Plat book of Mecosta County, Michigan, 1900
Aetna Township’s story
Aetna Township in pictures
The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 1900 and 2 maps from 1958 on.
Explore the history →Aetna TownshipMI
A town of 2,357.
Population
2,357
2025 Census estimate · +5.4% since 2020
Median home value
$144K
Census ACS
Household income
$63K
median
Median age
42.8
years
Jobs based here
202
A commuter town
Is Aetna Township a good place to live?
Aetna Township’s best subject grade is an A for cost of living; its weakest is a D for incomes. 14% of the land in Aetna Township is conserved, against 4.4% in Michigan’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. Aetna Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
A commuter town
97% of working residents leave Aetna Township for work
Where Aetna Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
202jobs based in Aetna Township
3%of working residents work in town
36 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2021
How Aetna Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Aetna Township is from typical.
Cost of livingTypical home $144K, 2.4 years of the Big Rapids area’s $61K median household incomeAOpen →Jobs & incomeDOpen →HealthCorewell Health Big Rapids Hospital 12.2 miles awayDOpen →Hazard riskFEMA risk higher than 72% of U.S. communities; strong wind tops the listC−Open →SchoolsBehind 64% of Michigan districts on tests and graduationC+Open →WalkabilityEPA walkability 5.9 of 20; 6.5% of households have no car; 2.7% of workers walk, bike or ride transitB−Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Aetna Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Aetna Township, and how to reach them.
PowerDTE20.2¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
Internet7 providers84% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Aetna Township’s trash rules yet
Register to voteOnlineIn Michigan you can register online until 15 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 15 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereAetna Township ClerkThe town itself; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Nov 2025
ZIP codes49336, 49337, 4934649336 94% · 49337 5% · 49346 1%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Aetna Township.
HealthD
Aetna Township is less healthy than 87% of U.S. towns
In Aetna Township, nearly a fifth of adults worry about having enough food, where Michigan’s towns sit at 14% and U.S. towns at 14%. Just over a fifth of adults smoke cigarettes locally. Among adults here, 30% have been diagnosed with depression and 17% report frequent physical distress.
13%healthier than U.S. townsDHealth Grade
| Aetna Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 15% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 27% | 23% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 17% |
32 measures vs. Michigan
0 better17 too close to call15 worse
| What stands out | Aetna Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 11.4% | 8.1% |
| More smokers | 20.5% | 14.6% |
| More adults in fair or poor health | 24.4% | 19.4% |
Corewell Health Big Rapids Hospital
12.2 mi away · emergency room
3 of 3
care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Work & commuteJobs & income grade D
The average trip to work in Aetna Township is longer than in most of Michigan or the rest of the country
For working residents in Aetna Township, the share who work locally is 3.5%. Jobs based locally fell to 202 in 2021, 70 fewer than in 2011. The town’s typical household income is $63,000. The top destinations are Grand Rapids (13%), Big Rapids (8%) and Big Rapids Township (4%).
3%work in town
| Aetna Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 39 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 30% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $63,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.5% | 5.9% | 8% |
Where working residents work
In Aetna Township3%
Grand Rapids13%
Big Rapids8%
Big Rapids Township4%
Mecosta Township4%
36 mi
median commute distance
202
jobs based in Aetna Township
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
B−
Walkability grade: more walkable than 46% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade C−
Aetna Township stands out in Michigan and nationally: the FEMA risk score there is higher
Expected losses in Aetna Township break down as 49% from strong winds and 30% from inland flooding.
72risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Strong windInland floodingTornadoes
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Climate
The climate in Aetna Township brings snowy winters and pleasant summers
The range runs from 14° on a January night to 82° on a July afternoon, with about 64 inches of snow a winter.
64″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter16–32°
Spring33–56°
Summer55–80°
Fall38–59°
Oct 2
typical first frost
May 13
typical last frost
+1.4°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
OutdoorsB+
Aetna Township’s grade for the outdoors is a B+
18 miles of trail. Aetna Township’s trail density stands at 0.5 miles per square mile.
14%conserved
14%
conserved · 3,189 of 22,854 acres
18 mi
of trails · 0.5 per sq mi
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Aetna Township
18pages on Aetna Township
The big questions
Out and about
Day to day
After high school
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Aetna Township
About 3 of every 100 Aetna Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
About Aetna Township
Township in Michigan, United States
Aetna Township is a civil township of Mecosta County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the township population was 2,241.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 36 sq mi
- Elevation
- 1,001 ft
Aetna Township’s neighbors
4 towns share a border with Aetna Township.
Deerfield TownshipBig Prairie TownshipMecosta TownshipReynolds TownshipAetna Township
How the neighbors grade
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aetna Township | — | — | A | — | C+ | D |
| Deerfield Township | — | — | B | — | C+ | D |
| Big Prairie Township | #662 | D | B+ | — | C+ | D |
| Mecosta Township | #618 | C− | B | — | C+ | C |
| Reynolds Township | #243 | B+ | A+ | — | B | C |
Aetna Township and Deerfield Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Aetna Township, Deerfield Township, Big Prairie Township, Mecosta Township and Reynolds Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Aetna Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Aetna Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Aetna Township, MI expensive?
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A.