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Michigan›Clinton County

ElsieMI

A town of 950, settled in 1857.

Is Elsie a good place to live?

6.9% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Elsie, against 26% in Michigan’s towns and 29% across U.S. towns. The biggest park or preserve is Elsie Park, at 35 acres. Elsie has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.

Small town

950 people, and everyone knows the way

In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.

Nearby towns
Views of Elsie, by S. Wight
Views of Elsie, by S. Wight, 1908
Elsie’s story

169 years in pictures

Census counts: 253 in 1880, 930 in 2020. The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 1908 and 3 maps from 1918 on.

  • 1857Elsie is settled
Explore the history →
Getting set up

Moving to Elsie: who provides what

Who provides power, water and the rest in Elsie, and how to reach them.

The full setup list →
PowerConsumers Energy20.7¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterVillage of Elsie water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet4 providers94% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Elsie’s trash rules yet
SchoolsOvid-Elsie Area SchoolsWhich school depends on your addressNCES
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.gov
Who runs elections hereDuplain Township ClerkDuplain Township; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Nov 2025
ZIP code4883148831 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 Elsie.

Work & commute

Most of Elsie’s workers commute out: the town has 0.4 jobs for each of them

Most working residents leave Elsie for work: only 4% work in town. At 31 minutes, Elsie’s average trip to work is above both Michigan’s towns (25 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). Jobs based in Elsie grew to 166 in 2021, 102 more than in 2011.

4%work in town
ElsieMichigan townsU.S. towns
Average trip to work31 minutes25 minutes25 minutes
Median household income$59,000$77,000$80,000
Below the poverty line12%8.9%9.6%
Working residents who work in town3.7%5.9%8%

Where working residents work

In Elsie4%
St. Johns11%
Duplain Township11%
Lansing10%
East Lansing5%
25 mi
median commute distance
166
jobs based in Elsie
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents

Census LEHD 2021 · ACS

Housing

Homes in Elsie are worth about $205K, by Zillow’s estimate

The typical Elsie home is worth about $205,000, up 5% in a year, 22% below the Michigan typical home. The median rent in Elsie is $700 a month.

$205KZillow home value
ElsieMichigan townsU.S. towns
Median rent$700 a month$1,046 a month$1,185 a month
Households that own their home82%84%73%

Typical home value

Elsie$205K
Michigan$264K
+5%
value change, 1 year
1
homes sold in April

Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center

Climate

Elsie has four seasons and pleasant summers

Elsie has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 16° and about 38 inches of snow falls in a winter.

38″snow a winter

Typical low → high °F

Winter19–33°
Spring36–57°
Summer59–81°
Fall41–60°
Oct 15
typical first frost
May 1
typical last frost
+1.5°
vs. the 20th-century average

NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020

Health

How healthy Elsie is

Elsie beats the Michigan average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 31% of Elsie adults sleep under 7 hours.

ElsieMichigan townsU.S. towns
Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES)31%34%36%
Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES)18%18%17%
Feel lonely (CDC PLACES)33%32%33%
Diabetes (CDC PLACES)11%12%12%
32 measures vs. Michigan
1 better31 too close to call0 worse
What stands outElsieMI
Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off7.1%8.7%
University of Michigan Health- Sparrow Clinton
10.7 mi away · emergency room
None
primary care, dental or mental-health shortage

CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA

Outdoors

Conserved land covers 5.4% of Elsie

0.3 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.

5.4%conserved
ElsieMichigan townsU.S. towns
Miles of trail per square mile0.3 miles per square mile0.30.4
Conserved land5.4%4.4%4.3%
5.4%
conserved · 40 of 750 acres
0.3 mi
of trails · 0.3 per sq mi
Biggest places to walkTrailsAcres
1. Elsie Park—35

Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US

Natural hazards

Elsie faces a moderate natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding

Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 52% of U.S. communities.

48risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
48Moderate riskLowerHigher
Inland floodingTornadoesStrong wind
1
federal disasters paid out here

FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA

Keep exploring

Everything we know about Elsie

18pages on Elsie
After high school

Colleges nearby

1 within 15 miles of the center of Elsie

A commuter town

96% of working residents leave Elsie for work

Where Elsie’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.

11% → St. Johns St. Johns 11% 11% → Duplain Township Duplain Township 11% 10% → Lansing Lansing 10% 5% → East Lansing East Lansing 5% 4% → Owosso Owosso 4% 4% → Delta Township Delta Township 4% Elsie · 4% stay
166jobs based in Elsie
4%of working residents work in town
25 mimedian commute distance

Census LEHD 2021

About Elsie

Village in Michigan, United States

Elsie is a village in Clinton County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, Elsie had a population of 930. The village consists of two noncontiguous portions within Duplain Township in the northeast portion of Clinton County—the smaller of which contains the village's Riverside Cemetery.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)

Area
1.2 sq mi
Elevation
732 ft
ZIP code
48831

Questions about Elsie

Short answers, built from the data on this page.

Is Elsie, MI a good place to live?

Elsie has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.