# Houghton, Michigan — #1,467 of 3,144 counties > Liberty Moving composite score 6.34 of 10. FIPS 26061. Population 37,599. v4 — beta, 30 October 2026, sourced values. About 37,600 people live in Houghton, Michigan. It ranks #1,467 of 3,144 counties for liberty, and #5 of 83 in Michigan. The combined sales tax is 6%, lower than in 62% of counties. Property tax takes about 1.13% of a home's value each year, more than in 78% of counties. Local government employs a smaller share of working residents than in 94% of counties. The homicide rate is lower than in 73% of counties. Life expectancy is about 77.8 years, longer than in 73% of counties. Air quality is better than in 96% of counties (a typical day's air quality index is 25), and flood and hurricane risk is lower than in 70% of counties. On this site's state scores, Michigan gets 6.42 of 10 for economic freedom, based on the Fraser Institute's ranking, and 3 of 10 for gun rights. ## Scores | Factor | Level | Score (0–10) | Flag | |---|---|---|---| | Fraser Institute state ranking | state | 6.42 | | | 2A | state | 3.00 | | | Air quality | county | 7.49 | | | GOP + LP vote for President | county | 5.81 | | | Homicide rate | county | 9.56 | | | Sales tax | county | 4.55 | | | Property tax | county | 4.35 | | | Floods / hurricanes | county | 5.70 | | | Life expectancy | county | 7.80 | | | Government employees | county | 9.44 | | | Single-parent households | county | 8.72 | | "est" marks a derived or placeholder value with no published county figure. ## Neighbors - #2034 Ontonagon, Michigan — https://libertymoving.org/counties/26131.md - #1721 Baraga, Michigan — https://libertymoving.org/counties/26013.md - #1466 Keweenaw, Michigan — https://libertymoving.org/counties/26083.md - #2261 Iron, Michigan — https://libertymoving.org/counties/26071.md ## Links - Page: https://libertymoving.org/counties/26061 - Compare: https://libertymoving.org/compare?a=26061 - Methodology: https://libertymoving.org/methodology - Sources and terms: https://libertymoving.org/privacy