Elba TownshipMI
A town of 5,256, settled in 1871. 28% more nonprofits per person than the typical Michigan town.
Is Elba Township a good place to live?
Elba Township gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $261K for a typical one, or 3.4 years of the Detroit metro’s $77K median household income. It grades B overall, ranked 330th of 697 in Michigan. Elba Township’s average trip to work is 33 minutes, against 25 minutes in Michigan’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 81% of U.S. towns.
What makes Elba Township stand out
Where Elba Township beats most towns.
96% of working residents leave Elba Township for work
Where Elba Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
How Elba Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Elba Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Elba Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Elba 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 Elba Township.
Most working residents commute out of Elba Township
Elba Township has 623 jobs for its 2,080 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. The average commute takes 32.9 minutes, against 24.2 across Michigan.
Most working residents leave Elba Township for work: only 4% work in town. 2.9% of residents live below the poverty line in Elba Township. Since 2011, Elba Township has added 171 jobs, to 623 in 2021.
| Elba Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 2.9% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.5% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Median household income | $83,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Low risk in Elba Township, with inland flooding at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 68% of U.S. communities. Since 1998, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Elba Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Elba Township has four seasons and pleasant summers
Elba Township has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 16° and about 34 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Fewer young adults than Michigan overall
Adults 18 to 34 are 16% of residents (22% statewide); people 65 and older are 24% of residents (19% statewide). Elba Township’s median age is 52.2 years. 24% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across Michigan.
| Elba Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 52.2 years | 42.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 24% | 19% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 19% | 21% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 24% | 26% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4 points. Across Michigan, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Elba Township | MI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.9% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.9% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 3.4% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.3% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 8.8% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.9% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 20.8% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.2% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10.8% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.8% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 37% | 28% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.5% | 21.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 15.6% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 15.8% | 19.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.4% | 12.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Residents of Elba Township are less healthy than 62% of U.S. towns
Elba Township beats the Michigan average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 17% of Elba Township adults smoke cigarettes.
| Elba Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 15% | 14% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 33% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 14% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 27% | 23% |
| What stands out | Elba Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 9.4% | 8.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.1% | 8.9% |
| More adults with heart disease | 7.8% | 7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Petite Wetland Plant Preserve | — | 13 |
| 2. Elba Fields | — | 7 |
| 3. Lake Nepessing Public Access | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum and 9 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Elba Township. Close and well known come first.
39 mi Zoo & aquariumDetroit Zoo
15 mi MuseumSloan Museum14 mi MuseumCrossroads Village (Michigan)
15 mi MuseumFlint Institute of Arts
36 mi MuseumHolocaust Memorial CenterPhoto credits
Detroit Zoo: WMrapids, CC0 · Sloan Museum: Amancour, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Flint Institute of Arts: Blueskiesfalling at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Holocaust Memorial Center: Dave Parker, CC BY 3.0
Everything we know about Elba Township
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Elba Township
About 4 of every 100 Elba Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
About Elba Township
Civil township in Michigan, United States
Elba Township is a civil township of Lapeer County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 5,235 at the 2020 Census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 34 sq mi
- Elevation
- 850 ft
Elba Township’s neighbors
5 towns share a border with Elba Township.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elba Township | #330 | B | B+ | — | B | C+ |
| Lapeer | #500 | C+ | B | C+ | B | D |
| Hadley Township | #308 | B | C+ | — | B+ | B+ |
| Oregon Township | #434 | C+ | A | — | B | C+ |
| Davison Township | #492 | C+ | C− | B | A− | C+ |
| Lapeer Township | #280 | B | B− | A+ | B | C+ |
Elba Township, Hadley Township and Oregon Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Elba Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Elba Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Elba Township, MI a good place to live?
By most measures, yes. Elba Township grades B overall, better than 58% of U.S. towns and #330 of 697 in Michigan. It grades C+ for health and B for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a C−.
Is Elba Township, MI expensive?
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+.