Buena Vista vs Shields

A side-by-side comparison of Buena Vista and Shields: population, income, housing, and more.

Buena Vista and Shields are places in Michigan. This page compares them across population, income, housing, education, commuting, and how each has changed since 2019.

Shields has the higher population (7,276 vs 5,904 in Buena Vista). Shields has the higher median household income ($83,986 vs $38,835 in Buena Vista). Shields has the higher median home value ($173,300 vs $51,800 in Buena Vista).

Population, income & housing

	Buena Vista	Shields
Population	5,904	7,276
Median age	34.7 yrs	48.6 yrs
Median household income	$38,835	$83,986
Median home value	$51,800	$173,300
Median gross rent	$875	$937
Housing units	3,020	3,211
Homeownership rate	66.0%	83.4%
Bachelor's degree or higher	7.5%	32.0%
Unemployment rate	16.8%	4.1%

Trends (ACS 5-year, 2019–2023)

	Buena Vista	Shields
Population	6,234 → 5,904 (-5.3%)	5,945 → 7,276 (+22.4%)
Median household income	$30,735 → $38,835 (+26.4%)	$61,250 → $83,986 (+37.1%)
Median home value	$39,500 → $51,800 (+31.1%)	$125,200 → $173,300 (+38.4%)
Median gross rent	$823 → $875 (+6.3%)	$770 → $937 (+21.7%)

Buena Vista

Population

6,2345,904

Median household income

$30,735$38,835

Median home value

$39,500$51,800

Median gross rent

$823$875

Shields

Population

5,9457,276

Median household income

$61,250$83,986

Median home value

$125,200$173,300

Median gross rent

$770$937

Age & race/ethnicity

Age distribution (share)

	Buena Vista	Shields
Under 5	9.6%	4.1%
5 to 17	21.5%	13.1%
18 to 24	6.5%	7.6%
25 to 34	14.1%	5.3%
35 to 44	8.9%	13.5%
45 to 54	5.1%	15.2%
55 to 64	15.3%	12.9%
65 to 74	12.3%	16.2%
75 and over	6.8%	12.2%

Race & ethnicity (share)

	Buena Vista	Shields
White (non-Hispanic)	11.7%	89.9%
Black or African American	72.4%	1.3%
American Indian & Alaska Native	0.0%	0.1%
Asian	0.0%	1.6%
Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander	0.0%	0.0%
Some other race	0.0%	0.0%
Two or more races	1.8%	2.7%
Hispanic or Latino	14.1%	4.5%

Educational attainment (age 25+)

Share of adults 25+

	Buena Vista	Shields
No high school diploma	17.0%	7.1%
High school graduate	30.8%	29.5%
Some college or associate's	44.7%	31.4%
Bachelor's degree	4.0%	15.5%
Graduate or professional degree	3.4%	16.5%

Commute to work

How workers get to work (share)

	Buena Vista	Shields
Drove alone	73.5%	86.6%
Carpooled	18.1%	3.6%
Public transit	0.0%	0.0%
Walked	0.0%	1.9%
Bicycle	0.0%	0.0%
Worked from home	6.0%	7.9%
Other means	2.4%	0.0%

Housing

Units in structure (share)

	Buena Vista	Shields
1-unit, detached	76.7%	72.4%
1-unit, attached	1.3%	9.4%
2 to 4 units	5.9%	1.4%
5 to 19 units	12.6%	10.5%
20 or more units	1.7%	5.2%
Mobile home & other	1.8%	1.1%

Poverty & households

	Buena Vista	Shields
Poverty rate	31.4%	13.2%
Average household size	2.43	2.32
Mean commute (minutes)	22	22
Median year structure built	1959	1976