Vista Theater · National Register of Historic Places
Ely Township’s story
Ely Township in pictures
The archive holds 2 maps from 1955 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Ely TownshipMI
A town of 1,939.
7 bordering townsMap →
Vista Theater · Photo: Andrew Jameson · CC BY-SA 3.0
Population
1,939
2025 Census estimate · +2.1% since 2020
Median home value
$196K
Census ACS
Household income
$100K
median
Median age
39.7
years
Jobs based here
126
A commuter town
Is Ely Township a good place to live?
Ely Township’s best subject grade is an A for cost of living; its weakest is a C− for walkability. On cost of living, just 87 of Michigan’s 1,279 towns do better. Ely Township's schools outperform 73% of the state's. Among 702 Michigan towns, just 2 have a lower January low than Ely Township. Vista Theater is on the National Register of Historic Places. Ely Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Ely Township stand out
Where Ely Township beats most towns.
A commuter town
98% of working residents leave Ely Township for work
Where Ely Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
126jobs based in Ely Township
2%of working residents work in town
16 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2021
How Ely Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Ely Township is from typical.
Cost of livingTypical home $196K, 3 years of the Marquette area’s $65K median household incomeAOpen →WalkabilityEPA walkability 4.1 of 20; 3.9% of households have no car; 1.4% of workers walk, bike or ride transitC−Open →Hazard riskFEMA risk higher than 26% of U.S. communities; cold waves tops the listB+Open →SchoolsB+Open →HealthBell Hospital 8.3 miles awayC+Open →Jobs & income$100K median household income; 126 jobs based hereBOpen →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Outdoors6% conserved landB+Open →History1 place on the National RegisterBOpen →Civic life2.4 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsB+Open →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
ClimateSnowy winters, 77° summer afternoons, 118″ of snow–Open →Who lives hereMedian age 39.7; 20% of adults have a four-year degree–Open →
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Ely Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ely Township, and how to reach them.
PowerUpper Michigan Energy Resources17.5¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterTilden Township water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet7 providers74% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Ely Township’s 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 hereEly Township ClerkThe town itself; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Nov 2025
ZIP codes49849, 4981449849 67% · 49814 33%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 Ely Township.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade B
Most of Ely Township’s workers commute out: the town has 0.2 jobs for each of them
Most working residents leave Ely Township for work: only 2% work in town. At 31 minutes, Ely Township’s average trip to work is where Michigan’s towns sit at 25 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. 2.8% of workers work from home in Ely Township.
2%work in town
| Ely Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 2.8% | 10% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $100,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 5% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
In Ely Township2%
Ishpeming32%
Marquette19%
Ishpeming Township8%
Negaunee4%
16 mi
median commute distance
126
jobs based in Ely Township
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
C−
Walkability grade: more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade B+
Cold waves leads a low hazard risk in Ely Township
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 74% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Ely Township since 2023.
26risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Cold wavesInland floodingHail
1
paid flood claims since 2023
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Climate
In Ely Township, expect snowy winters and pleasant summers
Ely Township has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. At 77°F, Ely Township’s July high is below both the Michigan town median (82°F) and the median of U.S. towns (85°F).
118″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter6–24°
Spring25–49°
Summer50–75°
Fall33–52°
Sep 10
typical first frost
Jun 5
typical last frost
+1.7°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
HealthC+
Health in Ely Township trails 58% of U.S. towns
Ely Township beats the Michigan average on 4 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5. 30% of Ely Township adults sleep under 7 hours.
42%healthier than U.S. townsC+Health Grade
| Ely Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 34% | 36% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 33% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 82% | 80% | 79% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 27% | 23% |
32 measures vs. Michigan
4 better23 too close to call5 worse
| What stands out | Ely Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 9.6% | 11.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 12.9% | 15.4% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 13.2% | 10.2% |
Bell Hospital
8.3 mi away · emergency room
None
primary care, dental or mental-health shortage
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
OutdoorsB+
Conserved land covers 5.6% of Ely Township
107 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves. The trail density in Ely Township is 0.8 miles per square mile.
5.6%conserved
| Ely Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5.6% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
5.6%
conserved · 5,031 of 89,414 acres
107 mi
of trails · 0.8 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Escanaba River State Forest - Gwinn Unit (South) | 37.7 mi | 25,793 |
| 2. Escanaba River State Forest - Gwinn Unit | 1 mi | 2,009 |
| 3. South Ely Township Park | 0.3 mi | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Ely Township
18pages on Ely Township
The big questions
Out and about
The story
Day to day
After high school
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Ely Township; the nearest are
Northern Michigan UniversityUniversity or college · Public · Marquette21.5 mi$14,277 in-state tuitionKeweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · LAnse38.5 mi$5,000 in-state tuition
About 6 of every 100 Ely Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Michigan.
About Ely Township
Civil township in Michigan, United States
Ely Township is a civil township of Marquette County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,900 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 141 sq mi
- Elevation
- 1,411 ft
Ely Township’s neighbors
7 towns share a border with Ely Township.
Tilden TownshipHumboldt TownshipChampion TownshipIshpeming TownshipWest Branch TownshipFelch TownshipSagola TownshipEly Township
How the neighbors grade
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ely Township | — | — | A | — | B+ | C+ |
| Tilden Township | — | — | A | — | B+ | C+ |
| Humboldt Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Champion Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Ishpeming Township | #119 | A− | A | — | B+ | B |
| West Branch Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Felch Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sagola Township | — | — | B+ | — | A− | B− |
Ely Township, Tilden Township and Sagola Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Ely Township, Tilden Township, Ishpeming Township and Sagola Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Humboldt Township, Champion Township, West Branch Township and Felch Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Ely Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Ely Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Ely 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 A.