Kalkaska, Michigan
What Kalkaska is made of: the communities whose institutions are here, the sectors its 587 businesses sit in, the franchises already on the ground, and the services a newcomer could start.
587 businesses on file · 85 trades · 31 sectors · census population 2,370 · registry population 2,132 · built from geonet.traversebay on 2026-10-07
The two disagree: the registry says 2,132 and the 2021 census counted 2,370 for the municipality. The registry figure is often a metropolitan population. Both are shown; neither is corrected into the other.
Visiting rather than moving? The free guidebook for Kalkaska → — the free guidebook for this region: why go, what to see, what is open when it rains.
The local economy
What the business base is made of, what it is specialised in against the national pattern, and what that mix implies. This is the part a development office would read first.
Composition, not health. geonet records what trades exist and where; it does not record formation, closure, employment or revenue, so none of those appear here. What makes this economics rather than a directory is the NAICS coding: it lets the local mix be read against the BLS survival curves and against the 323 industry groups this research has screened.
Every industry group on this page links through to its NAICS page, and to the screened market report where this research has one — that is what the trait-to-NAICS coding buys.
What this city is specialised in
Location quotient is this city's share of a trade divided by the same share across 10 US metro tables. Above 1.25 is the conventional threshold for a local specialisation.
Thin against the national pattern
Common trades that are under-represented here. For someone deciding what to open, this is the more useful half of the table — though a gap can mean unmet demand or a market that does not work here, and this does not tell you which.
The base against the entry screen
Businesses by the entry signal of the industry group they sit in, from the /markets screen. A large "structure decides" share means most local trades are ones where being better than the incumbent does not by itself win. A trade is matched to the screened record at whatever level the research wrote it — the same code, a broader one, or a narrower one. Where a group holds several screened sub-markets the count is shown, because no single one of them speaks for the whole group.
How to read the survival figure
Each sector's five-year establishment survival rate, weighted by how many of this city's businesses sit in that sector. It is a property of the MIX, not of these businesses — it says what survival this composition would imply at US private-sector rates, because no Canadian equivalent series exists.
Weighted over 89.2% of the coded base — public administration carries no curve. Source: Business Employment Dynamics — Table 7, Survival of private sector establishments by opening year, US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
And what it does not measure
A "mixed" trait is one that genuinely spans codes — "computers" covers systems design, repair and supply. The clear share is how much of this reading rests on unambiguous coding. Business density also reflects how completely the directory covers a place, not only how many businesses are in it — so it compares poorly between a city the register knows well and one it does not.
Who lives here, and who the city is for
The census: the only figures on this page that count people rather than businesses, and the three cohort readings they make possible.
The register says what trades exist. The census says who lives here — and it is the only thing on this page that counts people. Figures are American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates for Kalkaska village, Michigan, the incorporated place, which is the city proper, and every comparison is against the United States as a whole, from the same ACS tables.
Detailed language is not published for American places. B16001, the table with individual languages, has no place-level rows; C16001 is what exists, and it names six languages and groups the rest into families. A Canadian city on this site names about forty.
Who the city is for
Three readings, each built from real numbers against real benchmarks. This is not an index. Every signal is shown with its own value, its benchmark and which way it points, and the band simply counts how many point the same way — so a reader who disagrees with one signal can drop it and still use the rest.
Seniors
strongIs this a place to grow old, and is the care here?
| Residents 65 and over | 19.3% | ▲16.8% |
| Residents 85 and overthe group that needs care rather than the group that is merely retired | 5.6% | ▲1.9% |
| Median age | 40.1 years | –38.7 years |
| Poverty ratethe US poverty threshold — a different definition from the Canadian pages, and not comparable to them | 20.2% | ▼12.4% |
| Medical clinics per 1,000 residentsfrom the business register | 0 | – |
| Pharmacies per 1,000 residentsfrom the business register | 1.69 | – |
| Median rent | 644 $/mo | ▲1348 $/mo |
A high share of over-65s says other people made this choice; it does not say the care exists. The register has no category for a hospital at all, so distance to an emergency department is still missing.
Students and young adults
strongIs there a reason to be here between 19 and 25, and can they afford it?
| Residents 20 to 24 | 4.1% | ▼6.5% |
| Residents 15 to 19the cohort arriving next | 7.4% | ▲6.5% |
| Renter householdsa rental market is what makes a place possible to move to | 39.9% | ▲35% |
| Median rent | 644 $/mo | ▲1348 $/mo |
| Unemployment rate | 4.6% | ▲5.2% |
| Degree holders in the adult population | 18.5% | ▼35% |
| Drinking places and recreationfrom the register | 5 | – |
Post-secondary institutions in the city are listed further down this page; where there are none, a high 20-to-24 share usually means work rather than study.
Newcomers and other-language speakers
moderateIs there already a community here, and has anyone built anything for it?
| Foreign-born residents | 2.4% | ▼13.9% |
| Arrived 2010 or laterthe band the ACS publishes; the Canadian pages use 2016 to 2021, so the two are not comparable | 62.6% | ▲29.4% |
| Speak a language other than English at home | 6.2% | – |
| Language groups above the reporting floor | 1 | – |
| Median household income | 42955 $ | ▼78538 $ |
The American census does not publish individual languages for a city — only the eleven groups below, six of which are single languages. A Canadian city on this site names about forty, so the two sections are not the same depth and should not be read as if they were.
What is spoken at home, and whether anyone built for it
The register-versus-census cross-check on the Canadian pages is not possible here: the ACS publishes language in groups, so "Other Indo-European languages" cannot be matched against an institution that names a community.
| Spoken most often at home | Speakers | Share | Community in the register | Institutions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spanish | 146 | 6.2% | not mapped to a marker | 0 |
The rest of the profile
| Characteristic | Here | Canada |
|---|---|---|
| Residents 65 and over | 19.3% | 16.8% |
| Residents 85 and over | 5.6% | 1.9% |
| Residents 20 to 24 | 4.1% | 6.5% |
| Arrived 2016 to 2021 | 62.6% | 29.4% |
| Non-permanent residents | — | — |
| Speak a non-official language at home | 6.2% | — |
| Renter households | 39.9% | 35% |
| Spending 30% or more on shelter | — | — |
| Participation rate | 51.1% | 63.5% |
| Unemployment rate | 4.6% | 5.2% |
| Median household income, 2020 | 42955 $ | — |
| Median after-tax household income, 2020 | — | — |
| Prevalence of low income (LIM-AT) | 20.2% | — |
| Bachelor degree or higher | 18.5% | — |
The one thing to keep in mind
Five-year estimates pooled over 2019–2023, so a figure is an average of the period rather than a single year, and every value carries a margin of error this extract does not keep. Unlike the Canadian census, which counts everyone, the ACS is a sample — a small place's figures are correspondingly uncertain. ACS five-year estimate for the incorporated place, which is the city proper. It will differ from the figure in wander.regions, which is sometimes a metropolitan population.
Source: American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates — Table-based summary file, 2023, United States Census Bureau, under the US federal government work, public domain. National comparison: The United States row of the same ACS tables, not an average of places — roughly a third of Americans live outside any incorporated place, so summing places would understate the country.
The communities the register shows
A community appears in the business register before it appears in prose — a national church, a society, a credit union, a newspaper. Those are counted as institutions, and they are what suggests residents. A restaurant serving a cuisine is counted separately as trade, because every city has those and they say nothing about who lives nearby. The ranking is by institutions.
No business in this city's register carries a language or origin marker in its name. For a town this size that is the expected result, and it is not evidence that nobody here speaks another language — it means the register has no institution that names one: no national church, no society, no credit union. The census would answer the question this cannot; see what is missing below.
What the city is made of
Every business on file, grouped by the sector it trades in. This is the economic-development view: where the 587 businesses actually are, and the specific trades inside each sector.
| Sector | Businesses | Share | What is in it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business | 48 | 8.2% | government (37) · accounting (5) · association (3) · consulting (2) |
| Construction | 46 | 7.8% | home builder (9) · general contractor (8) · plumbing (5) · painting (5) · electrician (4) · excavating (4) · tiny home (3) · carpet (3) |
| Living | 44 | 7.5% | place of worship (27) · furniture (3) · cleaning (3) · apartment (3) · property management (2) · veterinary (1) · fire safety (1) · laundry (1) |
| Energy | 41 | 7% | petroleum (33) · fuel (4) · pipelines (3) · natural gas (1) |
| Automotive | 23 | 3.9% | autos (15) · auto repair (2) · detailing (1) |
| Finance | 22 | 3.7% | insurance (13) · bank (5) · credit union (2) |
| Construction & Realty | 19 | 3.2% | |
| Dining | 19 | 3.2% | restaurant (13) · pizza (3) · pubs (1) · fast food (1) · diner (1) |
| Beauty | 19 | 3.2% | hair stylist (14) · dentist (3) |
| Health | 18 | 3.1% | chiro (4) · pharmacy (3) · physician (3) · fitness club (1) · optical (1) |
| Logistics | 17 | 2.9% | truck transportation (9) · storage (4) · packaging (2) |
| Education | 16 | 2.7% | school (12) · garden (2) · library (1) |
| Manufacturing | 14 | 2.4% | fabrication (7) · industrial supplier (4) · machinery (2) · salvage (1) |
| Living & Home | 12 | 2% | |
| Realty | 12 | 2% | real estate (12) |
| Retail | 9 | 1.5% | convenience (3) · office equipment (2) · gifts (2) · flowers (1) · pet supply (1) |
| Retail Goods | 8 | 1.4% | |
| Travel | 6 | 1% | motel (4) · travel agent (1) |
| Tech | 5 | 0.9% | computers (3) · telecom (1) · wireless (1) |
| Food | 4 | 0.7% | grocer (3) · baker (1) |
The franchises already here
Brands from a register of 2,024 franchise systems, matched into this city by name. A high count is a signal in both directions: the territory works, and it may be taken.
5 of these brands are a single common word — Metro, Avenue, Budget — so their counts include businesses that merely share the word. They are marked rather than dropped.
| Brand | Category | Here | Worldwide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Boy | food | 1 | — |
| Burger King | fastfood | 1 | 11,000 |
| Curves For Women | fitness | 1 | 10,000 |
| Dollar General | convenience | 1 | 8,205 |
| Econo Lodge | budgethotel | 1 | — |
| Little Caesars Pizza | pizza | 1 | 1,800 |
| Rite Aid | pharmacy | 1 | 5,000 |
| Save-A-Lot | supermarket | 1 | 1,160 |
| Super Wash | auto | 1 | 288 |
| AllState name only | insurance | 1 | — |
| Borders name only | book | 1 | 559 |
| CARQUEST name only | auto | 1 | 3,400 |
| Midas name only | auto | 1 | 1,800 |
| Progressive name only | supermarket | 1 | 150 |
Real estate as a local trade
Four unrelated jobs share the name: selling existing homes, owning and letting them, managing them for someone else, and building new ones. For anyone weighing a move or a licence these are the counts — and the ownership question goes to /property, which answers it building by building.
Real estate is a local job market in its own right, and four unrelated trades get the same name. Counts are businesses filed under each trade in the register, which lists a brokerage once however many agents work there — so this measures firms, not licensees.
Selling homes
5312Offices of agents and brokers — the resale market, and the biggest single trade in most Canadian cities.
Named in the register
- Century 21 — 215 S Cedar St
- Coldwell Banker — 102 Northland Plz
- Coldwell Banker — 10961 M 72 SE
- Coldwell Banker — 2255 Tamara
- Coldwell Banker — 218 S Cedar St
- Cunningham Septic Service — P.O. BOX 714
- Hometown Kalkaska Realty — 204 S Cedar St
- North Woods Land Co — 802 W Bear Lake Rd NE
- Northern Land Co — 830 S Cedar St
- Northland Food and Family Center — 2101 Us Highway 131 N
- Ray Properties — 11565 Piper Cir SE
- Re Max — P.O. BOX 667
Owning and letting
5311Lessors of real estate: the buildings themselves, filed under the building rather than the owner.
Named in the register
- Kalkaska Apartments — 506 N Cedar St
- Sandy Pines Apartments — 748 S Cedar St
- Senior Haven — 2170 N Birch St
Managing for owners
5313Property managers, who run buildings the landlord does not.
Named in the register
- Advancd Qlty6 Chmny Prfssnls — 11123 M 72 SE
- Maintenance Plus — 4820 M 72 SE
Building new homes
2361Residential builders and the general contractors who work for them.
Named in the register
- Above Board Construction — 4000 Island Lake Rd NW
- Beaver Log Homes — 850 S Cedar St
- Beaver Log Homes Mill Site — 3630 Sigma Rd SE
- J and M Enterprises — 256 S Cedar St
- James Nicklyn Construction — 740 M State Hwy 72
- Kalkaska Housing — 109 W Mile Rd
- Lelito Building Contractors — 820 W Mile Rd
- Milestone Construction — 1854 Rosenburg Rd NE
- Mobile Home Estates — P.O. BOX 789
- Pro Builders — 1171 W Seeley
- Quality Construction — 5995 Leetsville Rd NE
- R and P Construction — 320 S Cedar St
- Repair Shop — 788 S Cedar St
- Sawdust Construction — 106 Evergreen St
On "how many doors"
How many doors a landlord holds is not in any of this. The register files an apartment building under the building, not its owner, and carries no unit count; there is no open dataset of Canadian landlords by portfolio. Where this research has established ownership it is in the /property record for the city, building by building, which is a different and much slower exercise.
Work where you go to them
The Ultimate 411 half of local: everything where the customer does not have to come to you.
A shop needs the customer to walk in. These 157 services do the opposite — the mobile mechanic, the mobile groomer, the bookkeeper, the junk haul — and they are the ones a person can start without a lease. 0 of them already match a trait filed in this city's register.
The 157 Service=1 rows in search.local: work where the provider travels to the customer. "present" counts businesses already filed under that exact trait name; a blank is a coverage gap, not proof of absence, because the two vocabularies were built separately.
home services
events
pets
luxury
healthcare
sporting goods
sports
business
outdoors
construction
travel
tools
Schools and colleges
wander.schools is a post-secondary table — universities and colleges. K-12 public and private schools are not in it, and only 7 of its 1,686 rows carry coordinates, so these are listed and not mapped.
In the business register
Where schooling shows up as a business rather than an institution — which is where K-12, tutoring and childcare appear.
Health and care
What a person moving a parent here would ask first. The register files clinics and pharmacies; it has no category for a hospital at all, so hospitals are matched by name and the limit is stated rather than hidden.
Matched on the name "hospital"
- Kalkaska Animal Hospital — 342 S Cedar St
- Kalkaska Memorial Health Center — 401 3rd
- Kalkaska Memorial Health Center — 419 S Coral St
geonet carries no 'hospital' trait, so these are matched on the business name. A distance-to-hospital figure needs a source that states hospital locations.
What this record cannot tell you
Named in full, because the gaps are the part most likely to be misread as an answer.
- Census figures are 2021, taken on 11 May 2021: income is for 2020 and the labour figures were measured mid-pandemic, so the unemployment rate on this page is a 2021 reading rather than a current one.
- wander.schools is now readable, but it holds universities and colleges only and 1,679 of its 1,686 rows have no coordinates. K-12 public and private schools need a separate source — in Ontario the Ministry of Education school finder, in British Columbia the provincial school list. wander.citytowns, hotels and territories remain denied to the ru user.
- No 'hospital' trait exists in geonet; distance to a hospital needs an external source such as StatCan's Open Database of Healthcare Facilities.
- 100.0% of businesses here carry no coordinates, so a map or address lookup would miss them. Postal codes reach 100%.
Built from
geonet.traversebay— the local business registerwander.regions— city name, population, metrosearch.local— trait vocabulary and the come-to-you servicessearch.cozfranchises— 2,024 franchise brands