Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
This town of 7,473 people was settled in 1868.
Buena Vista Township’s weakest is health (D−): on CDC estimates, its residents' health ranks in the bottom 2% nationally. It also trails on safety: its police reported 75 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 96% of U.S. towns. Cost of living is its strong suit: a typical home costs about $68K, 1.1 years of the Saginaw metro’s $61K median household income. The overall grade lands at D, 683rd of 697 in Michigan. On that grade it does better than 5% of U.S. towns. Only 22 of Michigan’s 1,265 towns score lower on civic life. The biggest park or preserve is Crow Island State Game Area, at 349 acres. The town’s violent crime rate is 10.1 per 1,000 residents, against 1.9 in Michigan’s towns and 1.6 across U.S. towns.
Figures: home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · health, CDC PLACES · FBI crime data, 2025 · OpenStreetMap.
Where Buena Vista Township beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| Widest gap | Buena Vista Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 24.4% | 8.7% |
8,676 counted in 2010 and 7,664 in 2020; an estimated 7,473 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Buena Vista Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 7,845 in 2000, 5,855 in 2020. The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 2019 and 4 maps from 1919 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Buena Vista 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 Buena Vista Township.
Buena Vista Township draws workers from Saginaw Township and beyond and has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it reports violent crime at about twice the Michigan rate.
Among 701 Michigan towns, just 2 have a higher share of adults who have high blood pressure than Buena Vista Township. 43% of Buena Vista Township adults sleep under 7 hours. CDC measures, 32 in all: Buena Vista Township beats Michigan on 3 and trails on 24.
| Buena Vista Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 19% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 15% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 12% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Buena Vista Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 11.1% | 15.9% |
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7% | 8.9% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 24.4% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its one school is below. Enrollment at Buena Vista Township’s public school: 376 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saginaw Preparatory AcademyLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 376 | D− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
Violent crime runs at 10.1 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Michigan rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on that grade. Reported crimes fell from 278 to 199 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Buena Vista Township’s property offense rate comes in at 16.7 per 1,000 residents.
| Buena Vista Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 10.1 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 16.7 per 1,000 residents | 7.8 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
4,163 jobs are based in Buena Vista Township, 1.8 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
For residents in Buena Vista Township, the share who live below the poverty line is 21%. The town had 4,163 jobs in 2021, up 293 from 2011. Its typical journey to work comes in at 20 minutes. The top destinations are Saginaw (18%), Saginaw Township (12%) and Frankenmuth (4%).
| Buena Vista Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 21% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $44,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 5.2% | 5.9% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Count the trails in 4 parks and preserves and they come to 11 miles. The density of trails in Buena Vista Township is 0.3 miles per square mile.
| Buena Vista Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 3% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Crow Island State Game Area | 0.5 mi | 349 |
| 2. Lions Park | — | 31 |
| 3. Kueffner Park | — | 17 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The Saginaw #3 weather station, 6 miles away, records that 41 inches of snow fall in a normal winter: more than most of the country, but less than 77% of Michigan places with climate records.
July afternoons reach 83° and January nights drop to 16°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
FEMA puts 55% of Buena Vista Township’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 16% to cold waves. Flood insurance has paid out on 14 claims in the town since 1986. For Buena Vista Township, the FEMA hazard score is 34 of 100. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Buena Vista Township once, in 2008.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 1.1 years of the Saginaw metro’s $61K median household income, the typical home costs less against local pay than in 99% of Michigan towns; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living. 67.3% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 50.4% across Michigan.
The midpoint rent for Buena Vista Township comes to $910 a month. In Buena Vista Township, 76% of households own their home.
| Buena Vista Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $910 a month | $1,047 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 76% | 84% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Buena Vista Township. Close and well known come first.
11 mi MuseumUSS Edson
11 mi MuseumSaginaw Valley Naval Ship Museum
23 mi GardenDow Gardens
4 mi TheatreTemple Theatre
31 mi MuseumSloan Museum5 mi Zoo & aquariumChildren's Zoo at Celebration SquareUSS Edson: U.S. Navy, Public domain · Saginaw Valley Naval Ship Museum: John McCullough, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Dow Gardens: Chris.Schiemann, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Temple Theatre: Ian Poellet, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Sloan Museum: Amancour, CC BY-SA 4.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of Buena Vista Township
About 7 of every 100 Buena Vista Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Michigan.
Where Buena Vista Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
Place in Michigan, United States
Buena Vista ( BEW-nə-VIS-tə) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) within Buena Vista Charter Township, Saginaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The U.S. Census Bureau has defined a census-designated place (CDP) with the same name for statistical purposes. The CDP has no official status as a municipality and the boundaries defined by the Census Bureau may not precisely correspond to local understanding of the Buena Vista area. The CDP consists of an area adjacent to the city of Saginaw on the city's east side and mostly west of Interstate 75. As of the 2020 census, Buena Vista had a population of 5,855.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Buena Vista Township.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buena Vista Township | #683 | D | B+ | D− | C | D− |
| Saginaw | #692 | D− | B | D− | C | D− |
| Blumfield Township | — | — | B− | — | A | D |
| Bridgeport Township | #674 | D | A | C− | C− | D |
| Zilwaukee · Zilwaukee Township | — | — | B− | — | C | C− |
| Merritt Township | — | — | B+ | — | B− | C+ |
| Portsmouth Township | #460 | C+ | B+ | — | B− | C− |
Blumfield Township, Zilwaukee and Merritt Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Blumfield Township, Zilwaukee, Merritt Township and Portsmouth Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Zilwaukee Township and Zilwaukee are one community, graded once. Compare Buena Vista Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Buena Vista Township grades D overall, better than 5% of U.S. towns and #683 of 697 in Michigan. It grades D− for health, D− for safety and C for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
Not for the area. The typical home is worth about $68,000, 74% below the Michigan typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
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