Midland, Midland County, Michigan
Midland is a Michigan city in Midland County, home to about 43,000 people.
Midland is a company town in the truest sense, built up around the Dow Chemical Company that Herbert Dow founded here in 1897 by pulling chemicals out of the salty brine deep underground. Dow money and Dow taste shaped much of the city: Herbert's son Alden, who studied under Frank Lloyd Wright, designed homes, churches, schools, and his own striking Home and Studio, now a National Historic Landmark. The family also gave the city Dow Gardens, with its quarter-mile treetop canopy walk, and helped seed the Chippewa Nature Center nearby. It's part of why Midland feels more polished than you'd expect for a city its size.
Population
~43,000
Type
city
Home tax rate
39.5–43.6 mills
School districts
2
What would you like to know?
Explore Midland
What it's like — the place, local stories, and what's worth knowing about the community.
Get to know it →Moving or buying here?
The property-tax pop-up, the homebuyer calculator, school-district rates, and the local rules to check.
See the practical stuff →Get to know it
About Midland
The city's symbol is the Tridge, a three-legged wooden footbridge that crosses the spot where the Chippewa and Tittabawassee rivers meet downtown, and the start of the Pere Marquette Rail Trail. That confluence is also why flooding matters here. The Tittabawassee rises fast, and in May 2020 two upstream dams failed and put much of downtown under water. Most of the city is high and dry, but if you're buying near the rivers or in a low spot, check the flood maps first.
Below the Dow plant, the Tittabawassee floodplain was the site of a long dioxin cleanup overseen by the EPA and the state, with river work wrapping up in 2024. Near the river, ask whether a property sits in the floodplain and whether soil cleanup was done, and note the state's advisories on eating fish and game from the water. On taxes, Michigan sends two bills a year, summer and winter. The notes below have the full picture.
More about Midland
Porch Note
Dow's town
Midland grew with Dow Chemical, and the Dow family shaped much of the city's architecture, culture, and civic polish.
Read this note →Porch Note
Dow Gardens and the treetop walk
Dow Gardens and Whiting Forest give Midland a public garden, historic home, and nationally noted treetop canopy walk.
Read this note →Porch Note
The Tridge
Midland's three-legged Tridge crosses the Chippewa and Tittabawassee confluence and anchors downtown trails, parks, and markets.
Read this note →Porch Note
Styrofoam Was Invented in Midland (and What You Call 'Styrofoam' Probably Isn't)
Dow invented Styrofoam in Midland in 1941 — and here's the twist: the foam cups and coolers you call 'styrofoam' aren't actually Styrofoam at all.
Read this note →Porch Note
One of the country's biggest nature centers
Chippewa Nature Center in Homer Township offers more than 1,500 acres of trails, rivers, exhibits, and homestead programs.
Read this note →The practical stuff
Moving or buying in Midland
The seller's tax bill may not be your tax bill.
2025 property-tax snapshot
- Primary home (PRE)
- 39.4808 mills - 43.5792 mills
- Other property / non-homestead
- 57.0792 mills - 61.5792 mills
- School districts available
- 2 in Midland
One mill means $1 per $1,000 of Taxable Value. Rate rows come from the official 2025 Michigan Treasury report. Last reviewed June 8, 2026.
What these local words mean
- Primary home (PRE)
- A home you own and live in as your main home. PRE stands for Principal Residence Exemption and can lower the school operating tax.
- Non-homestead
- Property that is not treated as the owner's main home, such as a rental, vacation home, or second home.
- Assessor
- The local office that estimates and records property values and exemptions.
- Treasurer
- The local office that collects property tax payments and can confirm bill timing.
Michigan homebuyer tax calculator
See the tax bill after you buy.
Where is the house?
Pick the county, city or township, and school district. We use the official 2025 tax rates published by Michigan Treasury.
Not sure of the school district? Check the property listing. It is usually under "Schools."
Need to double-check the exact parcel? Use the official state estimator at treas-secure.state.mi.us/ptestimator or call the local treasurer. Rates can change across city, township, village, and school district lines, so the exact parcel matters.
What buyers in Midland should know
Michigan property taxes start with Taxable Value, not the price you paid for the home. Local millage rates are applied to that number.
While the same owner keeps the home, Proposal A caps how much Taxable Value can rise each year. When the home sells, that cap usually comes off. This is called uncapping.
After uncapping, the buyer's Taxable Value usually moves closer to State Equalized Value, or SEV. SEV is often about half of the home's market value.
Bottom line: a longtime owner may have been taxed on an older, capped number. After you buy, the taxable number may reset higher, and your first full-year tax bill may be much higher than the seller's.
In Midland, your rate can vary by parcel. The school district tied to the property matters, and 2 school districts cover Midland.
For a primary home with PRE, Michigan's main-home exemption, rates currently run about 39.5 to 43.6 mills. Without PRE, non-homestead rates run about 57.1 to 61.6 mills. The calculator uses the exact local rates.
If this will be your main home, make sure the Principal Residence Exemption, or PRE, is handled with the local assessor. PRE is Michigan's main-home property tax exemption. It can remove up to 18 school operating mills. Rentals, vacation homes, and second homes usually use the non-homestead rate instead.
School districts in this area
Bullock Creek School
Primary home (PRE) 43.5792 mills · non-homestead 61.5792 mills
Midland Public School
Primary home (PRE) 39.4808 mills · non-homestead 57.0792 mills
Local rules and costs to check
Note-sized practical catches tied to Midland: taxes, property rules, permits, local costs, or other things worth checking before you decide.
Porch Note
Midland's three rivers, and when to check the flood maps
Midland sits at a river confluence where flood maps and flood insurance can matter for buyers near low ground.
Read this note →Porch Note
The Tittabawassee floodplain and a long cleanup
Downstream of Dow's Midland plant, buyers near the Tittabawassee River floodplain should know about dioxin cleanup records and advisories.
Read this note →Porch Note
In Michigan, you get two property-tax bills a year — not one
Most Michigan property owners get separate summer and winter tax bills, with local rules deciding what lands on each bill.
Read this note →Nearby places
Other Michigan Porch pages in Midland County — handy when you're comparing local tax rates, school districts, or nearby communities.
Next steps
What to check next for Midland
Get oriented here, then choose the next practical guide, calculator, or nearby place.
County
Open Midland County
See the county page for other cities, townships, villages, local notes, and the county-wide tax snapshot.
Open county page →Calculator
Run a buyer tax estimate
Use the Michigan homebuyer tax calculator if you want to compare a different place or school district.
Open calculator →Tax break
Understand PRE
Learn who qualifies for the primary-home tax break and how the deadlines work.
Read PRE guide →Questions buyers ask
Is this an exact number? +
No. It is a strong estimate based on Michigan's published 2025 tax rates for your area. Your actual bill depends on what the local assessor decides your home is worth, called the SEV. Use this to plan your budget, not to lock in an exact figure.
When will my higher tax kick in? +
The first calendar year after you close. Close in June 2026, and the seller's tax bill usually comes through for 2026. Your new popped-up bill arrives in 2027.
What's PRE? +
PRE is Michigan's primary-home tax break. If you own the home and live there as your main home, it can remove up to 18 mills of local school operating tax from the bill. Rentals, vacation homes, and second homes do not get it. File Form 2368 with the local assessor by June 1 for the summer bill or November 1 for the winter bill.
What are mills? +
Mills are the tax rate. One mill means $1 of tax for every $1,000 of Taxable Value. A 40-mill rate means about $40 per $1,000 of Taxable Value. Different areas have different rates because county, city or township, school, library, public safety, parks, and other local taxes are stacked together.
What's the inflation multiplier? +
It is the yearly number Michigan uses to cap Taxable Value increases while the same owner keeps the home. Think of it as the speed limit for Taxable Value. For the 2026 tax year, the multiplier is 1.027, or 2.7%. When a home sells, that cap usually resets.
Are there ways to avoid the pop-up? +
A few, mostly family transfers. Parent to child, spouse to spouse, sibling to sibling, and some grandparent transfers may avoid the reset if the home stays residential. For family transfers, talk to a Michigan real estate attorney.
Why is my number different from the tax history on a listing? +
Most tax history pages show what the current owner paid. That is often based on a protected, lower taxable value. This calculator estimates what your taxable value becomes after Michigan's uncapping rule.
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