Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Chelsea grades A overall, 91st among Michigan's 697 graded towns. Natural-hazard risk is low. It is healthier than 96% of U.S. towns and its schools outperform 92% of the state's. The catch is cost: homes are expensive, about $413K for a typical one and 4.6 times the Ann Arbor metro’s $89K median household income. 35% of residents are 65 or older in Chelsea, above both the Michigan town median (19%) and the median of U.S. towns (18%). On walkability, just 89 of Michigan’s 1,279 towns do better. Chelsea has 4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Michigan Central Railroad Chelsea Depot and George W. Palmer House.
Where Chelsea beats most towns.
Where Chelsea’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 Chelsea is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for hazard risk (better than 97% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 14%), so the A overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,013 in 1870, 5,467 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1856 and 4 maps from 1919 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Chelsea. Close and well known come first.
Big draw14 mi Stadium & arenaMichigan Stadium
17 mi Park & preserveDomino's Farms
21 mi LandmarkYpsilanti Water Tower37 mi MuseumMarvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum
40 mi MuseumAutomotive Hall of Fame
37 mi MuseumEli and Edythe Broad Art Museum150K visitors a yearMichigan Stadium: Lectrician2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Domino's Farms: Dwight Burdette, CC BY 3.0 · Ypsilanti Water Tower: Dwight Burdette, CC BY 3.0 · Automotive Hall of Fame: Dwight Burdette, CC BY 3.0 · Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum: Dj1997, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Chelsea, 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 Chelsea.
Chelsea draws workers from Jackson and beyond, has less food insecurity than most of Michigan and pairs an A for schools with high home prices.
6.9 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The trail density in Chelsea is 1.9 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is Timber Town Park, at 20 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Timber Town Park | 0.1 mi | 20 |
| 2. Fairgrounds | — | 14 |
| 3. Pierce Park | — | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $413K.
Its public schools are run by the Chelsea School District.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beach Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 525 | A− |
| Chelsea High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 750 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Michigan is food insecurity: 6.4% of its 4,402 adults worry about having enough food, against 15.4% statewide.
23% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Chelsea. Chelsea beats the Michigan average on 22 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 8.5% of adults smoke cigarettes in Chelsea.
| Chelsea | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 34% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 37% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 18% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 8.5% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Chelsea | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.4% | 15.4% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 4% | 8.7% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 13% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
5,166 jobs are based in Chelsea, 2.2 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. 26.4% of workers work from home, against 13.5% across Michigan.
Most working residents leave Chelsea for work: only 17% work in town. 26% of Chelsea workers work from home. Since 2011, Chelsea has added 476 jobs, to 5,166 in 2021.
| Chelsea | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 26% | 10% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 17% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 4.1% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $72,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
71.5% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 50.4% across Michigan. The median property tax bill is $4,853, against $2,904 across Michigan, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Chelsea’s median rent is $1,619 a month. The typical Chelsea home is worth about $413,000, up 3.5% in a year, 57% above the Michigan typical home.
| Chelsea | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 63% | 84% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,619 a month | $1,045 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 94% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Chelsea has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 16° and about 33 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
1 within 15 miles of the center of Chelsea
About 5 of every 100 Chelsea residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Michigan.
4,944 counted in 2010 and 5,467 in 2020; an estimated 5,424 in 2025.
Growth has leveled off: within 1% of 2020, after 10.6% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
4 places in Chelsea on the National Register of Historic Places.
Place in Michigan, United States
Chelsea is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 5,467 at the 2020 census. Located approximately 15 miles west of Ann Arbor, the city is recognized for its vibrant arts community, historic downtown, and strong civic identity. Chelsea also serves as a regional hub for outdoor recreation, due to its proximity to state parks, trails, lakes and rivers.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Chelsea.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chelsea | #91 | A | D | B | A | A+ |
| Lima Township | #87 | A | C− | — | A | A+ |
| Sylvan Township | #72 | A | D | — | A | A |
Lima Township and Sylvan Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Chelsea with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Chelsea grades A overall, better than 88% of U.S. towns and #91 of 697 in Michigan. It grades A+ for health, B for safety and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
2 notable people were born here, including Dwight E. Beach and Kendra Moyle.
