Big Creek TownshipMI
A town of 2,739. 2 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Michigan town.
Is Big Creek Township a good place to live?
Big Creek Township grades D overall, 646th of 697 graded towns in Michigan, mostly because of incomes and health. The median household income is $48K, and 18% of residents live below the poverty line. Residents are less healthy than 90% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. One bright spot: a typical home costs about $112K, 2.3 years of the county’s $50K median household income. 69% of the land in Big Creek Township is conserved, against 4.4% in Michigan’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. Huron National Forest, at 62,067 acres with 238.8 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Big Creek Township's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 97% of U.S. towns.
What makes Big Creek Township stand out
Where Big Creek Township beats most towns.
Community nonprofits per 1,000 residents
281 miles of trails in Big Creek Township
68.8% of the town is conserved land, across 6 parks and preserves.
How Big Creek Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Big Creek Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Big Creek Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Big Creek 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 Big Creek Township.
Big Creek Township is a second-home town, keeps more of its land conserved than most of Michigan and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
Conserved land covers nearly a third of Big Creek Township
Its 62,604 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in any other Michigan town.
281 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves. Big Creek Township’s trail density is 2.0 miles per square mile, where Michigan’s towns sit at 0.3 and U.S. towns at 0.4.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Huron National Forest | 238.8 mi | 62,067 |
| 2. Au Sable State Forest - Grayling Unit | 5.6 mi | 1,501 |
| 3. Wayside Recreation Site | 0.3 mi | 18 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Public schools in Big Creek Township fall behind 69% of Michigan districts
Its public schools are run by the Mio-AuSable Schools. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| MioAuSable Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 234 | C− |
| MioAuSable High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 263 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
A larger share of adults report frequent physical distress in Big Creek Township than in most of Michigan or the rest of the country
Against the 5,191 U.S. towns with household incomes like Big Creek Township’s, it is less healthy than 70%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income.
19% of Big Creek Township adults report frequent physical distress. Big Creek Township beats the Michigan average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 14. 27% of Big Creek Township adults say their health is fair or poor.
| Big Creek Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 14% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 47% | 36% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 12% | 12% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Big Creek Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 82.3% | 77.6% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 18.1% | 10.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Inland flooding leads a very low hazard risk in Big Creek Township
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 88% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most of Big Creek Township’s workers commute out: the town has 0.5 jobs for each of them
Jobs based here fell from 544 in 2011 to 354. The average commute for its 766 working residents takes 32 minutes, against 24.2 across Michigan.
Most working residents leave Big Creek Township for work: only 15% work in town. Big Creek Township’s average trip to work is 32 minutes. Jobs based in Big Creek Township fell to 354 in 2021, 190 fewer than in 2011.
| Big Creek Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $48,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 15% | 5.9% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Big Creek Township has snowy winters and pleasant summers
Big Creek Township has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Big Creek Township is 80°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Everything we know about Big Creek Township
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Big Creek Township; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Big Creek Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
85% of working residents leave Big Creek Township for work
Where Big Creek Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
About Big Creek Township
Civil township in Michigan, United States
Big Creek Township is a civil township of Oscoda County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,604 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 143 sq mi
- Elevation
- 1,089 ft
Big Creek Township’s neighbors
5 towns share a border with Big Creek Township.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Creek Township | #646 | D | A− | — | C | D |
| South Branch Township | — | — | B+ | — | B | C |
| Mentor Township | — | — | A | — | C | D |
| Greenwood Township | — | — | B− | — | C+ | C− |
| Elmer Township | — | — | B | — | C+ | D |
| Foster Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
South Branch Township, Mentor Township, Greenwood Township and Elmer Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Big Creek Township, South Branch Township, Mentor Township, Greenwood Township and Elmer Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Foster Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Big Creek Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Big Creek Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Big Creek Township, MI a good place to live?
Big Creek Township grades D overall, better than 13% of U.S. towns and #646 of 697 in Michigan. It grades D for health and C for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D−.
Is Big Creek 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−.