Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,816, settled in 1869. 2.4 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Michigan town.
Benzonia Township gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $329K, 4.1 years of the Traverse City metro’s $81K median household income. It grades C+ overall, ranked 443rd of 697 in Michigan. On the plus side, it has 9 miles of trail. 38% of residents are 65 or older in Benzonia Township, above both Michigan’s towns (19%) and U.S. towns (18%). Benzonia Township's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 96% of U.S. towns. Benzonia Township has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Mills Community House and Benzie County Courthouse.
Where Benzonia Township beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Benzonia Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 484 in 1900, 551 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2015 and 2 maps from 1956 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Benzonia Township. Close and well known come first.
in town National LakeshoreSleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore1.6M visitors a year
30 mi TheatreRamsdell Theatre11 mi MuseumMichigan Legacy Art ParkSleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore: en:User:Grod028, Public domain · Ramsdell Theatre: Doug Coldwell, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Benzonia 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.
Ordered by what stands out in Benzonia Township.
Benzonia Township trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, is a second-home town and gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns.
36.7% of homes are seasonal or vacation homes, against 5.5% statewide, which helps explain the older median age.
Benzonia Township’s median age is 58.6 years. Benzonia Township has grown 3% since 2020, to 2,816 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 13% of residents are under 18 in Benzonia Township.
| Benzonia Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 58.6 years | 42.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 13% | 21% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 39% | 26% | 29% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3 points. Across Michigan, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Benzonia Township | MI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.6% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 5.1% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4.3% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 7.7% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.8% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.4% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 16.4% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 21.8% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 15.9% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.2% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 23.1% | 28% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.8% | 21.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.7% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 25.1% | 19.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 14.2% | 12.7% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,800, single groups can be off by several points
Its public schools are run by the Benzie County Central Schools. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benzie Central Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 239 | B− |
| Benzie Central Sr High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 292 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
9.2 miles of trail in 13 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, at 575 acres.
| Benzonia Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 5.8% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Railroad Point Natural Area | 0.6 mi | 51 |
| 2. Memorial Park | 0.5 mi | 30 |
| 3. Trapp Farm Nature Preserve | 0.4 mi | 87 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Homes are within reach (about $329K for the typical one, B for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 21 miles.
90% of Benzonia Township households own their home. Typical home values rose 6% in the year to September 2026. The median rent in Benzonia Township is $839 a month.
| Benzonia Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 90% | 84% | 73% |
| Median rent | $839 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 69% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Frankfort 2ne weather station, 5 miles away, records that 93 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 96% of U.S. towns.
Benzonia Township has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 80° and January nights drop to 15°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 854 working residents takes 18 minutes, against 24.2 across Michigan.
Most working residents leave Benzonia Township for work: only 14% work in town. Jobs based in Benzonia Township fell to 1,082 in 2021, 142 fewer than in 2011. The top destinations are Frankfort (11%), Traverse City (9%) and Homestead Township (5%).
| Benzonia Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 16% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 14% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Median household income | $73,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Benzonia Township beats the Michigan average on 6 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 4.
| Benzonia Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 34% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 36% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 33% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 83% | 80% | 79% |
| What stands out | Benzonia Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 8.5% | 11.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11.3% | 15.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 12.2% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
None within 15 miles of Benzonia Township; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Benzonia Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
3 places in Benzonia Township on the National Register of Historic Places.
Village in Michigan, United States
Benzonia ( ben-ZOH-nee-ə) is a village in Benzie County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 551 at the 2020 census, up from 497 at the 2010 census. The village is located within Benzonia Township at the southeast end of Crystal Lake on U.S. Highway 31 at the junction with M-115 west.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Benzonia Township.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benzonia Township | #443 | C+ | B | — | C+ | B− |
| Lake Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Joyfield Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Homestead Township | — | — | A− | — | C+ | B− |
| Crystal Lake Township | — | — | C+ | — | A | B |
| Weldon Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Platte Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Homestead Township and Crystal Lake Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Benzonia Township, Homestead Township and Crystal Lake Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Lake Township, Joyfield Township, Weldon Township and Platte Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Benzonia Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Benzonia Township grades C+ overall, better than 44% of U.S. towns and #443 of 697 in Michigan. It grades B− for health and C+ for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
