Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Public schools that outperform most of Michigan. This town of 19,489 people was settled in 1832.
Brighton Township does the important things well, at a cost. Overall, Brighton Township earns an A: better than 90% of U.S. towns, and 67th of 697 in Michigan. Schools are its strong suit — its public schools beat 94% of Michigan towns on state tests and graduation. Incomes are another plus: the median household earns $133K. The catch is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $422K, 5.5 years of the Detroit metro’s $77K median household income. Timothy and Lucretia Jones Warner Homestead is on the National Register of Historic Places. 54% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in the town, above both the Michigan town median (26%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%). On health, just 72 of Michigan’s 1,279 towns do better.
Figures: schools, state test and graduation results · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · home values, Zillow · health, CDC PLACES · National Register of Historic Places.
Where Brighton Township beats most towns.
Census counts: 252 in 1860, 7,446 in 2020. The archive holds 33 old photos and papers going back to 2008 and 4 maps from 1909 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Brighton Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Brighton Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw20 mi Stadium & arenaMichigan Stadium
Big draw38 mi Stadium & arenaFord Field
38 mi Stadium & arenaComerica Park
31 mi MuseumThe Henry Ford1.8M visitors a year
38 mi TheatreFox Theatre
17 mi Park & preserveDomino's FarmsMichigan Stadium: Lectrician2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ford Field: Unknown, CC BY 2.5 · Comerica Park: City of Detroit, Public domain · The Henry Ford: Alvintrusty, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fox Theatre: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Domino's Farms: Dwight Burdette, CC BY 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Brighton 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 Brighton Township.
Brighton Township trades workers with Ann Arbor and other neighbors, has less food insecurity than most of Michigan and has household incomes well above the Michigan norm.
The public schools here belong to the Hartland Consolidated Schools. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. Public school enrollment in Brighton Township: 2,241 students across 4 schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hartland Farms Intermediate SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 4–6 | Grades 4–6 | 770 | A− |
| Spencer Road Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades K–4 | Grades K–4 | 507 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Michigan is food insecurity: 8.2% of its 14,030 adults worry about having enough food, against 15.4% statewide. Against the 4,283 U.S. towns with household incomes like Brighton Township’s, it is healthier than 59%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
Among adults in Brighton Township, 32% have obesity. CDC measures, 32 in all: Brighton Township beats Michigan on 22 and trails on 1. Two figures for adults here: 30% sleep under 7 hours, 15% report frequent mental distress.
| Brighton Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 32% | 33% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 34% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 18% | 17% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 19% | 19% |
| What stands out | Brighton Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.2% | 15.4% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 6.7% | 11.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.5% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Trails total 16 miles in 2 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Kensington Metropark, 466 acres with 6.3 miles of trail. In Brighton Township, the concentration of trails is 0.5 miles per square mile.
| Brighton Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 5.4% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Kensington Metropark | 6.3 mi | 466 |
| 2. Woodland Lake Boating Access Site | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 76% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
A winter brings about 33 inches of snow, with January nights at 15° and July afternoons at 82°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Brighton Township has about as many jobs (8,015) as working residents, but only 443 people both live and work here. Jobs based here grew from 3,120 in 2011 to 8,015.
The share of workers in Brighton Township who work from home: 18%. Most people who work leave Brighton Township to do it: just 6% work in town. Jobs in Brighton Township grew by 4,895 from 2011 to 2021, reaching 8,015. The mean commuting time in the town is 27 minutes.
| Brighton Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $133,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 18% | 10% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 2.9% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
1 within 15 miles of the center of Brighton Township
About 4 of every 100 Brighton Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
City in Michigan, United States
Brighton is a city in Livingston County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, its population was 7,446. Brighton forms part of the South Lyon-Howell-Brighton Urban Area. It is one of two incorporated cities in Livingston County and incorporates land that was part of Brighton, Green Oak, and Genoa townships.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Brighton Township.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brighton Township | #67 | A | C− | — | A | A |
| Brighton | #115 | A | C− | B | A+ | A− |
| Green Oak Township | #31 | A+ | C | A | A | A |
| Hartland Township | #28 | A+ | C | — | A | A− |
| Genoa Township | #187 | A− | C− | — | A | A− |
| Milford Township | #211 | B+ | D | — | A− | A |
Brighton Township, Hartland Township, Genoa Township and Milford Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Brighton Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Brighton Township grades A overall, better than 90% of U.S. towns and #67 of 697 in Michigan. It grades A for health and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
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