Lowell sits where the Flat River meets the Grand, east of Grand Rapids, with a Main Street downtown and a riverfront tradition unlike any other in the area. Since the depths of the Great Depression, the town has staged a summer variety show on a riverboat moored on the Flat River. The first Lowell Showboat drew thousands in 1932, and over the years it hosted acts from Louis Armstrong to Milton Berle. Its story carries a hard chapter too, in the blackface minstrel acts of its early decades, a past the town no longer hides; the boat retired in 2020 and the new one simply goes by the Lowell Showboat.
At a glance
State millage data currently shows about 44 mills for a primary home. One school district appears in the rate data, but parcel tax districts and PRE status still decide the final bill.
Practical directory
Common home and paperwork paths
Start with the Michigan guide that matches the job. For a parcel, bill, permit, or recorded document in Lowell, confirm the final answer with the local or county office shown farther down this page.
- Delinquent property tax Get help before the redemption date Find the foreclosing unit, exact payoff, assistance programs, counseling, and legal-help paths.
- Utility shutoff or past-due bill Work the utility-help sequence Call the provider, apply for emergency relief, use 2-1-1, and ask about household protections.
- Essential home repair Find repair or weatherization help Match the repair, household, service area, and rural status to programs that may actually fit.
- Home and estate Handle a home after someone dies Keep the property stable, find the deed and authority to act, and choose the right estate or title path.
- Manufactured home Transfer or repair the home title Start with the Secretary of State path for a sale, missing title, lien, or legal affixture to land.
- Permits and repairs Check a permit or contractor Find who enforces the work in Lowell, what to put in writing, and where to check a license.
Who handles what
Send the question to the right office
Start local for a parcel, tax bill, permit, or housing rule. Move to the county or a district when the record or service covers more than one community.
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Assessment, PRE, current tax bill, or Board of Review
Lowell assessor or treasurer
Start with the Lowell office shown on the assessment notice or tax bill. The assessor handles value and exemptions; the treasurer handles the current summer or winter bill.
Michigan property-tax basics -
Rental registration, building permit, or code problem
Lowell building, rental, or code office
The enforcing agency can be the municipality, county, or state, and electrical, mechanical, and plumbing work may go to different places.
Find the official permit jurisdiction ↗ Michigan homeowner guide -
Marriage license, local record, deed, or delinquent tax
Kent County offices
The clerk, register of deeds, and county treasurer handle different parts of this work. The county page separates them for you.
Open the official Kent County site ↗ Getting married in Michigan -
Private well, septic system, local health, or trial court
County, district, or court finder
A health district or court can serve more than one community. The county page links to the official statewide finders.
Find the local health department ↗ Michigan well and septic guide
The practical stuff
Buying, owning, or selling in Lowell
The seller's tax bill may not be your tax bill.
2025 property-tax snapshot
- Primary home (PRE)
- 44.0208 mills - 44.0208 mills
- Other property / non-homestead
- 61.766 mills - 61.766 mills
- School districts available
- 1 in Lowell
One mill means $1 per $1,000 of Taxable Value. Rate rows come from the official 2025 Michigan Treasury report. Last reviewed July 12, 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.
Why a buyer's property-tax bill can change after a sale
In Michigan, property tax isn't figured on what you paid — it's figured on the home's Taxable Value, with the local millage rates applied to that number. While one owner keeps the home, Proposal A caps how fast that Taxable Value can climb. When the home sells, the cap usually comes off — this is called uncapping — and the Taxable Value resets toward the State Equalized Value, or SEV, which tends to run about half of a home's market value.
That reset is the part that catches buyers: a longtime owner may have been paying on an old, capped number, so the year after you buy, yours can jump to the new one — and your first full-year bill can land well above what the seller was paying. In Lowell, one school district appears in the rate data. Parcel-specific tax districts can still matter. For a primary home with PRE, Michigan's main-home exemption, the rate shown here is about 44 mills. Without PRE, the non-homestead rate is about 61.8 mills. The calculator above turns those local rates into your actual number.
If this will be your main home, make sure that PRE is filed with the local assessor — it can lift up to 18 school-operating mills off the bill. Rentals, vacation homes, and second homes stay on the higher non-homestead rate.
The tax reset is the big one, but it isn't the whole checklist. It's also worth checking whether the address sits in a floodplain, and whether you'll owe a city income tax where you live or work. The buying-a-home guide walks through the rest.
School districts in this area
Lowell Area School DI
Primary home (PRE) 44.0208 mills · non-homestead 61.766 mills
Local rules and costs to check
Note-sized practical catches tied to Lowell: taxes, property rules, permits, local costs, or other things worth checking before you decide.
Local check
Why car-insurance quotes change across west Michigan
A move across west Michigan can change your car-insurance quote, even though ZIP codes themselves can no longer define an insurer's rating territory.
Local check
Can you run an Airbnb here? Your city or township decides
Michigan leaves short-term rental rules to each city or township, so Airbnb and Vrbo rules can change from one community to the next.
Local check
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.
Stories & local context
Get to know Lowell
Lowell also anchors Kent County's covered-bridge country. The 1871 Fallasburg Bridge crosses the Flat River in a park about five miles north of town and remains one of the few historic covered bridges in Michigan you can still drive a car across.
A few practical notes for buyers: short-term rental rules are set by the city, and west Michigan sits at the cheaper end of the state's car-insurance rates, though quotes still vary by address. The notes below have more.
Featured local story
Lowell still mills flour where the Flat meets the Grand
King Milling began on Lowell's west bank in 1890. A fire, a 1945 rebuild, and later expansions separate today's working mill from the earlier buildings.
Read the story →-
The Lowell Showboat
Lowell's riverfront showboat began as a Depression-era variety show and now carries both community pride and a hard history.
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Two Kent County covered bridges and a rebuilt neighbor
Kent County has the 1871 Fallasburg and 1867 Ada covered bridges; nearby White's Bridge in Ionia County was rebuilt after a 2013 fire.
Nearby places
The closest Michigan Porch pages to Lowell. Open one to read it, or put it side by side with Lowell — tax rates, school districts, and city income tax.
Compare Lowell with a neighbor →Next steps
What to check next for Lowell
Use the county office map for records and services, or follow the home path that matches what you are doing now.
- County Open Kent County See the county page for other cities, townships, villages, local notes, and the county-wide tax snapshot. Open county page →
- Homeowner Keep the house on track Use one calm directory for tax notices, insurance, contractors, permits, records, and repairs. Open homeowner guide →
- Seller Plan the Michigan closing Walk through disclosure, title, transfer tax, PRE rescission, and the records worth keeping. Open seller guide →
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