Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Fenton grades B− overall, 408th among Michigan's 697 graded towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Its public schools beat 80% of Michigan towns on state tests and graduation and it has 6 miles of trail. On the other side, homes are expensive, about $364K for a typical one and 5.8 times the Flint metro’s $62K median household income. Its National Register listings include Benjamin Bangs House and David B. Colwell House. Fenton’s average trip to work is 31 minutes, above both the Michigan town median (25 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). The biggest place to walk is Dauner Martin Nature Sanctuary, 152 acres with 4.2 miles of trail.
Where Fenton beats most towns.
Census counts: 735 in 1860, 12,050 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1866 and 5 maps from 1920 on.
9 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Fenton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Fenton, 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.
Ordered by what stands out in Fenton.
Fenton pairs an A− for schools with high home prices, but it has commutes longer than most of Michigan.
6.2 miles of trail in 9 parks and preserves. The trail density in Fenton is 0.9 miles per square mile.
| Fenton | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 7.3% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Dauner Martin Nature Sanctuary | 4.2 mi | 152 |
| 2. Silver Lake Park | 0.9 mi | 35 |
| 3. Bush Park | — | 18 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A− for schools comes with a C− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $364K.
Its public schools are run by the Fenton Area Public Schools. Three of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Fenton Senior High School, with 982 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew G Schmidt Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 718 | B |
| Fenton Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 982 | A− |
| State Road Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 396 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
63% of households own their home in Fenton. The typical Fenton home is worth about $364,000, up 2.9% in a year, 38% above the Michigan typical home. Fenton’s median rent is $1,275 a month.
| Fenton | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 63% | 84% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,275 a month | $1,045 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 82% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Fenton since 2026.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Fenton beats the Michigan average on 14 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 9% of Fenton adults have diabetes.
| Fenton | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9% | 12% | 12% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 27% | 23% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 36% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 32% | 33% |
| What stands out | Fenton | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.8% | 10.2% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.8% | 15.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Fenton has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 16° and about 52 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The average commute for its 4,884 working residents takes 31.3 minutes, against 24.2 across Michigan.
Most working residents leave Fenton for work: only 12% work in town. Jobs based in Fenton grew to 6,661 in 2021, 621 more than in 2011. The top destinations are Flint (6%), Flint Township (3%) and Grand Blanc Township (3%).
| Fenton | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 16% | 10% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 12% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 6.9% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Michigan average. 39% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across Michigan.
| Fenton | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 39% | 26% | 29% |
| Median age | 38.8 years | 42.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 16% | 19% | 18% |
56% women, 44% men
About 77 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2.7 points). Across Michigan, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Fenton | MI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.6% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.6% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.7% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.7% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.2% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.3% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.8% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.9% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.3% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.2% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 25.1% | 28% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.7% | 21.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.8% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 23.9% | 19.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 15.3% | 12.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Fenton. Close and well known come first.
Big draw37 mi Stadium & arenaMichigan Stadium26 mi MuseumMarvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum
33 mi Park & preserveDomino's Farms
36 mi Zoo & aquariumDetroit Zoo
39 mi MuseumEli and Edythe Broad Art Museum150K visitors a year
39 mi LandmarkYpsilanti Water TowerMichigan Stadium: Lectrician2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Domino's Farms: Dwight Burdette, CC BY 3.0 · Detroit Zoo: WMrapids, CC0 · Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum: Dj1997, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ypsilanti Water Tower: Dwight Burdette, CC BY 3.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Fenton
About 4 of every 100 Fenton residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
9 places in Fenton on the National Register of Historic Places.
5 notable people were born in Fenton.
City in Michigan, United States
Fenton is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan that lies mostly in Genesee County, with small portions in neighboring Oakland and Livingston Counties. The city helps form the Fenton urban area which lies just south of the Flint Metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, Fenton had a population of 12,050.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Fenton.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fenton | #408 | B− | C− | C+ | A− | B+ |
| Fenton Township | #286 | B | D | — | A | B+ |
| Holly Township | #278 | B | B− | — | B | B+ |
| Tyrone Township | #245 | B+ | C− | — | A | A− |
| Lake Fenton | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Fenton Township, Holly Township and Tyrone Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Lake Fenton isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Fenton with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Fenton grades B− overall, better than 49% of U.S. towns and #408 of 697 in Michigan. It grades B+ for health, C+ for safety and A− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
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−.
5 notable people were born here, including Marianne Martin and Charles Crawford Davis.
