Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,676, settled in 1880. 3.7 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Michigan town.
Trash day: look up yoursCrystal Falls Township’s best subject grades are an A+ for civic life and an A− for the outdoors; its weakest is a D for incomes. 45% of residents are 65 or older in Crystal Falls Township, above both Michigan’s towns (19%) and U.S. towns (18%). Only 104 of Michigan’s 1,279 towns score lower on cost of living. 15% of the land in Crystal Falls Township is conserved, against 4.4% in Michigan’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. On civic life, just 9 of Michigan’s 1,265 towns do better. Crystal Falls Township has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Bewabic Park and Steven Royce House. Crystal Falls Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Crystal Falls Township beats most towns.
Where Crystal Falls 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 Crystal Falls Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 3,231 in 1900, a peak of 3,775 in 1910, 1,598 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1911 and 3 maps from 1958 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Crystal Falls 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 Crystal Falls Township.
12% of residents are under 18 in Crystal Falls Township. No town among the 702 in Michigan we compare has a higher median age than Crystal Falls Township. 25% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across Michigan.
| Crystal Falls Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 62.8 years | 42.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 12% | 21% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 25% | 26% | 29% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.1 points. Across Michigan, 50.4% of residents are women. Among residents 65 to 74, 63% are men (MI 48%). Median age: women 62.3, men 63.5.
| Crystal Falls Township | MI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 5.8% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 5.7% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 2.3% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8.4% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 8.7% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 5.2% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 18.5% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 21.2% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 24.1% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.7% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 39.3% | 28% | 26% |
| Some college | 16.4% | 21.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 15.7% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 17.1% | 19.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7.8% | 12.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,700, single groups can be off by several points
Since 2011, Crystal Falls Township has added 354 jobs, to 421 in 2021. The median household income in Crystal Falls Township is $58,000. The top destinations are Crystal Falls (18%), Iron River (10%) and Iron Mountain (8%).
| Crystal Falls Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $58,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 12% | 5.9% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Crystal Falls Township beats the Michigan average on 6 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 10. 14% of Crystal Falls Township adults binge drink.
| Crystal Falls Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 17% | 16% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 32% | 33% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 83% | 80% | 79% |
| What stands out | Crystal Falls Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 8.9% | 11.9% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.8% | 8.7% |
| More adults with heart disease | 10.3% | 7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Crystal Falls Township’s July high is 77°F. Crystal Falls Township has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
89 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. Bewabic State Park, at 306 acres with 2.3 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Copper Country State Forest - Crystal Falls Unit | 10.9 mi | 20,159 |
| 2. Bewabic State Park | 2.3 mi | 306 |
| 3. Gibson Lake Park | — | 22 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 61% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of Crystal Falls Township; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Crystal Falls Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
2 places in Crystal Falls Township on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Michigan, United States
Crystal Falls is a city in and the county seat of Iron County, Michigan, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 1,598. The city is located within Crystal Falls Township, but is a separate municipal entity. The area first developed as a major center for iron mining and the timber industry; it has become increasingly popular for tourism in recent years.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
8 towns share a border with Crystal Falls Township.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crystal Falls Township | — | — | C− | — | C+ | C |
| Crystal Falls | — | — | A | — | C+ | C |
| Mansfield Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hematite Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Mastodon Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Spurr Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Bates Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Amasa | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Crystal Falls Township and Crystal Falls have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Crystal Falls Township and Crystal Falls report no FBI crime data of their own. Mansfield Township, Hematite Township, Mastodon Township, Spurr Township, Bates Township and Amasa aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Crystal Falls Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
3.7 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Michigan town.
Yes. The typical home is worth about $181,000. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
