What it's like to live in Mount Clemens
Mount Clemens is a small city in Michigan with rent below the national average and home prices that remain within reach. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Mount Clemens deals with household incomes below the national average, college degree attainment below the national average, larger class sizes than the national average, and cold winters.
The good
- Rent below the national average
- Affordable home prices
The not so good
- Below-average household incomes
- Low college degree attainment
- High student-teacher ratio
- Cold winters
- Car-dependent — few commuters use transit
How Mount Clemens compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Mount Clemens
Based on Mount Clemens's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$1,694
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $33,880 a year
- 47% of Mount Clemens renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$35,880
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $17,940
- Homes cost 3.4× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▼ 40% below US
$847/mo median rent
Rent here is genuinely low, with median rent around $847 a month. Factoring in local incomes, the value gets even better. Money stretches further here than in most of the country. Home prices here are genuinely accessible, with a median around $179,400. That kind of affordability is rare in today's market.
Median home value $179,400 · 47% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
4.9% county unemployment
Unemployment in Macomb County is 4.9%, somewhat above the national average of 4.3%. Lining up work before the move is the safer route. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
Macomb County (county-wide)
Safety
130 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction
Mount Clemens doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the Macomb County Sheriff's Office jurisdiction as a whole, which runs below the national average for violent crime and covers many communities. Individual neighborhoods can differ a lot from that overall rate.
Property crime 363/100k · Policed by Macomb County Sheriff's Office (county-wide rate) · 2025 data
Getting aroundNear US average
27 min average commute
Commutes run about average, at 26.5 minutes. Fine day to day, but it adds up over a year, and where someone lives relative to where they work starts to matter. 9 in 10 workers drive to work; 8% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are warm, with highs around 80°F, and winters are cold, with lows around 20°F and snow a regular occurrence.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Healthcare
1 hospital
There's one Medicare-certified hospital inside city limits, rated 1.0 out of 5 by Medicare. Hospitals in neighboring towns aren't counted here.
Medicare-certified hospitals
Education & workforce▼ 50% below US
18% bachelor's degree or higher
This is a working-class city, and college degree rates reflect that. Trades, manufacturing, and service industries tend to dominate the local economy, which is a strength for some fields and a real constraint for others.
Schools
6 public schools inside the boundary
There are 6 public schools inside the boundary and 2 private schools. The student-to-teacher ratio is 19:1, slightly above the national average of 16:1.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is River Raisin National Battlefield Park (54 miles away). There are 2 national parks and sites within a day's drive.
Bottom line
Mount Clemens's strongest points are rent below the national average and home prices that remain within reach; the main tradeoffs are household incomes below the national average and college degree attainment below the national average. A year of median rent ($847/mo) equals 19% of the median household income here, about the same as the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people watching their budget. It may be a harder fit for anyone who doesn't drive.
Other places near Mount Clemens
All Michigan guides →Moving to Roseville →
7 mi away · pop. 47,123
Rent $1,233/mo · Income $62,182
Compare with Mount Clemens →Moving to St. Clair Shores →
7 mi away · pop. 58,140
Rent $1,183/mo · Income $73,500
Compare with Mount Clemens →Moving to Sterling Heights →
8 mi away · pop. 133,573
Rent $1,292/mo · Income $79,909
Compare with Mount Clemens →Not sure Mount Clemens is the one?
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