Bowne TownshipMI
A town of 3,339, organized in 1848. Public schools that outperform most of Michigan.
What should you know before moving to Bowne Township?
Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 97% of U.S. towns. Overall it grades A−, 153rd among Michigan's 697 graded towns. Its public schools beat 94% of Michigan towns on state tests and graduation and it is healthier than 89% of U.S. towns. Bowne Township’s midpoint rent is $3,033 a month, above both Michigan’s towns ($1,045 a month) and U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). Dolan Nature Sanctuary, at 124 acres with 1.8 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Homes are expensive, about $360K for a typical one and 4.3 times the Grand Rapids metro’s $83K median household income.
What makes Bowne Township stand out
Where Bowne Township beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Alto Elementary School | PK–5 | 417 |
| Widest gap | Bowne Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.1% | 15.4% |
How Bowne Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Bowne Township is from typical.
Its grades run from A for schools (better than 94% of comparable towns) to D− for walkability (better than 3%), so the A− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Bowne Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bowne 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 Bowne Township.
Bowne Township has less food insecurity than most of Michigan, has household incomes well above the Michigan norm and has more than doubled its jobs in ten years.
Bowne Township’s grade for schools is an A
Its one school is below. The public schools here belong to the Lowell Area Schools. 417 students attend Bowne Township’s public school.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alto Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 417 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
Bowne Township’s grade for health is an A
Its widest gap with Michigan is food insecurity: 8.1% of its 6,203 adults worry about having enough food, against 15.4% statewide.
In Bowne Township, 8.1% of adults worry about having enough food. Two figures for adults in the town: 11% report frequent physical distress, 13% say their health is fair or poor.
| Bowne Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 25% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 14% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 19% | 19% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 32% | 33% |
| What stands out | Bowne Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.1% | 15.4% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The biggest natural risk in Bowne Township is inland flooding, at a low overall level
FEMA puts 57% of Bowne Township’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 18% to tornadoes. Compared with 77% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage in the town is lower.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Fewer of Bowne Township’s residents are 65 or older than in the typical Michigan or U.S. town
The median household earns $120,859, against $72,875 across Michigan, one input to its A− for jobs and income.
The share of residents in Bowne Township who are under 18: 28%. The bachelor’s-degree share among adults 25 and older is 37%, against 32% across Michigan. In Bowne Township, the midpoint age is 37.6 years.
| Bowne Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 9.9% | 19% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 28% | 21% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 37% | 26% | 29% |
| Median age | 37.6 years | 42.5 years | 40.5 years |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
47% women, 53% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.6 points. Across Michigan, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Bowne Township | MI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 15.3% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12.9% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.6% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.3% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.6% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 15.6% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.9% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 5.9% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 1.9% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 23% | 28% | 26% |
| Some college | 24.4% | 21.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13.4% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 26.9% | 19.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.4% | 12.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,300, single groups can be off by several points
The climate in Bowne Township brings snowy winters and pleasant summers
Expect July afternoons of 83° and January nights of 17°, with about 66 inches of snow a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Bowne Township stands out in Michigan and nationally: a smaller share of its residents live below the poverty line
Jobs based here grew from 767 in 2011 to 2,063.
The top destinations are Grand Rapids (18%), Kentwood (7%) and Wyoming (6%). Bowne Township’s middle household income stands at $121,000. It had 2,063 jobs in 2021, up 1,296 from 2011. For most workers, Bowne Township is a place to come home to: only 4% work in town.
| Bowne Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $121,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 0.8% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.6% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Bowne Township keeps 1.4% of its land conserved
Across 4 parks and preserves: 2.8 miles of trail. Bowne Township’s concentration of trails comes in at 0.1 miles per square mile. Parks and preserves here: 4, covering 130 acres.
| Bowne Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.4% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Dolan Nature Sanctuary | 1.8 mi | 124 |
| 2. Coldwater River County Park | — | 3 |
| 3. Campbell Lake Public Access | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
North Country Trail and 13 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bowne Township. Close and well known come first.
8 mi Park & preserveNorth Country Trail
18 mi MuseumGerald R. Ford Presidential Museum
15 mi MuseumFrederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park18 mi TheatreAcrisure Amphitheater
15 mi Theme parkRamona Park
19 mi Zoo & aquariumJohn Ball ZooPhoto credits
North Country Trail: Huron-Manistee National Forests, Public domain · Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum: Staff of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, Public domain · Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park: User Jeffness on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Ramona Park: Gpwitteveen, CC BY-SA 3.0 · John Ball Zoo: Gpwitteveen, CC BY-SA 3.0
Everything we know about Bowne Township
Colleges nearby
3 within 15 miles of the center of Bowne Township
About 5 of every 100 Bowne Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Michigan.
About Bowne Township
Civil township in Michigan, United States
Bowne Township is a civil township of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the township population was 3,289. The township was organized as a survey township in 1848. It is part of the Grand Rapids metropolitan area and is located about 20 miles (32 km) southeast of the city of Grand Rapids.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 36 sq mi
- Elevation
- 810 ft
Bowne Township’s neighbors
4 towns share a border with Bowne Township.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bowne Township | #153 | A− | C | — | A | A |
| Caledonia Township | #10 | A+ | B− | — | A+ | A− |
| Campbell Township | — | — | B | — | A− | B |
| Irving Township | #233 | B+ | B− | — | A− | B |
| Lowell Township | #63 | A | C | — | A | A− |
Campbell Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Bowne Township, Caledonia Township, Campbell Township, Irving Township and Lowell Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Bowne Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Bowne Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Bowne Township, MI a good place to live?
By most measures, yes. Bowne Township grades A− overall, better than 80% of U.S. towns and #153 of 697 in Michigan. It grades A for health and A for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D−.
Is Bowne Township, MI expensive?
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.