Auto · Small-town market · Michigan
Insurance agencies in the Houghton, MI area
How the Houghton, MI area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for insurance agencies: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 42 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #330 of 537 scored small-town markets
#8 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Michigan
- Listings
- 16
- 3 chain locations (19%)
- Official establishments
- 19
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $24.6M
- On vehicle insurance · $1,591 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.5M
- 22% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 10.4
- 33% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 40,028
- +1.8% since 2020
See the insurance agencies around any address in the Houghton area
The site report maps the insurance agencies on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the Houghton area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
At $1,591 per household (19% below the U.S. average), households in the Houghton area spend about $24.6M a year on vehicle insurance. That is about $1.5M of household spending for each agency on map listings, 22% above the U.S. figure of $1.3M.
The Houghton area has 16 insurance agencies on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 19% of them, against 21% across the U.S. That is 10.4 per 10,000 households, 33% below the U.S. rate of 15.6.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as insurance agencies and brokerages in the Houghton area was 19 in 2023. That is one for every 813 households, against one for every 966 across the U.S.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Houghton area grew 1.8%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For insurance agencies, the Houghton area has a Groundwork market score of 42 (lower middle): #330 of 537 scored small-town markets and #8 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Michigan.
How the Houghton area compares
The same measures for Michigan and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all vehicle insurance by the insurance agencies counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.
| Measure | Houghton area | Michigan | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 10.4 | 13.5 | 15.6 |
| Spending per listing | $1.5M | $1.2M | $1.3M |
| Households per official establishment | 813 | 1,108 | 966 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | −3.9% | −1.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.8% | +0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle insurance | $1,591 | $1,558 | $1,957 |
| Median household income | $58,128 | $72,875 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 42 | 33 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 19
- Employees, 2023
- 57
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $2.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 163 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 20The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 0
- Amount
- $0
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as insurance agencies and brokerages in the Houghton area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.
Population and households in the Houghton area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 40,028+1.8% since 2020
- Households
- 15,440
- Median age
- 37.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 73%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 1,549 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 26
- Median household income
- $58,128+31.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $80,984
- Median home value
- $160,800
- Jobs located here
- 12,154
- Daytime population
- 38,592Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Houghton area?
These figures cover the whole small-town market. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the insurance agencies on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Houghton area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardInsurance agencies across Michigan
Every Michigan market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Michigan for insurance agencies, numbered among those based in Michigan, with the Houghton area marked.
Top small-town markets in Michigan
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Holland, MI | 71 | 42 | 9.2 | $2M | +2.1% | #93 of 537 |
| 2Marquette, MI | 62 | 25 | 8.8 | $1.8M | +2.3% | #163 of 537 |
| 3Alpena, MI | 53 | 11 | 8.4 | $1.7M | −0.1% | #229 of 537 |
| 4Big Rapids, MI | 52 | 18 | 10.8 | $1.5M | +4.7% | #247 of 537 |
| 5Hillsdale, MI | 46 | 21 | 11.8 | $1.5M | 0.0% | #294 of 537 |
| 6Mount Pleasant, MI | 46 | 29 | 11.6 | $1.4M | +0.3% | #295 of 537 |
| 7Escanaba, MI | 44 | 14 | 8.8 | $1.7M | −0.8% | #311 of 537 |
| 8Houghton, MI | 42 | 16 | 10.4 | $1.5M | +1.8% | #330 of 537 |
| 9Ludington, MI | 40 | 17 | 13.3 | $1.2M | 0.0% | #354 of 537 |
| 10Alma, MI | 39 | 18 | 12.2 | $1.4M | −1.1% | #358 of 537 |
Other business types in the Houghton area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many insurance agencies are in the Houghton, MI area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 16 insurance agencies in the Houghton area. 3 of them (19%) are chain locations. The listings count insurance agencies. Official counts show 19 businesses with payroll classed as insurance agencies and brokerages in 2023.
How much do households in the Houghton, MI area spend on vehicle insurance?
About $24.6M a year, or $1,591 per household. That is 19% below the U.S. average (an index of 81, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 16 insurance agencies on map listings, it comes to $1.5M per agency. It is estimated from the incomes of the 15,440 households in the Houghton area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Houghton, MI area compare with the U.S. for insurance agencies?
The Houghton area has 10.4 insurance agencies per 10,000 households, 33% below the U.S. rate of 15.6. Spending per agency is $1.5M, 22% above the U.S. figure of $1.3M. At the U.S. ratio of insurance agencies to household spending, the Houghton area would have about 20, against 16 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 813 households, against one for every 966 across the U.S.
How fast is the Houghton, MI area growing?
Population estimates put the Houghton area at 40,028 people in 2025, up 1.8% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 15,440 households. Median household income in the Houghton area is $58,128, 28% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 31.5%, before inflation.
What is the Groundwork market score?
The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The Houghton area scores 42 for insurance agencies (lower middle), #330 of 537 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Houghton area. It maps the insurance agencies on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.
How the score works · Top markets for insurance agencies · All 56 business types in the Houghton area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Houghton area?
A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.
The button opens the report at the center of the Houghton area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.