Castleton TownshipMI
A town of 3,425, settled in 1842.
Is Castleton Township a good place to live?
Castleton Township gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $125K, 1.5 years of the Grand Rapids metro’s $83K median household income. It grades C overall, 528th of 697 graded towns in Michigan. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $59K, and 15% of residents live below the poverty line. 9% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Castleton Township, below both the Michigan town median (26%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%). The biggest park or preserve is Thornapple Lake Nature Sanctuary, at 62 acres.
96% of working residents leave Castleton Township for work
Where Castleton Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
How Castleton Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Castleton Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Castleton Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Castleton 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 Castleton Township.
Castleton Township is healthier than towns with similar incomes and sends most of its workers to Hastings and beyond, but it has a long record of flood insurance claims.
Most working residents commute out of Castleton Township
Castleton Township has 256 jobs for its 1,215 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. Jobs based here fell from 331 in 2011 to 256.
Just 4% of Castleton Township’s working residents have a job in town. Its average trip to work stands at 29 minutes. It had 256 jobs in 2021, down 75 from 2011. The top destinations are Hastings (9%), Odessa Township (6%) and Grand Rapids (5%).
| Castleton Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $59,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.7% | 5.9% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
On state tests, Castleton Township’s schools trail 59% of Michigan districts
Its public schools are run by the Maple Valley Schools. 204 students attend Castleton Township’s public school.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fuller Street Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–2 | Grades PK–2 | 204 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
Health in Castleton Township trails 67% of U.S. towns
Against the 8,767 U.S. towns with household incomes like Castleton Township’s, it is healthier than 53%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income.
The share of adults in Castleton Township who report frequent mental distress: 19%. In Castleton Township, 17% of adults smoke cigarettes.
| Castleton Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 15% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 27% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 37% | 35% |
| What stands out | Castleton Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 13.6% | 10.2% |
| More smokers | 17.3% | 14.6% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.4% | 8.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
In Castleton Township, expect snowy winters and pleasant summers
The range runs from 17° on a January night to 83° on a July afternoon, with about 68 inches of snow a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Castleton Township keeps 1.6% of its land conserved
3.0 miles of trail wind through 4 parks and preserves. For Castleton Township, the trail density is 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Castleton Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.6% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Thornapple Lake Nature Sanctuary | — | 62 |
| 2. Gertrude McPharlin Bauer Nature Sanctuary | — | 20 |
| 3. Putnam Park | — | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Moderate risk in Castleton Township, with inland flooding at the top
138 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 27 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected losses in Castleton Township break down as 67% from inland flooding and 16% from tornadoes. FEMA expects more storm and flood damage here than in half of U.S. communities. Also worth knowing: 138 flood insurance claims have been paid here since 1979.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Everything we know about Castleton Township
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Castleton Township; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Castleton Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
About Castleton Township
Township in Michigan, United States
Castleton Township is a civil township of Barry County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,329 at the 2020 census. Castleton Township was formed on February 16, 1842.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 36 sq mi
- Elevation
- 879 ft
Castleton Township’s neighbors
5 towns share a border with Castleton Township.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castleton Township | #528 | C | A− | — | C+ | C |
| Maple Grove Township | — | — | A | — | C+ | C |
| Hastings Township | #229 | B+ | A− | — | B+ | B− |
| Woodland Township | — | — | B+ | — | A− | C |
| Vermontville Township | — | — | A− | — | C+ | C |
| Nashville | — | — | A+ | — | C+ | C |
Maple Grove Township, Woodland Township, Vermontville Township and Nashville have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Castleton Township, Maple Grove Township, Hastings Township, Woodland Township, Vermontville Township and Nashville report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Castleton Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Castleton Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Castleton Township, MI a good place to live?
Castleton Township grades C overall, better than 32% of U.S. towns and #528 of 697 in Michigan. It grades C for health and C+ for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Castleton 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−.