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 median rent is $3,033 a month, above both Michigan’s towns ($1,045 a month) and U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). Among 701 Michigan towns, just 1 have a lower share of residents below the poverty line than Bowne Township. Dolan Nature Sanctuary, at 124 acres with 1.8 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
What makes Bowne Township stand out
Where Bowne Township beats most towns.
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 public schools are run by the Lowell Area Schools. Its one school is below.
| 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.
17% of Bowne Township adults get no exercise outside work. Bowne Township beats the Michigan average on 19 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 11% of Bowne Township adults report frequent physical distress.
| 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
Bowne Township faces a low natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 77% of U.S. communities.
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.
9.9% of residents are 65 or older in Bowne Township. 37% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across Michigan. 28% of residents are under 18 in Bowne Township.
| 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
In Bowne Township, expect snowy winters and pleasant summers
Bowne Township has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 17° and about 66 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
A job hub: Bowne Township has 1.3 jobs for every working resident and draws in 2,007 commuters
Jobs based here grew from 767 in 2011 to 2,063.
Most working residents leave Bowne Township for work: only 4% work in town. Bowne Township’s median household income is $121,000. Jobs based in Bowne Township grew to 2,063 in 2021, 1,296 more than in 2011.
| Bowne Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $121,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| 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
1.4% of Bowne Township is conserved land
2.8 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The trail density in Bowne Township is 0.1 miles per square mile.
| 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.