Benton TownshipCheboygan County, MI
A town of 3,158.
Is Benton Township a good place to live?
Benton Township gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $201K for a typical one, or 3.2 years of the county’s $63K median household income. It grades C− overall, ranked 570th of 697 in Michigan. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $68K, and 10% of residents live below the poverty line. On the plus side, it has 99 miles of trail and 28% conserved land. 29% of the land in Benton Township is conserved, against 4.4% in Michigan’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 97% of U.S. towns. Only 117 of Michigan’s 1,279 towns score lower on hazard risk.
What makes Benton Township stand out
Where Benton Township beats most towns.
99 miles of trails in Benton Township
28.5% of the town is conserved land, across 7 parks and preserves.
How Benton Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Benton Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Benton Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Benton Township, 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Benton Township.
Benton Township is a second-home town and gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns, but it is a long drive from an emergency room.
Nearly a quarter of Benton Township is conserved land
99 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves. Benton Township’s trail density is 1.6 miles per square mile, where Michigan’s towns sit at 0.3 and U.S. towns at 0.4. The biggest place to walk is Mackinac State Forest - Atlanta Unit, 8,017 acres with 50.8 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Mackinac State Forest - Atlanta Unit | 50.8 mi | 8,017 |
| 2. Cheboygan State Park | 7.8 mi | 1,303 |
| 3. Reeds Alverno Nature Preserve | 0.2 mi | 159 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Most working residents commute out of Benton Township
Benton Township has 136 jobs for its 1,064 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. The average commute takes 14.9 minutes, against 24.2 across Michigan.
Most working residents leave Benton Township for work: only 1% work in town. The average trip to work in Benton Township is 15 minutes. Since 2011, Benton Township has added 23 jobs, to 136 in 2021.
| Benton Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 15 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.4% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Median household income | $68,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Residents of Benton Township are less healthy than 75% of U.S. towns
The nearest emergency room, Mackinac Straits Hospital and Health Center, is 26.1 miles away in a straight line.
Benton Township beats the Michigan average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 9. 42% of adults have high blood pressure in Benton Township.
| Benton Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 36% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 12% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 37% | 35% |
| What stands out | Benton Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 81.2% | 77.6% |
| More adults with COPD | 10.9% | 8.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Benton Township has snowy winters and pleasant summers
The Cheboygan weather station, 6 miles away, records that 88 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 96% of U.S. towns.
Benton Township has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Benton Township’s July high is 79°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Benton Township faces a moderate natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 50% of U.S. communities. Since 1991, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Benton Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Everything we know about Benton Township
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Benton Township; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Benton Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
99% of working residents leave Benton Township for work
Where Benton Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
About Benton Township
Civil township in Michigan, United States
Benton Township is a civil township of Cheboygan County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the township population was 3,133.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 62 sq mi
- Elevation
- 722 ft
Benton Township’s neighbors
5 towns share a border with Benton Township.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benton Township | #570 | C− | B+ | — | B+ | C |
| Inverness Township | — | — | B+ | — | B+ | C |
| Cheboygan | #497 | C+ | A− | C | B+ | D |
| Grant Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Aloha Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Bearinger Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Inverness Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Benton Township and Inverness Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Grant Township, Aloha Township and Bearinger Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Benton Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Benton Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Benton Township, MI a good place to live?
Benton Township grades C− overall, better than 24% of U.S. towns and #570 of 697 in Michigan. It grades C for health and B+ for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D−.
Is Benton 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 B+.