Grand Rapids / Houghton
Houghton has 8,474 residents (give or take 33) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B01003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B01003?g=160XX00US2639360, checked 2026-10-19), about 1,933 people per square mile.
Houghton is about 320 miles from the Census center point for Grand Rapids in a straight line and covers 4.384 square miles of land (Census 2024 Gazetteer internal points and land area, https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2024_Gazetteer/, checked 2026-10-19).
Median household income in Houghton is $43,456 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B19013, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B19013?g=160XX00US2639360, checked 2026-10-19); many state and utility heat pump rebate programs set higher incentive tiers for income-qualifying households, so the household income on the application, not the town median, decides which level applies.
46% of Houghton homes are single-family detached, 15% are in two- to four-unit buildings and 35% are in buildings of five or more units (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=160XX00US2639360, checked 2026-10-19).
63% of Houghton homes are rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=160XX00US2639360, checked 2026-10-19), so beside the 46% detached houses there is a real share of jobs where the landlord, not the resident, signs the quote.
Houghton has 31 points fewer detached houses than Houghton County overall (77%) and 25 points more five-plus-unit buildings than the county's 10% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=050XX00US26061, checked 2026-10-19).
With 63% of Houghton homes rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=160XX00US2639360, checked 2026-10-19), most heat pump quotes here are landlord-driven: the landlord signs the contract and picks the equipment, and the tenant sees the lower bill.
Of the 2,251 occupied homes in Houghton, 73% heat with natural gas, 1% with heating oil, 17% with electricity and 8% with propane (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=160XX00US2639360, checked 2026-10-19).
Gas heats 73% of Houghton against electricity at 17%, so most quotes here are a partial-home system that carries the shoulder seasons and the summer while the gas furnace handles the coldest nights, or a whole-home system when the house is ready for it.
Houghton has about the Houghton County oil share of 3% and 9 points more electric heat than the county's 8% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=050XX00US26061, checked 2026-10-19).
No electric utility is on file for Houghton on this door yet, so this page does not name one; the name on the bill decides which rebate path applies.
DTE Energy heating and cooling rebates (southeast Michigan only), run by DTE Energy, is a live program for Michigan addresses and covers qualifying equipment at $1,500 per system (registry row 19 verified 2026-10-15, https://www.dteenergy.com/us/en/residential/save-money-energy/rebates-and-offers/air-conditioners.html, checked 2026-10-16); confirm eligibility for the Houghton address before counting it. With 17% of Houghton homes already on electric heat and 82% on gas, oil or propane, the row that applies depends on the name on the electric bill and the fuel coming out.
Consumers Energy Home Solutions 2026 (ASHP), run by Consumers Energy, is a live program for Michigan addresses and lists a standard figure of $300 (registry row 50 verified 2026-10-15, https://www.consumersenergy.com/residential/savings-and-clean-energy/rebates/heating-and-cooling, checked 2026-10-16); confirm eligibility for the Houghton address before counting it.
Houghton has 2,441 housing units, 18% built before 1940 and 54% before 1980, with 26% built in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=160XX00US2639360, checked 2026-10-19).
Houghton has 20 points fewer pre-1940 homes than Houghton County as a whole (38%) and 12 points more homes built after 2000 than the county's 14% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=050XX00US26061, checked 2026-10-19).
The median Houghton home was built in 1977 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25035, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25035?g=160XX00US2639360, checked 2026-10-19) and the median home has 4.9 rooms (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25018, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25018?g=160XX00US2639360, checked 2026-10-19).
Heating design temperature: -1F. Source: ENERGY STAR Design Temperature Limit Reference Guide (2019 Edition), Houghton County row, 99% heating, PDF pages 56 to 60 of 141 (Revised 11/11/2020), https://www.energystar.gov/sites/default/files/Design%20Temperature%20Limit%20Reference%20Guide%20(2019%20Ed)%20-%20ENERGY%20STAR%20Single-Family%20New%20Homes_Rev11.pdf, fetched 2026-10-19, 99%.
That -1F figure is the Houghton County cold-day number a Houghton heat pump is sized against, so ask the installer to show the system's heating output at -1F, not at the milder rating-label temperature.
Ask whether the quote is whole-home or partial-home, because with 73% of Houghton on gas and 17% already electric the two paths carry different rebate figures and different sizing.
Ask for the heat-loss calculation room by room; the median Houghton home has 4.9 rooms and was built around 1977, and the count of heads and the tonnage follow the rooms and the insulation, not the square footage.
The form on this page is the follow-up for Houghton. The public number is the number the contractor quotes from.
No local contractor is named on this door for Houghton yet. A request from this page goes to the first licensed shop that takes the door.