Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Today 6,510 people live in this town, first settled in 1824.
A good place to live, if you can afford it. Where it does best is health (A+): residents are healthier than 96% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. At A− overall, Dexter Township ranks 146th of 697 in Michigan. That leaves it better than 81% of U.S. towns. Schools are a strength too (A) — its schools rank ahead of 94% of Michigan towns. The drawback is cost of living (D): the typical home is worth about $466K, 5.2 years of the Ann Arbor metro’s $89K median household income. 25% of the land here is conserved, above both Michigan’s towns (4.4%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). Only 53 of Michigan’s 1,279 towns score higher on the outdoors.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · schools, state test and graduation results · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · USGS PAD-US.
Where Dexter Township beats most towns.
25.1% of the town is conserved land, across 7 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Dexter Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 850 in 1850, a low of 587 in 1920, 4,500 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1856 and 5 maps from 1902 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Dexter Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw13 mi Stadium & arenaMichigan Stadium
37 mi MuseumThe Henry Ford1.8M visitors a year
14 mi Park & preserveDomino's Farms31 mi MuseumMarvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum
19 mi LandmarkYpsilanti Water Tower
36 mi MuseumAutomotive Hall of FameMichigan Stadium: Lectrician2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · The Henry Ford: Alvintrusty, CC BY-SA 3.0 · 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
Who provides power, water and the rest in Dexter 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 Dexter Township.
Dexter Township has less food insecurity than most of Michigan, sends most of its workers to Ann Arbor and beyond and has household incomes well above the Michigan norm.
The biggest place to walk is Pinckney State Recreation Area, 2,719 acres with 26.8 miles of trail. The trail network density in Dexter Township is 1.9 miles per square mile. 62 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Pinckney State Recreation Area | 26.8 mi | 2,719 |
| 2. Stinchfield Woods | 16.7 mi | 764 |
| 3. Hudson Mills Metropolitan Park | 11.7 mi | 1,212 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its widest gap with Michigan is food insecurity: 6.9% of its 11,480 adults worry about having enough food, against 15.4% statewide.
The share of adults in Dexter Township who say their health is fair or poor: 12%. CDC measures, 32 in all: Dexter Township beats Michigan on 23 and trails on 1. 15% of adults in Dexter Township get no exercise outside work; 28% have obesity.
| Dexter Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 34% | 36% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 25% | 25% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 37% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 32% | 33% |
| What stands out | Dexter Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.9% | 15.4% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 6.1% | 11.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.6% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Dexter Township has 357 jobs for its 2,945 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. 25.7% of workers work from home, against 13.5% across Michigan.
The top destinations are Ann Arbor (26%), Scio Township (5%) and Chelsea (5%). Jobs based in Dexter Township grew to 357 in 2021, 36 more than in 2011. Its middle household income comes in at $124,000. The median commute is under 16 miles.
| Dexter Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $124,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 5.9% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.4% | 5.9% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
The range runs from 16° on a January night to 83° on a July afternoon, with about 33 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
In Dexter Township, the FEMA risk score is 39 of 100. Expected losses in Dexter Township break down as 63% from inland flooding and 17% from tornadoes.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
2 within 15 miles of the center of Dexter Township
About 5 of every 100 Dexter Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Michigan.
6,042 counted in 2010 and 6,696 in 2020; an estimated 6,510 in 2025.
Since 2020 the trend has turned: down 2.8%, after 10.8% growth in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
City in Michigan, United States
Dexter is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 4,500. Established as a village in 1830, Dexter was incorporated as a city in 2014. It lies approximately nine miles northwest of Ann Arbor, the county seat of Washtenaw County, and 40 miles west of Detroit, the largest city in the state.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Dexter Township.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dexter Township | #146 | A− | D | — | A | A+ |
| Webster Township | #103 | A | D | — | A+ | A+ |
| Lima Township | #87 | A | C− | — | A | A+ |
| Lyndon Township | #134 | A− | C | — | A | A |
| Putnam Township | #248 | B+ | C | — | B+ | A− |
Dexter Township, Webster Township, Lima Township, Lyndon Township and Putnam Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Dexter Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Dexter Township grades A− overall, better than 81% of U.S. towns and #146 of 697 in Michigan. It grades A+ for health 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.
