Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Benton Harbor earns a D−, 693rd among Michigan's 697 graded towns, mostly because of safety and health. Its crime rate is higher than 100% of U.S. towns, with 185 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. On CDC estimates, its residents' health ranks in the bottom 2% nationally. In its favor, natural-hazard risk is low. 40% of residents live below the poverty line in Benton Harbor, where Michigan’s towns sit at 8.9% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. On incomes, just 81 of Michigan’s 1,279 towns do worse. Benton Harbor's schools rank behind 97% of the state's.
Where Benton Harbor beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Benton Harbor’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Benton Harbor is from typical.
Its grades run from A for hazard risk (better than 87% of comparable towns) to D− for safety (better than 1%), so the D− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 661 in 1870, a peak of 19,136 in 1960, 9,103 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1897 and 4 maps from 1927 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Benton Harbor, 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 Benton Harbor.
Benton Harbor has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it reports violent crime at 5 times the Michigan rate and has poverty well above the Michigan rate.
Violent crime runs at 21.1 per 1,000 residents, 5 times the Michigan rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its D−. Property crime runs at 28 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Michigan rate, most of it theft.
Benton Harbor’s violent crime rate is 21.1 per 1,000 residents. Benton Harbor reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 100% report less. Benton Harbor’s property crime rate is 28 per 1,000 residents.
| Benton Harbor | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 21.1 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 28 per 1,000 residents | 7.8 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Benton Harbor Area Schools. Two of its 8 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Benton Harbor High School, with 469 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Martin Luther King Jr ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades 1–3 | Grades 1–3 | 229 | D− |
| Benton Harbor High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 469 | D− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
28% of Benton Harbor adults smoke cigarettes. Of the 701 Michigan towns we compare, none has a higher share of adults who sleep under 7 hours than Benton Harbor. 46% of Benton Harbor adults get no exercise outside work.
| Benton Harbor | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 15% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 56% | 37% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 12% | 12% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 18% | 17% |
| What stands out | Benton Harbor | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 4.8% | 8.9% |
| Fewer binge drinkers | 10.4% | 15.9% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 34.2% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
2.9 miles of trail in 8 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Jean Klock Park, at 83 acres. The trail density in Benton Harbor is 0.6 miles per square mile.
| Benton Harbor | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.2% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Jean Klock Park | 0.5 mi | 83 |
| 2. Hall Park | — | 13 |
| 3. Union Park | — | 10 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 2.4 years of the Niles metro’s $65K median household income, the typical home (about $158K) costs less against local pay than in 88% of Michigan towns; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living. 66.1% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 50.4% across Michigan.
The typical Benton Harbor home is worth about $158,000, up 6.2% in a year, 40% below the Michigan typical home. 37% of households own their home in Benton Harbor.
| Benton Harbor | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 37% | 84% | 73% |
| Median rent | $851 a month | $1,047 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 84% of U.S. communities. Since 1985, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Benton Harbor.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Jobs based here fell from 2,942 in 2011 to 1,716. The average commute for its 2,863 working residents takes 18.1 minutes, against 24.2 across Michigan.
Most working residents leave Benton Harbor for work: only 7% work in town. Since 2011, Benton Harbor has lost 1,226 jobs, to 1,716 in 2021. The top destinations are Benton Township (17%), Lincoln Township (8%) and St.
| Benton Harbor | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $31,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Benton Harbor has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 20° and about 78 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
2 within 15 miles of the center of Benton Harbor
About 3 of every 100 Benton Harbor residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
2 places in Benton Harbor on the National Register of Historic Places.
29 notable people were born in Benton Harbor.
City in Michigan, United States
Benton Harbor is a city in Berrien County, in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located 46 miles southwest of Kalamazoo and 71 miles southwest of Grand Rapids, it had a population of 9,103 according to the 2020 census. It is the smaller of the two principal cities in the Niles–Benton Harbor Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a population of 156,813. Benton Harbor and the nearby city of St. Joseph developed on opposite sides of the St. Joseph River and are commonly referred to as the "Twin Cities". Fairplain and Benton Heights are unincorporated areas adjacent to Benton Harbor. The population is more than 80 percent African American.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Benton Harbor.
St. Joseph next door grades higher for schools (A to Benton Harbor’s D−) and lower for cost of living (C− to B+).
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benton Harbor | #693 | D− | B+ | D− | D− | D− |
| Benton Township | #697 | D− | B− | D− | D− | D− |
| Benton Heights | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| St. Joseph | #179 | A− | C− | C | A | A− |
| Fair Plain | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| St. Joseph Township | #369 | B− | C | B | B+ | B |
Benton Heights and Fair Plain aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Benton Harbor with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Benton Harbor grades D− overall, better than 3% of U.S. towns and #693 of 697 in Michigan. It grades D− for health, D− for safety and D− for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D−.
Not for the area. That is 2.4 years of the area's median household income ($65,425 across the Niles, MI metro 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+.
29 notable people were born here, including Ernie Hudson and Sinbad.
