Houghton Lake is a somewhat small town located in the state of Michigan. With a population of 5,294 people and five associated neighborhoods, Houghton Lake is the 183rd largest community in Michigan.

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 12.82% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

Another notable thing is that Houghton Lake is an extremely popular vacation destination. A significant portion of the population is seasonal. During the vacation season, the town experiences a large influx of people who take up residence in second homes they own in the area. As the vacation season ends, the population drops again, leaving behind a substantially quieter and smaller town.

The town is relatively quiet, having a combination of lower population density and few of those groups of people who have a tendency to be noisy. For example, Houghton Lake has relatively fewer families with younger children, and/or college students. Combined, this makes Houghton Lake a pretty quiet place to live overall. If you like quiet, you will probably enjoy it here.

In terms of college education, Houghton Lake is nearly on par with the US average for all cities of 21.84%: 17.37% of adults 25 and older in Houghton Lake have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree.

The per capita income in Houghton Lake in 2022 was $30,791, which is middle income relative to Michigan, and lower middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $123,164 for a family of four. However, Houghton Lake contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

The people who call Houghton Lake home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Houghton Lake residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Houghton Lake include German, English, Polish, Irish, and French Canadian.

The most common language spoken in Houghton Lake is English. Other important languages spoken here include Polish and Italian.