & communities

Where people live within Wexford 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
Cadillac city10.4KManton city1.5KBuckley village936Mesick village423Wedgewood CDP241Harrietta village230Haring CDP199Boon CDP99
Bars use total place population, not a county-share estimate. An asterisk marks a place that crosses a county line.
Official directory

9 Census places

Population
  1. 01
    Cadillac cityIncorporated place
    10,445
  2. 02
    Manton cityIncorporated place
    1,511
  3. 03
    Buckley villageIncorporated place
    936
  4. 04
    Mesick villageIncorporated place
    423
  5. 05
    Wedgewood CDPCensus-designated place
    241
  6. 06
    Harrietta villageIncorporated place
    230
  7. 07
    Haring CDPCensus-designated place
    199
  8. 08
    Boon CDPCensus-designated place
    99
  9. 09
    Caberfae CDPCensus-designated place
    35

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

0.073% of building value expected lost per year

Effective property tax1.13%

$1,927 median annual bill

02
DemandIRS SOI household flows
Net migration+38

981 in · 943 out

Arriving vs leaving income+$6,715

$53,905 arriving · $47,190 leaving

03
CompetitionHMDA financed purchases
Purchases by investors4.2%

13 of 310 mortgages

investorother financed
Current listing pressure

What sellers and visible supply are doing

Realtor.com® Economic Research · county inventory 2026-06 · pulled 2026-07-28
Active listings104▲ 10.1% year over year
Median days on market37▼ 17.8% year over year
Listings price-reduced17.3%seller-concession signal
Median listing pricen/a▼ 2.7% year over year

Listing price is an asking price, not a closed sale. Quality-flagged county rows are withheld instead of displayed.

Same metro

The other counties in Cadillac, MI

A metro is an average of these. Which side of a county line a property sits on can change the tax bill, the hazard profile and the tenant pool.

CountyPopulationPriceRentYieldHazard
Wexford County34,077$242k$1,0755.3%inland flooding
Missaukee County15,207$226kn/an/ainland flooding
Bear case

What can break the county thesis

  1. Property-specific taxes, insurance, vacancy and repairs could erase the gross-yield screen.
  2. MLS asking-price reductions may ultimately correspond with weaker realized sale prices than the county value measure suggests.
  3. Parcel flood conditions or insurance terms may be materially different from the county-level modeled hazard measure.
Underwriting questions

Before pricing a property

Is a market-rent measure published for underwriting?

Yes. Median asking rent is published separately from the supplied gross-yield measure.

Can HUD Fair Market Rent be substituted for asking rent?

No. The supplied HUD FMR is a payment standard, while the record separately publishes market asking rent.

What hazard requires parcel-level diligence?

Inland flood is the dominant hazard; the record does not provide parcel flood-zone status or insurance terms.