Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 324, settled in 1863.
Bear Lake’s July high is 79°F, where Michigan’s towns sit at 82°F and U.S. towns at 85°F. Bear Lake has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Census counts: 236 in 1880, a peak of 504 in 1910, 342 in 2020. The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 2005 and 2 maps from 1956 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bear Lake, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Bear Lake.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 93% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most working residents leave Bear Lake for work: only 2% work in town. Jobs based in Bear Lake fell to 55 in 2021, 232 fewer than in 2011. 5% of Bear Lake residents live below the poverty line, below both the Michigan town median (8.9%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%).
| Bear Lake | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 5% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $63,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.2% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Bear Lake has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The January low in Bear Lake is 15°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Bear Lake beats the Michigan average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 32% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Bear Lake.
| Bear Lake | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 34% | 36% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 27% | 23% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 36% | 35% |
| What stands out | Bear Lake | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 12.1% | 15.4% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.9% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
0.2 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. Bear Lake’s trail density is 0.7 miles per square mile.
| Bear Lake | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.9% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Hopkins Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bear Lake. Close and well known come first.
17 mi National LakeshoreSleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore1.6M visitors a year
39 mi National forestManistee National Forest
15 mi TheatreRamsdell Theatre10 mi MuseumMichigan Legacy Art ParkSleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore: en:User:Grod028, Public domain · Manistee National Forest: RomanKahler, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ramsdell Theatre: Doug Coldwell, CC BY-SA 4.0
None within 15 miles of Bear Lake; the nearest are
About 13 of every 100 Bear Lake residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
Where Bear Lake’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
Village in Michigan, United States
Bear Lake is a village in Manistee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 342 at the 2020 census. The village is located within Bear Lake Township.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Bear Lake has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
