Is Clayton Township a good place to live?
Clayton Township grades C+ overall, ranked 466th of 697 in Michigan, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Crime is low: it reports less per resident than 90% of U.S. towns and natural-hazard risk is low. On the other side, the typical home is worth about $231K, 3.7 years of the Flint metro’s $62K median household income. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 94% of U.S. towns. Only 58 of Michigan’s 1,279 towns score lower on the outdoors.
What makes Clayton Township stand out
Where Clayton Township beats most towns.
98% of working residents leave Clayton Township for work
Where Clayton Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
How Clayton Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Clayton Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Clayton Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Clayton 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 Clayton Township.
Clayton Township sends most of its workers to Flint and beyond and sees little violent crime, but it has little public open land.
In Clayton Township, property crime runs lower than in the typical Michigan or U.S. town
Violent crime is rare: 3 reported in 2025, 0.4 per 1,000 residents.
At 1.5 per 1,000 residents, Clayton Township’s property crime rate is below both the Michigan town median (8) and the median of U.S. towns (9.9). Clayton Township’s violent crime rate is 0.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Clayton Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.5 per 1,000 residents | 8 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.4 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
Violent crime per 1,000 residents
Property crime per 1,000 residents
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
On state tests, Clayton Township’s schools beat 57% of Michigan districts
Its public schools are run by the Swartz Creek Community Schools. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dieck Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades 2–5 | Grades 2–5 | 334 | C+ |
| Genesee Academy PrivateLargest high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 314 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
Most working residents commute out of Clayton Township
Clayton Township has 502 jobs for its 2,979 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. Jobs based here fell from 1,026 in 2011 to 502.
Most working residents leave Clayton Township for work: only 2% work in town. At 31 minutes, Clayton Township’s average trip to work is where Michigan’s towns sit at 25 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. Jobs based in Clayton Township fell to 502 in 2021, 524 fewer than in 2011.
| Clayton Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.8% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 9.4% | 10% | 11% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Clayton Township faces a low natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 78% of U.S. communities. Since 1986, 4 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Clayton Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Clayton Township has snowy winters and pleasant summers
Clayton Township has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 16° and about 52 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
An age mix much like Michigan’s
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Michigan average. 24% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across Michigan.
| Clayton Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 24% | 26% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 20% | 19% | 18% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.7 points. Across Michigan, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Clayton Township | MI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.2% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.7% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.8% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.7% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.6% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 16.3% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.5% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.2% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.5% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 29.3% | 28% | 26% |
| Some college | 29.3% | 21.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.4% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 14.1% | 19.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9.5% | 12.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Residents of Clayton Township are less healthy than 58% of U.S. towns
Clayton Township beats the Michigan average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 34% of adults feel lonely in Clayton Township.
| Clayton Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 32% | 33% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 34% | 36% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 17% | 16% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Clayton Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.3% | 8.9% |
| More adults with arthritis | 32.8% | 29.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Conserved land covers 1% of Clayton Township
Just 208 of its 21,761 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Clayton Township itself; its outdoors grade is D.
0.2 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lennon Roadside Park | — | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum and 13 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Clayton Township. Close and well known come first.
36 mi MuseumEli and Edythe Broad Art Museum150K visitors a year
10 mi MuseumSloan Museum
10 mi MuseumFlint Institute of Arts13 mi MuseumCrossroads Village (Michigan)
39 mi Zoo & aquariumPotter Park Zoo
39 mi MuseumR. E. Olds Transportation MuseumPhoto credits
Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum: Dj1997, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Sloan Museum: Amancour, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Flint Institute of Arts: Blueskiesfalling at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Potter Park Zoo: Dj1997, CC BY-SA 3.0 · R. E. Olds Transportation Museum: kennethaw88, CC BY 4.0
Everything we know about Clayton Township
Colleges nearby
3 within 15 miles of the center of Clayton Township
About 3 of every 100 Clayton Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
About Clayton Township
Charter township in Michigan, United States
Clayton Charter Township, or more officially Charter Township of Clayton, is a charter township of Genesee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 7,460 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 34 sq mi
- Elevation
- 764 ft
Clayton Township’s neighbors
5 towns share a border with Clayton Township.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clayton Township | #466 | C+ | C− | A | B | C+ |
| Swartz Creek | #405 | B− | C | — | B | B− |
| Flint Township | #694 | D− | C+ | D− | C | D |
| Gaines Township | #455 | C+ | C+ | — | B | B− |
| Venice Township | — | — | B+ | — | B+ | C+ |
| Flushing Township | #416 | B− | C+ | A | B | B− |
Venice Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Swartz Creek, Gaines Township and Venice Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Clayton Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Clayton Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Clayton Township, MI a good place to live?
Clayton Township grades C+ overall, better than 42% of U.S. towns and #466 of 697 in Michigan. It grades C+ for health, A for safety and B for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Clayton Township, MI expensive?
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.