Gaylord has no city income tax

Good news for anyone moving to Gaylord: the city does not levy a local income tax. Most Michigan cities don’t — only about two dozen do (places like Detroit, Grand Rapids, Lansing, and, closer by, Grayling). In Gaylord and everywhere else in Otsego County, the taxes that pay for local government come from property taxes, not a paycheck tax.

That means if you live or work in Gaylord, you’ll file federal and Michigan income taxes, but there’s no separate city return to worry about. When you’re comparing the cost of living here against a city that does have an income tax, that’s a real difference worth factoring in — though property tax rates and home prices matter more for most budgets.