Carleton, 1910
Carleton’s story
154 years in pictures
Census counts: 434 in 1880, 2,326 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1910 and 6 maps from 1906 on.
- 1872Carleton is settled
CarletonMI
Population
2,302
2025 Census estimate · −1.3% since 2020
Typical home
$334K
+7.4% in a year
Household income
$73K
median
Median age
38.8
years
Jobs based here
206
A commuter town
Is Carleton a good place to live?
The best of Carleton’s subject grades are an A− for incomes and cost of living; the weakest is a C for walkability. Carleton has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Carleton stand out
Where Carleton beats most towns.
A commuter town
99% of working residents leave Carleton for work
Where Carleton’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
206jobs based in Carleton
1%of working residents work in town
17 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2021
How Carleton grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Carleton is from typical.
Jobs & income$73K median household incomeA−Open →Cost of livingA−Open →WalkabilityEPA walkability 5.9 of 20; 1.4% of households have no car; 0.9% of workers walk, bike or ride transitCOpen →SchoolsBeat 62% of Michigan districts on tests and graduationBOpen →Hazard riskFEMA risk higher than 38% of U.S. communities; inland flooding tops the listBOpen →HealthPromedica Monroe Regional Hospital 9.1 miles awayC+Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Outdoors0 miles of trails; 3% conserved landC+Open →History2 notable people born hereC+Open →Civic life1.9 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsB−Open →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
Climate–Open →Housing market–Open →Who lives hereMedian age 38.8; 11% of adults have a four-year degree–Open →
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Carleton: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Carleton, and how to reach them.
PowerDTE20.2¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterAsh Township water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet4 providers98% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Carleton’s trash rules yet
Register to voteOnlineIn Michigan you can register online until 15 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 15 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereAsh Township ClerkAsh Township; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Nov 2025
ZIP code4811748117 100%Census 2020
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 Carleton.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade A−
Carleton has 0.2 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
For most workers, Carleton is a place to come home to: only 1% work in town. The town’s typical journey to work stands at 31 minutes, above both the Michigan town median (25 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). Employers in Carleton shed 37 jobs between 2011 and 2021, to 206. Half of commuters travel less than 17 miles.
1%work in town
| Carleton | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.5% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 7.6% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $73,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
In Carleton1%
Ash Township7%
Romulus6%
Monroe5%
Ann Arbor4%
17 mi
median commute distance
206
jobs based in Carleton
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
C
Walkability grade: more walkable than 25% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
HousingCost of living grade A−
A home in Carleton is worth about $334K, on Zillow’s estimate
Typical home values rose 7.4% in the year to September 2026. 79% of households are owner-occupiers in Carleton.
$334KZillow home value
Typical home value
Carleton$334K
Michigan$264K
+7.4%
value change, 1 year
2
homes sold in May
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Climate
Snowy winters and pleasant summers in Carleton
In July, afternoons reach 84°; in January, nights fall to 18°, and about 45 inches of snow falls in a winter.
45″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter21–35°
Spring38–59°
Summer61–82°
Fall43–62°
Oct 20
typical first frost
Apr 27
typical last frost
+1.6°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade B
Carleton faces a low natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
Households in Carleton have drawn federal disaster aid in 2 declared disasters, most recently in 2023. Expected damage from storms and floods is lower here than in 62% of U.S. communities. Just over three fifths of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by tornadoes at 14%.
38risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingTornadoesCold waves
2
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
HealthC+
Residents of Carleton are less healthy than 57% of U.S. towns
Nearly a fifth of Carleton adults binge drink, where Michigan’s towns sit at 17% and U.S. towns at 16%. For adults locally, the share who have been diagnosed with depression is 28%.
43%healthier than U.S. townsC+Health Grade
| Carleton | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 16% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 37% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 27% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
32 measures vs. Michigan
1 better31 too close to call0 worse
| What stands out | Carleton | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 7.3% | 8.7% |
Promedica Monroe Regional Hospital
9.1 mi away · emergency room
None
primary care, dental or mental-health shortage
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
OutdoorsC+
In Carleton, 2.8% of the land is conserved
Trails run 0.3 miles in 1 park or preserve. Parks and preserves in Carleton: one, of 14 acres.
2.8%conserved
| Carleton | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2.8% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
2.8%
conserved · 18 of 632 acres
0.3 mi
of trails · 0.3 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ash Carleton Park | — | 14 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Nearby attractions
All 69 attractions →Michigan Stadium and 57 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Carleton. Close and well known come first.
Big draw23 mi Stadium & arenaMichigan Stadium
Big draw26 mi Stadium & arenaFord Field
26 mi Stadium & arenaComerica Park
19 mi MuseumThe Henry Ford1.8M visitors a year
26 mi TheatreFox Theatre
27 mi MuseumDetroit Institute of ArtsSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits
Michigan 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 · Detroit Institute of Arts: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Keep exploring
Everything we know about Carleton
19pages on Carleton
The big questions
Out and about
The story
After high school
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Carleton
About 3 of every 100 Carleton residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
About Carleton
Village in Michigan, United States
Carleton is a village in Monroe County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,326 at the 2020 census. The village is located within Ash Township.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Established
- 1872
- Area
- 1.0 sq mi
- Elevation
- 617 ft
- ZIP code
- 48117
Questions about Carleton
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Carleton, MI expensive?
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.
What is Carleton, MI known for?
2 notable people were born here, including Kathy Angerer and Elmina R. Lucke.