Carlton TownshipMI
A town of 2,429, organized in 1842.
Is Carlton Township a good place to live?
Carlton Township’s best subject grade is an A for cost of living; its weakest is a D− for walkability. Only 11 of Michigan’s 1,279 towns score lower on walkability. Carlton Township's schools outperform 74% of the state's. On cost of living, just 119 of Michigan’s 1,279 towns do better. Only 83 of Michigan’s 1,279 towns score lower on the outdoors. Carlton Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Carlton Township stand out
Where Carlton Township beats most towns.
99% of working residents leave Carlton Township for work
Where Carlton Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
How Carlton Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Carlton Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Carlton Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Carlton 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Carlton Township.
Most of Carlton Township’s workers commute out: the town has 0.2 jobs for each of them
Most working residents leave Carlton Township for work: only 1% work in town. Carlton Township’s average trip to work is 32 minutes, above both Michigan’s towns (25 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). Jobs based in Carlton Township grew to 198 in 2021, 92 more than in 2011.
| Carlton Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.4% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Median household income | $83,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Carlton Township faces a low natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 71% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
In Carlton Township, expect snowy winters and pleasant summers
Carlton Township has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 17° and about 68 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Carlton Township is healthier than 54% of U.S. towns
Carlton Township beats the Michigan average on 4 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 27% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Carlton Township, against 27% in Michigan’s towns and 23% across U.S. towns. 31% of adults feel lonely in Carlton Township.
| Carlton Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 27% | 23% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 32% | 33% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 34% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 37% | 35% |
| What stands out | Carlton Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.8% | 8.7% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 12.3% | 15.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.9% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Carlton Township has set aside 0.3% of its land for conservation
0.9 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Leach Lake Public Access | — | 5 |
| 2. Middle Lake Public Access | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Everything we know about Carlton Township
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Carlton Township; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Carlton Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
About Carlton Township
Township in Michigan, United States
Carlton Township is a civil township of Barry County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,368 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 36 sq mi
- Elevation
- 797 ft
Carlton Township’s neighbors
4 towns share a border with Carlton Township.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlton Township | — | — | A | — | B+ | B− |
| Irving Township | #233 | B+ | B− | — | A− | B |
| Woodland Township | — | — | B+ | — | A− | C |
| Hastings Township | #229 | B+ | A− | — | B+ | B− |
| Campbell Township | — | — | B | — | A− | B |
Carlton Township, Woodland Township and Campbell Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Carlton Township, Irving Township, Woodland Township, Hastings Township and Campbell Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Carlton Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Carlton Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Carlton Township, 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.