Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Colon Township gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $192K for a typical one, or 2.9 years of the Sturgis area’s $66K median household income. It grades C overall, ranked 546th of 697 in Michigan. The low prices come with trade-offs. Its schools rank behind 86% of the state's and residents are less healthy than 76% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. 13% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Colon Township, against 26% in Michigan’s towns and 29% across U.S. towns. Farrand Hall is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Colon Township beats most towns.
Where Colon Township’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 Colon Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 311 in 1860, 1,199 in 2020. The archive holds 7 old photos and papers going back to 1877 and 2 maps from 1961 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Colon 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.
Ordered by what stands out in Colon Township.
The public schools here belong to the Colon Community School District. Below: Two of its 3 schools, each with why it was picked. The 3 public schools in Colon Township teach 529 students between them.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colon Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 223 | D |
| Colon High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 271 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
The share of adults in Colon Township who worry about having enough food: 16%. Among adults here, 16% report frequent physical distress and 28% have been diagnosed with depression.
| Colon Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 15% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 27% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| What stands out | Colon Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 13.5% | 10.2% |
| More adults with COPD | 10.5% | 8.1% |
| More smokers | 18.7% | 14.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Jobs based here fell from 668 in 2011 to 400.
For Colon Township, the average commute is 22 minutes. This Michigan town had 400 jobs in 2021, down 268 from 2011. The top destinations are Sturgis (11%), Lockport Township (6%) and Coldwater (4%).
| Colon Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $66,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 9.6% | 5.9% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
A winter brings about 41 inches of snow, with January nights at 17° and July afternoons at 83°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The biggest park or preserve is Leidy Lake Game Area, at 105 acres. 1.8 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves. The trail network density for Colon Township comes to 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Colon Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.5% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Leidy Lake Game Area | — | 105 |
| 2. Colon Community Park | 0.2 mi | 9 |
| 3. Long Lake Public Access | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Flood insurance has paid out on 3 claims in Colon Township since 1982. Compared with 53% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage here is lower. FEMA puts nearly two thirds of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 8% to tornadoes.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Colon Township
About 3 of every 100 Colon Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
Village in Michigan, United States
Colon is a village in St. Joseph County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,199 at the 2020 census. The village is located within Colon Township. It is known as "The Magic Capital of the World", as it is the home of the Abbott Magic Company, the site of the annual Abbott's Magic Get-Together, and the former home and burial site of the famed stage magician Harry Blackstone, Sr.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Colon Township.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colon Township | #546 | C | A− | — | D | C− |
| Matteson Township | — | — | A | — | C | C− |
| Leonidas Township | — | — | B− | — | D | C+ |
| Nottawa Township | #483 | C+ | B+ | — | B− | C |
| Burr Oak Township | #404 | B− | B+ | — | C+ | C |
Matteson Township and Leonidas Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Colon Township, Matteson Township, Leonidas Township, Nottawa Township and Burr Oak Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Colon Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Colon Township grades C overall, better than 30% of U.S. towns and #546 of 697 in Michigan. It grades C− for health and D for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D.
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−.
