Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Burns Township is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C+ overall, 487th among Michigan's 697 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is incomes: the median household earns $84K. It also does better than most on schools: its public schools beat 63% of Michigan towns on state tests and graduation. Its lowest everyday mark is in cost of living: homes are expensive, about $236K for a typical one and 3.5 times the Owosso area’s $67K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 92% of U.S. towns, with 1 place on the National Register. Burns Township’s average trip to work is 40 minutes, above both Michigan’s towns (25 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 95% of U.S. towns. Only 62 of Michigan’s 1,279 towns score higher on history.
Where Burns Township beats most towns.
Where Burns Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Burns Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 4 maps from 1922 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Burns 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 Burns Township.
Burns Township has 265 jobs for its 1,345 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. The average commute takes 39.5 minutes, against 24.2 across Michigan.
Most working residents leave Burns Township for work: only 6% work in town. Jobs based in Burns Township grew to 265 in 2021, 99 more than in 2011. The top destinations are Howell (4%), Flint (4%) and Fenton (3%).
| Burns Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $84,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 5.6% | 5.9% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Byron Area Schools. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Byron Area Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 310 | B− |
| Byron Area High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 200 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
Burns Township has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 16° and about 52 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 66% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
4.6 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. The trail density in Burns Township is 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Burns Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.3% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sesquicennial Park | 0.1 mi | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Burns Township beats the Michigan average on 5 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 28% of Burns Township adults have been diagnosed with depression.
| Burns Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 27% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 14% | 14% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 5.8% | 6.5% | 8.1% |
| What stands out | Burns Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 12% | 15.4% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.8% | 8.7% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.9% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Burns Township
About 4 of every 100 Burns Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
Civil township in Michigan, United States
Burns Township is a civil township of Shiawassee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the township population was 3,280.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Burns Township.
All 3 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its C+; Cohoctah Township (B+) is closest.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burns Township | #487 | C+ | C+ | — | B | B− |
| Antrim Township | — | — | C+ | — | B | C+ |
| Argentine Township | #191 | A− | C | A | A− | B |
| Vernon Township | #269 | B+ | A− | — | B+ | C+ |
| Cohoctah Township | #270 | B+ | C+ | — | A− | B+ |
Antrim Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Burns Township, Antrim Township, Vernon Township and Cohoctah Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Burns Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Burns Township grades C+ overall, better than 39% of U.S. towns and #487 of 697 in Michigan. It grades B− for health and B for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
