Cato TownshipMI
A town of 3,002, settled in 1857.
Is Cato Township a good place to live?
Cato Township gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $174K, 2.1 years of the Grand Rapids metro’s $83K median household income. It grades B− overall, ranked 430th of 697 in Michigan. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $68K, and 17% of residents live below the poverty line, and CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 81% of the country. On the plus side, natural-hazard risk is low. Cato Township’s average trip to work is 31 minutes, above both the Michigan town median (25 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). Cato Township's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 90% of U.S. towns.
What makes Cato Township stand out
Where Cato Township beats most towns.
Community nonprofits per 1,000 residents
How Cato Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Cato Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Cato Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Cato 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 Cato Township.
Cato Township faces a very low natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 92% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Cato Township’s public schools outperform 56% of Michigan districts
Its public schools are run by the Lakeview Community Schools. Its three schools are below. The largest public high school is Lakeview High School, with 368 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeview Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 4–7 | Grades 4–7 | 329 | C+ |
| Lakeview High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 8–12 | Grades 8–12 | 368 | B− |
| Lakeview Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–3 | Grades PK–3 | 306 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
Cato Township earns a C− for health
18% of Cato Township adults smoke cigarettes. Cato Township beats the Michigan average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 9. 16% of Cato Township adults report frequent physical distress.
| Cato Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 15% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 37% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 27% | 23% |
| What stands out | Cato Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 15% | 10.2% |
| More adults with COPD | 10.5% | 8.1% |
| More smokers | 18.4% | 14.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
In Cato Township, expect snowy winters and pleasant summers
Cato Township has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Cato Township’s July high is 82°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
About one in eight working residents works right in Cato Township
Cato Township has about as many jobs (953) as working residents, but only 132 people both live and work here. The average commute takes 31.2 minutes, against 24.2 across Michigan.
Most working residents leave Cato Township for work: only 12% work in town. Since 2011, Cato Township has added 363 jobs, to 953 in 2021. The top destinations are Grand Rapids (11%), Greenville (5%) and Lansing (3%).
| Cato Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 12% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Median household income | $68,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 9.4% | 10% | 11% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Cato Township has set aside 0.2% of its land for conservation
1.6 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lakeside Park | — | 3 |
| 2. Tamarack Lake Public Access | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Everything we know about Cato Township
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Cato Township
About 3 of every 100 Cato Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
About Cato Township
Township in Michigan, United States
Cato Township is a civil township of Montcalm County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,898 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 36 sq mi
- Elevation
- 955 ft
Cato Township’s neighbors
4 towns share a border with Cato Township.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cato Township | #430 | B− | A | — | B | C− |
| Belvidere Township | — | — | A | — | B− | C− |
| Hinton Township | — | — | A− | — | B | C− |
| Pine Township | — | — | A− | — | B | C− |
| Winfield Township | — | — | B | — | B− | C |
Belvidere Township, Hinton Township, Pine Township and Winfield Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Cato Township, Belvidere Township, Hinton Township, Pine Township and Winfield Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Cato Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Cato Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Cato Township, MI a good place to live?
Cato Township grades B− overall, better than 46% of U.S. towns and #430 of 697 in Michigan. It grades C− for health and B for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Cato 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.