No city income tax in Grand Traverse County

Good news for anyone moving to the Traverse City area: Traverse City — the county’s only city — does not levy a local income tax. Most Michigan cities don’t; only about two dozen do, mostly larger or more industrial places like Detroit, Grand Rapids, and Lansing. Up here, local government runs on property taxes instead of a paycheck tax.

So wherever you settle — Traverse City, the villages of Kingsley or Fife Lake, or any of the townships — you’ll file your federal and Michigan income taxes but won’t owe a separate city income tax. When you’re comparing the cost of living against a place that does have one, that’s a real difference, though for most households property tax rates and home prices matter much more.