1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Michigan - Berrien County - Fair Plain - ED 11-8B, ED 11-83A, 1880
Fair Plain’s story
128 years in pictures
The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 1880.
- 1898Fair Plain is settled
Fair PlainMI
A town of 7,330, settled in 1898.
Population
7,330
Census survey, 2020–24
Median home value
$169K
Census ACS
Household income
$53K
median
Median age
40.9
years
Jobs based here
1,584
A commuter town
Is Fair Plain a good place to live?
27% of residents live below the poverty line in Fair Plain, above both the Michigan town median (8.9%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). 15% of the land in Fair Plain is conserved, where Michigan’s towns sit at 4.4% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. The biggest park or preserve is Benton Park, at 63 acres. We don’t grade Fair Plain yet; the figures below are still real.
A commuter town
95% of working residents leave Fair Plain for work
Where Fair Plain’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
1,584jobs based in Fair Plain
5%of working residents work in town
8 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2021
Getting set up
Moving to Fair Plain: who provides what
Fair Plain is unincorporated, so Berrien County and regional agencies provide most services.
PowerMidwest Energy Cooperative19.5¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterBenton Harbor water system9 health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet4 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesBerrien CountyBerrien County provides services here
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 hereBenton Charter Township ClerkBenton Charter Township; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Nov 2025
ZIP code4902249022 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 Fair Plain.
Work & commute
Fair Plain has 0.5 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Most working residents leave Fair Plain for work: only 5% work in town. Fair Plain’s average trip to work is 20 minutes. Since 2011, Fair Plain has added 279 jobs, to 1,584 in 2021.
5%work in town
| Fair Plain | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $53,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 6.1% | 10% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 5% | 5.9% | 8% |
Where working residents work
In Fair Plain5%
Benton Township20%
St. Joseph11%
Lincoln Township6%
St. Joseph Township5%
8 mi
median commute distance
1,584
jobs based in Fair Plain
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Climate
Snowy winters and pleasant summers in Fair Plain
Fair Plain has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 19° and about 78 inches of snow falls in a winter.
78″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter22–35°
Spring38–58°
Summer60–81°
Fall44–62°
Oct 17
typical first frost
May 4
typical last frost
+1.1°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Outdoors
Fair Plain has set aside 14.5% of its land for conservation
0.3 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The trail density in Fair Plain is 0.1 miles per square mile.
14.5%conserved
14.5%
conserved · 419 of 2,887 acres
0.3 mi
of trails · 0.1 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Benton Park | 0.1 mi | 63 |
| 2. Carronde Park | 0.2 mi | 20 |
| 3. Charles Yarbrough Riverview Drive Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Natural hazards
Fair Plain faces a low natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 63% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Fair Plain since 2018.
37risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingCold wavesTornadoes
1
paid flood claims since 2018
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Health
A larger share of adults in Fair Plain have diabetes than in the typical Michigan or U.S. town
18% of adults have diabetes in Fair Plain. Fair Plain beats the Michigan average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 21. 46% of adults have high blood pressure in Fair Plain.
| Fair Plain | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 12% | 12% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 34% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 46% | 36% | 35% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 14% | 14% |
32 measures vs. Michigan
2 better9 too close to call21 worse
| What stands out | Fair Plain | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 12.9% | 15.9% |
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 8% | 8.9% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 19.8% | 10.2% |
Lakeland Hospital, St. Joseph
1.4 mi away · emergency room
3 of 3
care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Who lives here
An age mix much like Michigan’s
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Michigan average. 24% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across Michigan. 20% of Fair Plain residents are under 18.
40.9median age · MI 40.2
| Fair Plain | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 20% | 21% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 17% | 19% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 24% | 26% | 29% |
Fair PlainMichiganUnited States
Ages · share of residents
16%
Education · adults 25 and older
No diploma10%
High school37%
Some college20%
Associate’s10%
Bachelor’s13%
Graduate10%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3 points. Across Michigan, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Fair Plain | MI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.5% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.1% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.4% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 16.2% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.3% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.7% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.6% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.5% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4.6% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 9.6% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 36.8% | 28% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.2% | 21.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.7% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 13.4% | 19.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.4% | 12.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
$235Kmedian sale price
Market temperature
30
days on market
99.3%
sale-to-list price
10
homes sold in May
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Fair Plain
16pages on Fair Plain
The big questions
Out and about
Day to day
After high school
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of Fair Plain
Lake Michigan CollegeCommunity college · Public · Benton Harbor3.3 mi$5,445 in-state tuitionAndrews UniversityUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Berrien Springs9.6 mi$35,056 tuition
About 4 of every 100 Fair Plain residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
About Fair Plain
Census-designated place & unincorporated community in Michigan, United States
Fair Plain (also "Fairplain" ) is an unincorporated community in Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a census-designated place (CDP) for statistical purposes and has no legal status as a municipality. The population was 7,402 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 4.4 sq mi
- Elevation
- 702 ft
Fair Plain’s neighbors
5 towns share a border with Fair Plain.
Benton HarborSt. Joseph TownshipBenton TownshipRoyalton TownshipSt. JosephFair Plain
How the neighbors grade
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair Plain | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Benton Harbor | #693 | D− | B+ | D− | D− | D− |
| St. Joseph Township | #369 | B− | C | B | B+ | B |
| Benton Township | #697 | D− | B− | D− | D− | D− |
| Royalton Township | #267 | B+ | C− | — | A− | A− |
| St. Joseph | #179 | A− | C− | C | A | A− |
Royalton Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. Fair Plain isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Fair Plain with a neighbor →
Questions about Fair Plain
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Fair Plain, MI a good place to live?
We don’t grade Fair Plain yet; the figures below are still real.