Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Eaton Rapids Township gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $235K, 3.2 years of the Lansing metro’s $73K median household income. It grades B− overall, 383rd of 697 graded towns in Michigan. On the plus side, the median household earns $83K. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 93% of U.S. towns. Only 117 of Michigan’s 1,279 towns score lower on the outdoors.
Where Eaton Rapids Township beats most towns.
Where Eaton Rapids 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 Eaton Rapids Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 581 in 1860, 5,203 in 2020. The archive holds 7 old photos and papers going back to 1866 and 3 maps from 1910 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Eaton Rapids 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 Eaton Rapids Township.
Eaton Rapids Township sends most of its workers to Lansing and beyond, but it has little public open land.
Eaton Rapids Township has 412 jobs for its 1,662 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Most working residents leave Eaton Rapids Township for work: only 2% work in town. Jobs based in Eaton Rapids Township grew to 412 in 2021, 189 more than in 2011. 5.4% of residents live below the poverty line in Eaton Rapids Township, below both the Michigan town median (8.9%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%).
| Eaton Rapids Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 5.4% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.1% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Median household income | $83,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Eaton Rapids Township has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. At 82°F, Eaton Rapids Township’s July high is where Michigan’s towns sit at 82°F and U.S. towns at 85°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 58% of U.S. communities. Since 2004, 7 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Eaton Rapids Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Just 445 of its 21,763 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Eaton Rapids Township itself; its outdoors grade is D.
1.4 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bunker Road Canoe Landing | — | 3 |
| 2. Hillard Park | — | 2 |
| 3. Burchfield Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Eaton Rapids Township beats the Michigan average on 6 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 28% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Eaton Rapids Township.
| Eaton Rapids Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 27% | 23% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 37% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 34% | 36% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 17% | 16% |
| What stands out | Eaton Rapids Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11.7% | 15.4% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.8% | 8.7% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.8% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Eaton Rapids Township. Close and well known come first.
16 mi MuseumEli and Edythe Broad Art Museum150K visitors a year
13 mi Zoo & aquariumPotter Park Zoo
25 mi MuseumAmerican Museum of Magic
14 mi MuseumR. E. Olds Transportation Museum
39 mi MuseumGilmore Car Museum87K visitors a year33 mi Zoo & aquariumBinder Park ZooEli and Edythe Broad Art Museum: Dj1997, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Potter Park Zoo: Dj1997, CC BY-SA 3.0 · American Museum of Magic: rossograph, CC BY-SA 4.0 · R. E. Olds Transportation Museum: kennethaw88, CC BY 4.0 · Gilmore Car Museum: Kevin S. Forsyth, CC BY-SA 3.0
3 within 15 miles of the center of Eaton Rapids Township
About 5 of every 100 Eaton Rapids Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Michigan.
City in Michigan, United States
Eaton Rapids is a city in Eaton County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 5,203 at the 2020 census. The city is located in the south of Eaton Rapids Township, on the boundary with Hamlin Township, though it is politically independent of both townships. Its nickname is the Island City, since the downtown is located on an island, with a public park, in the Grand River.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Eaton Rapids Township.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eaton Rapids Township | #383 | B− | B+ | — | B− | B− |
| Eaton Rapids | #556 | C | B | C | B− | C |
| Hamlin Township | #475 | C+ | B− | — | B− | B− |
| Windsor Township | #351 | B | B− | — | B− | B− |
| Aurelius Township | #274 | B | C | — | B+ | B+ |
| Eaton Township | #281 | B | A− | — | B− | C+ |
Eaton Rapids Township, Hamlin Township, Windsor Township, Aurelius Township and Eaton Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Eaton Rapids Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Eaton Rapids Township grades B− overall, better than 52% of U.S. towns and #383 of 697 in Michigan. It grades B− for health and B− for schools. Walkability 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 B+.
