How dark is the sky in Jackson, MI?

Satellite radiance puts Jackson in the urban band. Sky glow overhead most nights. Typically only planets, the Moon, and a handful of the brightest stars are visible. That's brighter than 86.6% of the 3,206 US cities in this dataset.

Worth remembering: this is satellite radiance, not a ground observation. A true Bortle rating needs a human eye at night, this is the closest large-scale substitute.

How far Jackson is from a meaningfully darker sky

30 miles from Jackson, straight-line, sits Adrian, MI, the nearest city here with a darker sky than Jackson's own urban band.

Adrian, MI is itself still a measured city, not a designated dark-sky park, this only compares against the 3,206 places this dataset covers.

Jackson against the rest of the dataset

Jackson, MI counts roughly 30,920 residents, among the 3,206 US cities this site tracks. Among all 3,206 cities here, Jackson ranks 2,762 from darkest to brightest, 1 being the darkest measured.