Union Pier is a very small town located in the state of Michigan. With a population of 1,493 people and just one neighborhood, Union Pier is the 407th largest community in Michigan.
Union Pier real estate is some of the most expensive in Michigan, although Union Pier house values don't compare to the most expensive real estate in the U.S.
Unlike some towns where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Union Pier is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Union Pier is a town of managers, professionals, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Union Pier who work in management occupations (25.67%), sales jobs (21.39%), and art, media, and design (7.84%).
Of important note, Union Pier is also a town of artists. Union Pier has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Union Pier’s character.
Also of interest is that Union Pier has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.
Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 10.53% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.
Another notable thing is that Union Pier is an extremely popular vacation destination. A significant portion of the population is seasonal. During the vacation season, the town experiences a large influx of people who take up residence in second homes they own in the area. As the vacation season ends, the population drops again, leaving behind a substantially quieter and smaller town.
In addition, Union Pier is home to many people who could be described as "urban sophisticates". Urban sophisticates are people who are both educated and wealthy, and thus tend to be older, richer, and more established than young professionals. "Urban sophisticates" is not just about being educated and well-off financially: it is a point of view and state of mind, one that you might call 'urbaneness'. But such people can and do regularly live in small towns, suburbs and rural areas, as well as in big cities. They read, support the arts and high-end shops, and love travel.
Residents will find that the town is relatively quiet. This is because it is not over-populated, and it has fewer college students, renters, and young children - all of whom can be noisy at times. So, if you're looking for a relatively peaceful place to live, Union Pier is worth considering.
One downside of living in Union Pier is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In Union Pier, the average commute to work is 33.09 minutes, which is quite a bit higher than the national average.
Being a small town, Union Pier does not have a public transit system used by locals to get to and from work.
The education level of Union Pier ranks among the highest in the nation. Of the 25-and-older adult population in Union Pier, 45.86% have at least a bachelor's degree. The typical US community has just 21.84% of its adults holding a bachelor's degree or graduate degree.
The per capita income in Union Pier in 2022 was $67,885, which is wealthy relative to Michigan and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $271,540 for a family of four. However, Union Pier contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
The people who call Union Pier home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Union Pier residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Union Pier include German, English, Irish, Swedish, and Polish.
The most common language spoken in Union Pier is English. Other important languages spoken here include Polish and Italian.
The way a neighborhood looks and feels when you walk or drive around it, from its setting, its buildings, and its flavor, can make all the difference. This neighborhood has some really cool things about the way it looks and feels as revealed by NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research. This might include anything from the housing stock to the types of households living here to how people get around.
In a nation where 1 out of every 4 children lives in poverty, the neighborhood stands out as being ranked among the lowest 0.0% of neighborhoods affected by this global issue.
In addition, if you're nearing retirement age, or in retirement, the is an excellent choice for you to consider for top-quality retirement living. This neighborhood is rated by NeighborhoodScout as among the top 7.7% of retiree-friendly neighborhoods in Michigan, combining peace and quiet, safety from crime, and offering diverse housing options from which retirees can choose. Maybe it's because of these amenities that a large proportion of the residents here are college educated seniors, mixed with other age groups. For these and other reasons, NeighborhoodScout identifies this neighborhood as a top-notch place to consider if you are thinking of or planning to retire in Michigan. In addition to being an excellent choice for active retirees, this neighborhood is also a very good choice for urban sophisticates.
Whether walking, biking, riding, or driving, the length of one's commute is an important factor for one's quality of life. The neighborhood stands out for its commute length, according to NeighborhoodScout's analysis. Long commutes can be brutal. They take time, money, and energy, leaving less of you for yourself and your family. The residents of the neighborhood unfortunately have the distinction of having, on average, a longer commute than most any neighborhood in America. 30.1% of commuters here travel more than one hour just one-way to work. That is more than two hours per day. This percentage with two-hour + round-trip commutes is higher than NeighborhoodScout found in 99.9% of all neighborhoods in America.
Owner-occupied real estate dominates the neighborhood. In fact, according to NeighborhoodScout research, the percentage of residential real estate occupied by its owner is higher here than in 99.1% of neighborhoods in America. Despite all of the residential real estate here in the neighborhood, NeighborhoodScout has discovered that much of it is vacant. In resort or second-home vacation areas, this naturally occurs because homes and apartments are seasonally occupied, and empty for a portion of the year. In non-vacation or resort areas, however, this can be an indicator of property abandonment or a weak real estate market. The vacancy rate here is 70.0%, which is higher than 99.7% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
In addition, one of the notable things about is that it is one of the quietest neighborhoods in America, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis and quantitative rating of quietness. When you are here, you will find it to be very quiet. If quiet and peaceful are your cup of tea, you may have found a great place for you.
Did you know that the neighborhood has more Swedish and Swiss ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 20.7% of this neighborhood's residents have Swedish ancestry and 3.3% have Swiss ancestry.
How wealthy a neighborhood is, from very wealthy, to middle income, to low income is very formative with regard to the personality and character of a neighborhood. Equally important is the rate of people, particularly children, who live below the federal poverty line. In some wealthy gated communities, the areas immediately surrounding can have high rates of childhood poverty, which indicates other social issues. NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals both aspects of income and poverty for this neighborhood.
The neighbors in the neighborhood in Union Pier are middle-income, making it a moderate income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 58.4% of the neighborhoods in America. In addition, 0.0% of the children seventeen and under living in this neighborhood are living below the federal poverty line, which is a lower rate of childhood poverty than is found in 100.0% of America's neighborhoods.
What we choose to do for a living reflects who we are. Each neighborhood has a different mix of occupations represented, and together these tell you about the neighborhood and help you understand if this neighborhood may fit your lifestyle.
In the neighborhood, 52.8% of the working population is employed in executive, management, and professional occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants, with 28.9% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (16.2%), and 2.1% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.
The languages spoken by people in this neighborhood are diverse. These are tabulated as the languages people preferentially speak when they are at home with their families. The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 99.6% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Polish and Italian.
Culture is the shared learned behavior of peoples. Undeniably, different ethnicities and ancestries have different cultural traditions, and as a result, neighborhoods with concentrations of residents of one or another ethnicities or ancestries will express those cultures. It is what makes the North End in Boston so fun to visit for the Italian restaurants, bakeries, culture, and charm, and similarly, why people enjoy visiting Chinatown in San Francisco.
In the neighborhood in Union Pier, MI, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as German (29.8%). There are also a number of people of English ancestry (26.0%), and residents who report Irish roots (21.2%), and some of the residents are also of Swedish ancestry (20.7%), along with some Polish ancestry residents (13.8%), among others.
How you get to work – car, bus, train or other means – and how much of your day it takes to do so is a large quality of life and financial issue. Especially with gasoline prices rising and expected to continue doing so, the length and means of one's commute can be a financial burden. Some neighborhoods are physically located so that many residents have to drive in their own car, others are set up so many walk to work, or can take a train, bus, or bike. The greatest number of commuters in neighborhood spend under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (41.4% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America. However, there is also a significant group of residents (30.1%) who commute over an hour in each direction.
Here most residents (81.7%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also carpool with coworkers, friends, or neighbors to get to work (7.8%) . In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.