Population
Portage
49,015
Traverse City
15,491
Median Income
Portage
$79,529
Traverse City
$71,731
Home Value
Portage
$243,400
Traverse City
$367,600
Rent
Portage
$1,120
Traverse City
$983
Crime Rate
Portage
2.77
Traverse City
2.86
Cost of Living
Portage
117.3
Traverse City
118.1
Avg Temp
Portage
N/A
Traverse City
N/A
Unemployment
Portage
5.0%
Traverse City
4.5%
How Similar Are Portage & Traverse City?
Traverse City is Portage's #18 most similar city
5 of 10 key metrics match within 10%
Population
Portage
49,015
Traverse City
15,491
Portage (49,015) is about 3.2x larger than Traverse City (15,491).
Violent Crime
Portage
2.77
Traverse City
2.86
Both cities have similar violent crime — just a 3% difference.
Property Crime
Portage
29.75
Traverse City
10.31
Portage's property crime is significantly higher than Traverse City's — 65% difference.
Political Leaning
Portage
40.3%
Traverse City
50.1%
Portage leans Democratic while Traverse City leans Republican.
Unemployment
Portage
5.0%
Traverse City
4.5%
Portage has a 11% higher unemployment than Traverse City.
Median Income
Portage
$79,529
Traverse City
$71,731
Both cities have similar median income — just a 10% difference.
Home Values
Portage
$243,400
Traverse City
$367,600
Traverse City has a 34% higher home values than Portage.
Education
Portage
32.9%
Traverse City
35.4%
Both cities have similar education — just a 7% difference.
Demographics
Portage
82.4%
Traverse City
90.8%
Both cities have similar demographics — just a 9% difference.
Cost of Living
Portage
117.3
Traverse City
118.1
Both cities have similar cost of living — just a 1% difference.
5 out of 10 key metrics match within 10%. Portage and Traverse City share several key characteristics.
At a Glance
0
Portage
0
Traverse City
Traverse City leads in 4 of 8 categories
Cost of Living & Affordability — Portage leads
Source: City Stats Index / HUDPortage has a fair market rent (2br) of $1,162 vs $1,357 in Traverse City (14% lower). Portage has a fair market rent (1br) of $998 vs $1,143 in Traverse City (13% lower). Portage scores 131.5 on the housing index (100 = national avg) vs 146.6 in Traverse City.
Overall Cost Index
Housing Index
Food Index
Transportation Index
Healthcare Index
Utilities Index
Living Wage (1 Adult)
Living Wage (Family of 4)
Fair Market Rent (1BR)
Fair Market Rent (2BR)
Housing Market — Portage leads
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSPortage has a vacancy rate of 5.3% compared to 14.8% in Traverse City. Traverse City has a median home value of $367,600 vs $243,400 in Portage (34% higher). Traverse City has a median rent of $983 vs $1,120 in Portage (14% lower).
Median Home Value
Median Rent
Median Property Tax
Owner-Occupied
Vacancy Rate
Single-Family Homes
Jobs & Economy — Portage leads
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSPortage: 27,304 vs Traverse City: 8,544 for labor force. Traverse City has a work from home of 15.7% compared to 11.6% in Portage. Portage has a poverty rate of 7.5% compared to 9.1% in Traverse City.
Median Household Income
Per Capita Income
Poverty Rate
Unemployment Rate
Labor Force
Mean Commute
Work from Home
Private Sector
Government Sector
Crime & Safety — Traverse City leads
Source: FBI UCRTraverse City has a larceny rate (per 1k) of 8.65 compared to 25.46 in Portage. Traverse City has a property crime rate (per 1k) of 10.31 compared to 29.75 in Portage. Traverse City has a burglary rate (per 1k) of 0.95 compared to 2.69 in Portage.
Violent Crime Rate (per 1K)
Property Crime Rate (per 1K)
Murder Rate (per 1K)
Robbery Rate (per 1K)
Assault Rate (per 1K)
Burglary Rate (per 1K)
Larceny Rate (per 1K)
Violent Crime Clearance
Property Crime Clearance
Weather & Climate
Source: NOAA / Open-MeteoAvg Annual Temperature
Avg Annual High
Avg Annual Low
Sunny Days per Year
Annual Rainfall
Annual Snowfall
Avg Humidity
Schools & Education — Traverse City leads
Source: NCES / U.S. Census BureauTraverse City has a high school diploma or higher of 48.8% compared to 45.0% in Portage. Traverse City has a bachelor's degree or higher of 35.4% compared to 32.9% in Portage.
Public Schools
Avg Student-Teacher Ratio
Colleges & Universities
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
High School Diploma or Higher
Demographics & Community
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSPortage has a population of 49,015, about 3.2x the size of Traverse City (15,491). Portage skews younger with a median age of 37.2 vs 42.2.
Population
Median Age
Avg Household Size
Married Population
Foreign Born
White
Black
Hispanic
Asian
Portage
Traverse City
Healthcare — Traverse City leads
Source: CMS Hospital CompareTraverse City: 5 vs Portage: 4 for with emergency services. Traverse City: 4.0 vs Portage: 3.5 for avg cms rating (out of 5).
Nearby Hospitals
Avg CMS Rating (out of 5)
With Emergency Services
Transportation & Commute — Traverse City leads
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSTraverse City has a bicycle of 5.9% compared to 0.2% in Portage. Traverse City has a public transit of 3.0% compared to 0.7% in Portage. Portage has a drive alone of 80.2% compared to 59.6% in Traverse City.
Mean Commute Time
Drive Alone
Public Transit
Bicycle
Work from Home
Airports
Cities Similar to Portage, MI
Compare Portage against its closest statistical matches across demographics, income, crime, health, and more.
City Comparison
8-axis fingerprint: population, income, housing, crime, education, age, climate, and cost of living. Click legend items to toggle.