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Muskegon County, Michigan

Mortgage Broker in Muskegon, MI

A Muskegon address can sit in the city, Muskegon Township, Egelston Township or Norton Shores, and only the city adds a 1% income tax. Samantha shops your loan across multiple wholesale lenders, then confirms the parcel, its school code and any tax certificate before you set a price.

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What should you know before buying a home in Muskegon?

Muskegon, a city in Muskegon County, is home to about 37,226 residents in the Census Bureau's 2020 to 2024 American Community Survey (38,318 in the 2020 census) across about 14 square miles of land. The City of Muskegon is a separate unit of government from Muskegon Township: the two share ZIP codes, but each is assessed and taxed separately, so a Muskegon mailing address alone does not say which one taxes the home. Downtown Grand Rapids is about 35 miles southeast in a straight line.

By the numbers

What do the numbers say about Muskegon housing?

Values move. Treat these as orientation and let us pull current figures for the address you are considering.

$142,000

Typical home value, from the market research on this page

+87%

Typical rise in taxable value the year after a home sells, 2026 Uncapping Study

4

Residential ZIP codes: 49442, 49441, 49440, 49444

What does financing look like in Muskegon?

Redfin's Muskegon numbers put the median sale near $188,000 for July through September 2026, almost exactly where it was a year earlier, with a typical listing going under contract in about 22 days, down from 27. That label follows the Muskegon mailing name, so it also counts sales in Muskegon Township, Egelston Township and Fruitport Township. Redfin's 49442 median, a ZIP code the city shares with those two townships, was about $193,000. The Census owner estimate for the city alone is lower, near $142,300, because it reflects what owners think the house they live in is worth, averaged over 2020 to 2024. A loan on a house at any of those prices sits well under the 2026 conforming limit of $832,750 and the Muskegon County FHA ceiling of $541,287, which leaves every common loan type available: conventional, FHA and VA.

What shapes a city loan is usually the house itself. About a third of Muskegon's homes were built before 1940, so an appraiser's repair list is common, and an FHA 203(k) or a conventional renovation loan can fold that work into the mortgage. Two to four unit buildings are a real share of the stock, and a buyer who lives in one unit can finance it as a home, but the city's rental certificate stays with the seller, so the units you rent need their own registration and inspection. A new or rehabilitated house inside one of the city's Neighborhood Enterprise Zone districts may carry a certificate that lowers its tax until the certificate ends. We build the escrow from the right tax figure, with the summer bill due September 14 and the winter bill due February 14, and we count the city's 1% income tax in your monthly budget.

Buying your first home? MSHDA's MI 10K puts $10,000 toward the down payment as a second loan that comes due at a sale, a refinance, a payoff or a move out of the home. It rides on a MI Home Loan, which sets household income limits and caps the purchase price at $566,355. The Census upper quartile for Muskegon owner values is about $188,500, so most city houses sit comfortably under that cap.

1800 Marquette Avenue and 2700 Marquette Avenue share the 49442 ZIP code and the Orchard View school district, but the first sits inside the City of Muskegon and pays its 1% income tax, while the second is in Muskegon Township.

The market

What is the Muskegon housing market like?

The Census Bureau's American Community Survey puts the median owner-occupied home value in Muskegon near $142,300, across about 7,435 owner-occupied homes, with a median year built of 1951. The typical home value in Muskegon is near $142,000. Homeowners pay a median of about $1,468 a year in property taxes, an effective rate of about 1.03% of the median value.

Mailing address and city line

Muskegon by ZIP code

The city sits inside four residential ZIP codes, and three of them reach well past its borders. Shares below are homes in the 2020 Census block count.

49442: the east side

About 7,850 city homes, nearly half the city, from Jackson Hill and Marquette to Marsh Field. The city holds about 45% of the ZIP code's homes, Muskegon Township about 32% and Egelston Township about 23%.

49441: the west side

About 7,270 city homes, from Nims and Lakeside to Beachwood-Bluffton, Glenside and Campbell Field. Norton Shores and Roosevelt Park share the ZIP code, and the city holds about 42% of its homes.

49440: downtown

About 900 homes, all inside the city, in the downtown blocks of the Nelson neighborhood along Shoreline Drive and Terrace Street.

49444: a sliver

About 170 city homes at the southeast edge near Getty Street. Most of this ZIP code belongs to Muskegon Heights, Fruitport Township and Norton Shores, so check the parcel.

Where to look

Which neighborhoods make up Muskegon?

Beachwood-Bluffton

The western tip of the city, where Muskegon Lake, the channel and Lake Michigan meet, with Pere Marquette Park, Kruse Park and Lake Michigan Park, and Bluff Street, Edgewater Street, Beach Street and the Harbour Towne circles inside it. It is one Census tract, and owners occupy 552 of its 585 occupied homes. The owner median is near $361,700, the highest of any tract in the city, with homes typically built in 1969. It is also the one short-term rental zone the city lists as full, with a waitlist.

Lakeside

The Lakeshore Drive corridor from Addison Street west toward the Muskegon Country Club, between Sherman Boulevard and Muskegon Lake, with its own small shopping district and the restored Grand Trunk car ferry dock on the bike path. Mostly detached houses on streets such as Morton Avenue, Crozier Avenue and Harrison Avenue. The tract's owner median is near $164,500 with a tight margin, and the typical house dates from 1946.

Glenside and McGraft Park

Oak-shaded streets platted in 1923 as a Muskegon Township subdivision and later joined to the city, along Glenside Boulevard, Wildwood Lane, Glen Avenue and Ridge Avenue, around McGraft Park and its community building on Wickham Street. The main block group's owners put the median near $177,800, the typical home was built in 1949, and about two thirds of its occupied homes are owner-occupied.

Campbell Field

West of Business US-31, where the city meets Muskegon Heights and Roosevelt Park, around the Campbell Field playground, Muskegon Catholic Central High School and Young Avenue, Barclay Street and West Hackley Avenue. The block group along Young Avenue has an owner median near $161,700 with a wide margin and homes typically from 1955. The tract's western block group holds about 390 homes in buildings of five or more units.

Nims

Older houses on the Muskegon Lake side just west of downtown, from Lakeshore Drive and Webster Avenue south past Grand and Southern avenues to Laketon Avenue, near Nims School, Lakeshore Yacht Harbor and Hartshorn Municipal Marina. At least half of the tract's homes predate 1940, and its owner median is near $135,200. The block group along McGraft Street and Ruddiman Street runs higher, near $162,500, with houses typically from 1950.

Nelson and downtown

The neighborhood that holds the whole downtown, from Muskegon Lake south to Laketon Avenue between Seaway Drive and Terrace Street, with City Hall, the Hackley Public Library, the Frauenthal Center and Hackley Park. Along Shoreline Drive and Terrace Point Drive, about 490 of the 850 homes in one block group are in buildings of five or more units, and its owner median, near $169,300, carries a wide margin. South of Muskegon Avenue, the block group on Jefferson Street and Sanford Street has an owner median near $162,800, with the typical house older than 1940.

Jackson Hill

The city's northern edge between Muskegon Lake, Ryerson Creek and Getty Street, home to Fisherman's Landing and Richards Park, with streets such as Ottawa Street, Jackson Avenue, Sumner Avenue and Erickson Street. Owners hold about 269 of its 374 occupied homes, the typical one built before 1940, and the owner median sits near $151,100 with a wide margin.

McLaughlin

South and east of downtown along Peck Street, Terrace Street, Spring Street and Pine Street, between Apple Avenue and the blocks below Isabella Avenue, with Hackley Hospital at its southern edge. Part of it lies in one of the city's historic districts, with preserved Victorian houses beside two-family and apartment buildings. Its two block groups carry owner medians near $183,900, with a wide margin, and $123,300, with typical build years of 1946 and before 1940.

Marsh Field

The southern edge of the city between Peck Street and Wood Street, from Laketon Avenue down through Dale, Larch and Holbrook avenues to Keating Avenue, with the Marsh Field playground, Moon School and the walking trail on the north side of Laketon. Owner medians across its four block groups run from about $79,100 to $165,300, two of them with wide margins, and typical build years range from before 1940 to 1962.

Angell

The middle of the east side, bounded by Ryerson Creek, Wood Street, Apple and Forest avenues and Getty Street, on streets such as Orchard Avenue, Kenneth Street, Ada Avenue and Catawba Avenue. Detached houses make up most of the tract, typically from before 1940, and owners and renters are close to evenly split. The two block groups with published values put the owner median near $81,400 and $69,300, both with wide margins.

Oakview, Sheldon Park and Steele

Three neighborhoods east of Getty Street, running from Steele north of Apple Avenue through Sheldon Park to Oakview between Evanston and Laketon avenues, with Creston Street and US-31 on the east. Nearly every home is a detached house, 1,918 of 1,996 in the tract, typically from 1950, and owners hold about 1,090 of the 1,746 occupied homes. Block group owner medians run from about $65,700 to $141,400.

Marquette

The northeast corner between Getty Street and US-31, north of Ryerson Creek, along Marquette Avenue, Wesley Avenue and Ducey Avenue, with Marquette School on Bennett Street. The tract mixes houses with apartment complexes off Harvey Street, Glen Oaks Drive and Village Drive, so renters hold most homes. The owner median is near $152,300 and the typical home was built in 1973. About 120 homes at its east end, near Harvey Street, are in Orchard View Schools.

During the inspection period

Before you make an offer on a Muskegon house

Seven checks that are easier during the inspection period than after closing.

  • The unit on the parcel. The word Muskegon on an envelope fits the city and several neighbors alike, and only the city adds the 1% income tax. Muskegon County's Equalization Department, which handles the city's assessing, can confirm the unit and the school code.
  • Rental plans. Every rental unit in the city is registered and inspected under the rental property program, and a seller's certificate does not pass to you. Short-term rentals also need a spot in one of eleven zones, and Beachwood-Bluffton's is waitlisted.
  • Historic district rules. The city has nine historic districts. Taxes there are the same as elsewhere, but the Historic District Commission reviews new construction, demolition and major exterior changes, so plan any porch, window or siding work with that review in mind.
  • A tax certificate on a newer house. A new or rebuilt house may carry a Neighborhood Enterprise Zone certificate. The city's tax incentives page posts the NEZ district map and the transfer form a buyer files with a warranty deed and a principal residence exemption affidavit.
  • Water and sewer. The city's Water and Sewer Department keeps 193 miles of water main and 175 miles of sanitary sewer and takes calls at 231-724-4100. Call with the address to confirm the house is on both.
  • Building on a vacant lot. The city sells its own vacant residential lots under a policy the City Commission approved October 14, 2025. The Planning Department at 231-724-6702 has the list and the application steps.
  • Tax bills and the exemption. Summer bills go out July 1 and are due September 14, and winter bills go out December 1 and are due February 14, per the City Treasurer. File the principal residence exemption with Michigan Treasury after closing so the 18-mill school operating tax comes off.

Schools and commute

Schools

The Muskegon Public Schools district covers almost the whole city: in the 2020 Census block count it held 16,056 of the city's 16,184 homes, all but about 1 in 125, and about 81% of its land, with Muskegon High School in the Nelson neighborhood downtown. The district's line follows the city's in most places but not all. Orchard View Schools takes about 120 homes at the northeast end around Marquette Avenue and Harvey Street, plus much of the industrial land east of US-31, about 13% of the city's land in all. Reeths-Puffer Schools covers about 5% of the land, with almost no homes. Michigan Treasury's 2025 homestead totals for the city are 42.80 mills in the Muskegon Public Schools part, 43.39 in the Orchard View part and 43.11 in the Reeths-Puffer part, so the district choice moves a bill by about $60 a year on $100,000 of taxable value. The parcel record shows the school code, and it is the line that counts, not the name on the nearest school.

Commute

Business US-31 is the city's spine, running as Seaway Drive from the south and Shoreline Drive along the lakefront downtown, and US-31 itself passes the east side, where M-46 follows Apple Avenue inland, and M-120 crosses the causeway toward North Muskegon. I-96 begins south of town near the airport and runs to Grand Rapids. From City Hall at 933 Terrace Street, free-flow routing puts Trinity Health Muskegon's hospital on East Sherman Boulevard about 4 miles away (8 minutes), the shopping strip around the Lakes Mall in Fruitport Township about 8.5 miles (14), Muskegon County Airport about 9.5 miles (16), Grand Haven City Hall about 14 miles (20), GVSU in Allendale about 33 miles (44), Grand Rapids City Hall about 41 miles (49) and Gerald R. Ford International Airport about 55 miles (66). The city's 2025 financial report ranks Mercy General Health Partners, the Trinity Health system, first among local employers with about 3,540 workers, followed by Muskegon County, the State of Michigan, Muskegon Public Schools, GE Aviation and ADAC Automotive. Living in the city means its 1% income tax on all earnings, and working there without living there means 0.5% on those wages. The typical one-way trip to work takes about 21 minutes in Census estimates, and roughly 6% of city workers work from home.

Day to day

Living in Muskegon

Parks, errands, events, seasonal tasks and the kinds of homes you will see, from the city park directory, the Hackley Public Library, the city Treasurer's tax page, the recycling program page, the Lakeshore Museum Center history page and the other sources named in each card.

What is there to do around Muskegon?

The city park directory lists Pere Marquette Charter Park, Hackley Charter Park, Margaret Drake Elliott Charter Park, Harbour Towne Beach Charter, Fisherman's Landing, Hartshorn Marina, a dog park, a splash pad and the Muskegon Lakeshore Trail, and the city counts more than 30 parks and lake access points. The Lakeshore Museum Center's sites include its natural and cultural history museum, the Hackley and Hume Historic Site and the Fire Barn Museum.

Where do people run errands?

Hackley Public Library publishes a calendar of programs, and its November 2026 listings include Tech Time with Jim on November 12 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and Preschool Story Time at 10:30 a.m. The city's Public Works office at 1350 E. Keating Ave. handles water and sewer questions Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 231 724 4100. Recycling and trash service comes through the city's contract with Republic Services.

What happens here through the year?

The city partners with its neighborhood associations on 28 Dumpster Day events each year, 14 in spring and 14 in fall, and posts a 2026 schedule flyer. The city's neighborhoods page lists 15 neighborhoods, each with an association page showing meetings and projects, and the associations come together monthly as the Neighborhood Associations of Muskegon. The city events calendar lists meetings and events month by month, with 35 entries for November 2026.

What does each season mean for a homeowner?

Summer property tax bills are issued July 1 and are due September 14. Winter bills are issued December 1 and are due February 14. From December 1 to March 1 the city enforces winter street parking rules, with the odd and even side rule from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on neighborhood streets. Sidewalks must be cleared within 24 hours after a snowstorm ends. Curbside recycling is opt in, with pickup once every four weeks.

Which kind of home are you after?

Census figures for the city (American Community Survey, 2020 to 2024) count 16,245 homes. Of those, 10,828 are detached houses and 442 are attached houses. Buildings of 2 units number 935 and buildings of 3 or 4 units 860. Larger buildings run from 314 homes in 5 to 9 unit buildings to 1,202 in buildings of 50 or more units. Condo and association homes bring a lender review of the association, while detached houses come with a city tax bill on the dates above.

Michigan property taxes

What will my property taxes be after I buy in Muskegon?

The year after a Michigan home sells, its taxable value resets to half of the assessor's market value, so the seller's tax bill is not your tax bill.

In the City of Muskegon, our 2026 Uncapping Study found taxable value typically rises about 87% the year after a sale. On a $140,000 home, near the typical Muskegon value, the first-year tax goes up roughly $1,390 at the Muskegon schools rate. We build your payment on that post-sale number.

Looking at a Muskegon address? Our Michigan property tax calculator finds that property's published 2025 millage and works out the tax to plan for after you buy.

In Samantha's words

County alone does not tell you much. We would never say you are in a particular county so here are your taxes. It does not work like that. We need the actual property.

2025 homestead rates

What a Muskegon bill is made of

Treasury's 2025 total for the Muskegon Public Schools part of the city is 42.80 mills, split here using Muskegon County's 2025 apportionment report. Each mill is $100 a year on $100,000 of taxable value.

City of Muskegon: 12.26 mills

9.39 mills of charter operating tax plus 2.87 voted, separate from the 1% resident income tax.

Schools and the library: 21.54 mills

The 6-mill state education tax, Muskegon Public Schools' 8.44 mills for debt and building, the Muskegon Area intermediate district's 4.59 and the Hackley District Library's 2.51.

County and college: 8.99 mills

Muskegon County levies 6.66 mills and Muskegon Community College 2.33.

Not your main home: add 18 mills

A rental or second home pays the school operating tax a principal residence skips, for a 2025 total of 60.80 mills in the Muskegon Public Schools part.

How neighbors compare

2025 homestead totals: North Muskegon 43.10 mills, Muskegon Heights 43.53, Roosevelt Park 45.79 and the Muskegon Public Schools part of Muskegon Township 39.28, none with a city income tax except Muskegon Heights.

A newer house may pay less

A house under a Neighborhood Enterprise Zone certificate pays a reduced tax on the building until the certificate ends. Ask the seller for its number and plan for the full rate after it expires.

Local resources

Check Muskegon records yourself

The official offices behind the tax and school details on this page.

What our clients say

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Muskegon mortgage questions

If yours is not here, ask it on the call. There are no dumb questions.

The listing says Muskegon. Is the house inside the city?

Not necessarily. The city holds about 45% of the homes in the 49442 ZIP code, with Muskegon Township and Egelston Township holding the rest, and about 42% of the homes in 49441, which it shares with Norton Shores and Roosevelt Park, by the 2020 Census block count. Only the small downtown ZIP code, 49440, lies wholly inside the city. The Census geocoder places 1800 Marquette Avenue in the city and 2700 Marquette Avenue, same ZIP code, in Muskegon Township. The parcel record decides which taxes apply, including the city income tax.

In nearly every case it is Muskegon Public Schools, the district for all but about 1 in 125 city homes. About 120 homes at the northeast end near Harvey Street are in Orchard View Schools, and Reeths-Puffer has a small, nearly empty strip. Treasury’s 2025 homestead totals are 42.80, 43.39 and 43.11 mills, so the gap is small. Check the school code on the parcel record or the tax bill.

The city’s assessing is done by the Muskegon County Equalization Department, whose director, Donna VanderVries, is named on the county’s assessor list for the city (231-724-6386). Assessment notices arrive in February, and appointments for the March Board of Review go through the department at 231-724-6928. Property tax bills and payments are handled by the City Treasurer in Room 101 of City Hall, 231-724-6720.

Yes. The city levies an income tax of 1% on residents’ earnings, including wages earned outside the city, and 0.5% on what nonresidents earn working there. Social Security and most traditional pensions are not taxed. If your employer is outside the city and does not withhold it, the city expects quarterly estimated payments once you expect $10,000 or more of taxable income. Muskegon Township, Egelston Township and Norton Shores, which share Muskegon ZIP codes, have no income tax.

It is a state certificate the city can approve for a new or rehabilitated house inside its NEZ districts. On a new house used as a principal residence, the building, not the land, is taxed at half of the state’s average homestead rate, which steps up near the end of the certificate. It does not carry over by itself: the buyer files a transfer application with the city, with a warranty deed and a principal residence exemption affidavit, and the State Tax Commission issues it. Ask the seller for the certificate number before you write the offer, so we can estimate the tax you will actually pay.

Yes, after you register it and it passes a city inspection. The certificate does not transfer, so a new owner always opens a new one. A house with no violations gets a six-year certificate, and a yearly registration fee starts at $100 for a single-family home. A rental of more than 24 hours and less than 28 days needs short-term rental registration, at $500 a year for a house, inside one of the city’s eleven rental zones. Beachwood-Bluffton is full and runs a waitlist, and the other zones are open.

Lenders require it on a federally backed mortgage when the house sits in one of FEMA’s high-risk zones, so pull up the address on the flood map before you write an offer. Muskegon County’s current countywide maps took effect October 7, 2021. If the house is in a mapped zone, ask the seller for any elevation certificate, since it can affect the premium.

Redfin’s Muskegon median was about $188,000 for July through September 2026, roughly level with a year earlier, and listings typically went under contract in about 22 days. That figure counts every Muskegon mailing address, township sales included. The Census owner estimate for the city alone is near $142,300, and it varies widely by neighborhood, from about $65,700 in one east side block group to about $361,700 in Beachwood-Bluffton.

Talk with a local mortgage expert

Tell Samantha what you are trying to do in Muskegon and she will tell you what actually matters for your situation, including whether the timing is right.

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    Tell us what you are trying to do

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    Samantha looks at your situation

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Sources

Where do the Muskegon figures on this page come from?

40 sources behind the Muskegon figures above, every link checked November 2026.

Align Lending LLC, NMLS #2041154. Samantha Shelton, NMLS 1647301. Equal Housing Opportunity. Licensed in Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina, Florida, Louisiana and Texas. Figures on this page are market research for orientation, not a quote. This page is for educational purposes only. It is not a credit decision, a preapproval, a commitment to lend, or an offer of credit.

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