Elk Rapids Township Michigan Fire and Ambulance, 2011
Elk Rapids’s story
163 years in pictures
The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 2011 and 2 maps from 1957 on.
- 1863Elk Rapids is settled
Elk RapidsMI
A town of 1,610, settled in 1863.
Population
1,610
2025 Census estimate · +5.1% since 2020
Typical home
$513K
+6.8% in a year
Household income
$71K
median
Median age
57.7
years
Jobs based here
880
A job hub
Is Elk Rapids a good place to live?
Elk Rapids’ best subject grades are an A for schools and walkability and an A− for health; its weakest is a C− for cost of living. 35% of residents are 65 or older in Elk Rapids, against 19% in Michigan’s towns and 18% across U.S. towns. On walkability, just 38 of Michigan’s 1,279 towns do better. Elk Rapids's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 94% of U.S. towns. Elk Rapids has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Elk Rapids stand out
Where Elk Rapids beats most towns.
Natural hazardsA+
Very low risk of storm and flood damage
FEMA National Risk Index.
Community nonprofits per 1,000 residents
Elk Rapids20.8
Typical U.S. town3.7
Typical MI town3.1
Civic lifeA
6.8 times the nonprofits per person
than the typical Michigan town
Charities, civic groups and human services; churches not counted.
WalkabilityA
More walkable than 89% of U.S. towns
11.5% of workers walk, bike or ride transit
EPA National Walkability Index; Census ACS.
A job hub
Every workday, about 794 people come to Elk Rapids for work
Where Elk Rapids’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
880jobs based in Elk Rapids
16%of working residents work in town
14 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2021
How Elk Rapids grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Elk Rapids is from typical.
Hazard riskFEMA risk higher than 5% of U.S. communities; inland flooding tops the listA+Open →SchoolsBeat 90% of Michigan districts on tests and graduationAOpen →WalkabilityEPA walkability 8.3 of 20; 1.3% of households have no carAOpen →HealthHealthier than 83% of U.S. towns; Munson Medical Center 15 miles awayA−Open →Cost of livingC−Open →Jobs & income$71K median household income; 880 jobs based hereB−Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Outdoors1 mile of trail; 7% conserved landB+Open →HistoryB+Open →Civic life20.8 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsAOpen →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
Climate–Open →Housing market–Open →Who lives hereMedian age 57.7; 45% of adults have a four-year degree–Open →
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Elk Rapids: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Elk Rapids, and how to reach them.
PowerConsumers Energy20.7¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterVillage of Elk Rapids water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet6 providers94% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Elk Rapids’ trash rules yet
Register to voteOnlineIn Michigan you can register online until 15 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 15 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereElk Rapids Township ClerkElk Rapids Township; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Nov 2025
ZIP code4962949629 100%Census 2020
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 Elk Rapids.
HousingCost of living grade C−
Elk Rapids’ typical home value is about $513K
The typical Elk Rapids home is worth about $513,000, up 6.8% in a year, 94% above the Michigan typical home.
$513KZillow home value
| Elk Rapids | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 75% | 84% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,056 a month | $1,046 a month | $1,185 a month |
Typical home value
Elk Rapids$513K
Michigan$264K
+6.8%
value change, 1 year
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Work & commuteJobs & income grade B−
Elk Rapids has 1.7 jobs for every working resident, and 794 people commute in
Most working residents leave Elk Rapids for work: only 16% work in town. Elk Rapids’ average trip to work is 18 minutes, where Michigan’s towns sit at 25 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. 3.7% of residents live below the poverty line in Elk Rapids.
16%work in town
| Elk Rapids | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 16% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 3.7% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $71,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
In Elk Rapids16%
Traverse City23%
Elk Rapids Township18%
Garfield Township4%
Suttons Bay Township3%
14 mi
median commute distance
880
jobs based in Elk Rapids
A job hub
jobs vs. working residents
A
Walkability grade: more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade A+
Inland flooding leads a very low hazard risk in Elk Rapids
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 95% of U.S. communities.
5risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingCold wavesTornadoes
1
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
HealthA−
Compared with most of Michigan and the rest of the country, fewer of Elk Rapids’ adults report frequent mental distress
13% of Elk Rapids adults report frequent mental distress. Elk Rapids beats the Michigan average on 15 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 27% of Elk Rapids adults feel lonely.
83%healthier than U.S. townsA−Health Grade
| Elk Rapids | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 18% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 32% | 33% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 85% | 80% | 79% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 34% | 36% |
32 measures vs. Michigan
15 better14 too close to call3 worse
| What stands out | Elk Rapids | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7% | 15.4% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 4% | 8.7% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 14.1% | 8.9% |
Munson Medical Center
15 mi away · emergency room
1 of 3
care shortages: mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Climate
Elk Rapids has snowy winters and pleasant summers
Elk Rapids has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Elk Rapids is 79°F.
115″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter20–31°
Spring33–52°
Summer57–77°
Fall42–57°
Oct 19
typical first frost
May 13
typical last frost
+2.2°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
6.8%conserved
| Elk Rapids | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 6.8% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
6.8%
conserved · 86 of 1,277 acres
0.6 mi
of trails · 0.3 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Elk Rapids Day Park | 0.2 mi | 13 |
| 2. Veterans Memorial Park | — | 8 |
| 3. Grand Traverse Bay Underwater Preserve | — | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Elk Rapids
18pages on Elk Rapids
The big questions
Out and about
The story
Day to day
After high school
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Elk Rapids
About 7 of every 100 Elk Rapids residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Michigan.
About Elk Rapids
Civil township in Michigan, United States
Elk Rapids Township is a civil township of Antrim County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,521 at the 2020 census. The village of Elk Rapids is located within the township.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 11 sq mi
- Elevation
- 614 ft
Elk Rapids’s neighbors
One town shares a border with Elk Rapids.
Elk Rapids TownshipElk Rapids
How the neighbors grade
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk Rapids | — | — | C− | — | A | A− |
| Elk Rapids Township | #76 | A | C− | — | A | A− |
Elk Rapids has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Elk Rapids and Elk Rapids Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Elk Rapids with a neighbor →
Questions about Elk Rapids
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Elk Rapids, MI expensive?
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.