Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Boyne City's standout: natural-hazard risk is low. Overall it grades A−, ranked 132nd of 697 in Michigan. It reports less crime per resident than 81% of U.S. towns and it has 7 miles of trail. Boyne City’s average trip to work is 15 minutes, below both the Michigan town median (25 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). Boyne City's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 98% of U.S. towns. Boyne City has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Wolverine Hotel and Boyne City Water Works Building.
Where Boyne City beats most towns.
6.4% of the town is conserved land, across 13 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Boyne City is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 450 in 1890, a peak of 5,218 in 1910, 3,816 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1905 and 3 maps from 1961 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Boyne City, 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 Boyne City.
Boyne City is a second-home town, gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
7.2 miles of trail in 13 parks and preserves. The trail density in Boyne City is 1.4 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Avalanche Preserve Recreation Area, 101 acres with 3.2 miles of trail.
| Boyne City | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.4 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 6.4% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Avalanche Preserve Recreation Area | 3.2 mi | 101 |
| 2. Veterans Memorial Park | 0.4 mi | 7 |
| 3. Old City Park | 0.3 mi | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Boyne City Public Schools. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Boyne City High School, with 383 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boyne City Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–4 | Grades K–4 | 425 | A− |
| Boyne City High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 8–12 | Grades 8–12 | 383 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
66.3% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 50.4% across Michigan.
The typical Boyne City home is worth about $420,000, up 3.7% in a year, 59% above the Michigan typical home. 68% of Boyne City households own their home.
| Boyne City | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 68% | 84% | 73% |
| Median rent | $906 a month | $1,047 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Boyne City’s FEMA risk score is 2 of 100.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Reported crimes fell from 34 to 11 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Violent crime is rare: 2 reported in 2025, 0.5 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 9,912 U.S. towns with household incomes like Boyne City’s, it is healthier than 88%, so its B+ isn’t only a matter of income.
30% of adults feel lonely in Boyne City.
| Boyne City | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 27% | 23% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 25% | 25% |
| What stands out | Boyne City | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.5% | 15.4% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 8.3% | 11.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.2% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The Boyne Falls weather station, 6 miles away, records that 112 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 98% of U.S. towns.
Boyne City has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 80° and January nights drop to 14°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 1,564 working residents takes 15.3 minutes, against 24.2 across Michigan.
About one in 5 of Boyne City’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Petoskey (9%), Boyne Valley Township (9%) and Bear Creek Township (5%). Half commute less than 11 miles.
| Boyne City | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 22% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Median household income | $65,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 7.8% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
15.8% of homes are seasonal or vacation homes, against 5.5% statewide, which helps explain the older median age.
People 65 and older are 25% of residents (19% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 18% of residents (22% statewide). 33% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across Michigan.
| Boyne City | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 48.8 years | 42.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 25% | 19% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 19% | 21% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 33% | 26% | 29% |
53% women, 47% men
About 87 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±3.1 points). Across Michigan, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Boyne City | MI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.5% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.4% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 11.8% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 6.5% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.6% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.6% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 15.2% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.4% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 27.4% | 28% | 26% |
| Some college | 23% | 21.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.7% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 20.8% | 19.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12.1% | 12.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,800, single groups can be off by several points
1 within 15 miles of the center of Boyne City
About 6 of every 100 Boyne City residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Michigan.
3 places in Boyne City on the National Register of Historic Places.
5 notable people were born in Boyne City.
City in Michigan, United States
Boyne City () is a city in Charlevoix County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,816 at the 2020 census, making it the largest city in Charlevoix County. Boyne City is located at the eastern end of Lake Charlevoix, Michigan's third largest inland lake. The city is also the site of the mouth of the Boyne River, named for the River Boyne in Leinster, Ireland.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Boyne City.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boyne City | #132 | A− | B− | A− | B+ | B+ |
| Evangeline Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Wilson Township | — | — | B+ | — | B+ | B |
| Boyne Valley Township | — | — | A | — | A− | B |
| Eveline Township | — | — | C− | — | B+ | B− |
| Advance | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Wilson Township, Boyne Valley Township and Eveline Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Wilson Township, Boyne Valley Township and Eveline Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Evangeline Township and Advance aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Boyne City with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Boyne City grades A− overall, better than 82% of U.S. towns and #132 of 697 in Michigan. It grades B+ for health, A− for safety and B+ for schools.
That is 5.5 years of the area's median household income ($76,531 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
5 notable people were born here, including Kaila Kuhn and Britta Phillips.
