Fenton LeRoy St, c. 1880
Fenton Township’s story
192 years in pictures
Census counts: 735 in 1860, 12,050 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1866 and a map from 1985 on.
- 1834Fenton Township is settled
Fenton TownshipMI
A town of 17,408, settled in 1834. Public schools that outperform most of Michigan.
5 bordering townsMap →
Photo: WeaponizingArchitecture · CC BY-SA 4.0
Population
17,408
2025 Census estimate · +3% since 2020
Median home value
$355K
Census ACS
Household income
$112K
median
Median age
46.6
years
Jobs based here
3,359
A commuter town
TownGrade
B
#286 of 697 in MI
Is Fenton Township a good place to live?
For most people who can afford it, yes. Fenton Township grades B overall, 286th among Michigan's 697 graded towns. The median household earns $112K and its public schools beat 85% of Michigan towns on state tests and graduation. What holds it back is price: the typical home is worth about $355K, 5.7 years of the Flint metro’s $62K median household income. 44% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Fenton Township, where Michigan’s towns sit at 26% and U.S. towns at 29%. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 82% of U.S. towns. The biggest place to walk is Linden County Park, 220 acres with 4.3 miles of trail.
What makes Fenton Township stand out
Where Fenton Township beats most towns.
A commuter town
95% of working residents leave Fenton Township for work
Where Fenton Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
3,359jobs based in Fenton Township
5%of working residents work in town
19 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2021
How Fenton Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Fenton Township is from typical.
Cost of livingDOpen →Jobs & incomeAOpen →SchoolsAOpen →WalkabilityEPA walkability 5.9 of 20; 2.6% of households have no car; 0.2% of workers walk, bike or ride transitC−Open →Hazard riskFEMA risk higher than 25% of U.S. communities; inland flooding tops the listA−Open →HealthAscension Genesys Hospital 8.1 miles awayB+Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Outdoors4% conserved landBOpen →HistoryC+Open →Civic life2.9 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsBOpen →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Fenton Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Fenton Township, and how to reach them.
PowerConsumers Energy20.7¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterCity of Fenton water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet7 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Fenton Township’s trash rules yet
SchoolsLinden Community SchoolsLake Fenton Community Schools2 districts serve Fenton Township; which school depends on your address and gradeNCES
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 hereFenton Township ClerkThe town itself; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Nov 2025
ZIP codes48430, 4845148430 59% · 48451 40%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 Fenton Township.
Fenton Township has better schools than Argentine Township or any other neighbor, has less food insecurity than most of Michigan and has household incomes well above the Michigan norm.
SchoolsA
For schools, Fenton Township earns an A
Its A is the best School Grade on its borders; Argentine Township (A−) is next. Its A for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $355K.
Its public schools are run by the Lake Fenton Community Schools. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Lake Fenton High School, with 646 students.
85%of MI districts it outscoresASchool Grade
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Shore Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–2 | Grades PK–2 | 505 | – |
| Lake Fenton High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 646 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
Work & commuteJobs & income grade A
With 0.5 jobs for every working resident, most of Fenton Township’s workers commute out
Jobs based here grew from 2,007 in 2011 to 3,359.
Most working residents leave Fenton Township for work: only 5% work in town. Fenton Township’s average trip to work is 30 minutes. Jobs based in Fenton Township grew to 3,359 in 2021, 1,352 more than in 2011.
5%work in town
| Fenton Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $112,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 16% | 10% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 5.1% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
In Fenton Township5%
Flint8%
Fenton8%
Grand Blanc Township5%
Flint Township4%
19 mi
median commute distance
3,359
jobs based in Fenton Township
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
C−
Walkability grade: more walkable than 18% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
HealthB+
Fenton Township is healthier than 75% of U.S. towns
Its widest gap with Michigan is food insecurity: 10% of its 19,834 adults worry about having enough food, against 15.4% statewide. Against the 6,931 U.S. towns with household incomes like Fenton Township’s, it is healthier than 52%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
Fenton Township beats the Michigan average on 16 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 21% of Fenton Township adults get no exercise outside work.
75%healthier than U.S. townsB+Health Grade
| Fenton Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 25% | 25% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9.8% | 12% | 12% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 19% | 19% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 14% | 14% |
32 measures vs. Michigan
16 better15 too close to call1 worse
| What stands out | Fenton Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10% | 15.4% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5.9% | 8.7% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.1% | 8.9% |
Ascension Genesys Hospital
8.1 mi away · emergency room
3 of 3
care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health
79th
percentile among MI towns
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade A−
Low risk in Fenton Township, with inland flooding at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 75% of U.S. communities. Since 1982, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Fenton Township.
25risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingTornadoesCold waves
3
paid flood claims since 1982
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
OutdoorsB
Fenton Township has set aside 3.9% of its land for conservation
7.1 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves.
#386for trails in MI
| Fenton Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.9% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
3.9%
conserved · 687 of 17,521 acres
7.1 mi
of trails · 0.3 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Linden County Park | 4.3 mi | 220 |
| 2. Lake Ponemah Public Access | — | 16 |
| 3. Thompson Road Dog Park | — | 10 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Climate
Snowy winters and pleasant summers in Fenton Township
Fenton Township 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.
52″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter18–33°
Spring36–57°
Summer58–80°
Fall41–60°
Oct 10
typical first frost
May 6
typical last frost
+1.7°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Nearby attractions
All 77 attractions →Michigan Stadium and 22 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Fenton Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw40 mi Stadium & arenaMichigan Stadium29 mi MuseumMarvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum
36 mi Park & preserveDomino's Farms
39 mi Zoo & aquariumDetroit Zoo
38 mi MuseumEli and Edythe Broad Art Museum150K visitors a year
13 mi MuseumSloan MuseumSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits
Michigan 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 · Sloan Museum: Amancour, CC BY-SA 4.0
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Fenton Township
18pages on Fenton Township
The big questions
Out and about
The story
After high school
Colleges nearby
3 within 15 miles of the center of Fenton Township
Kettering UniversityUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Flint12.1 mi$48,470 tuitionUniversity of Michigan-FlintUniversity or college · Public · Flint12.8 mi$14,704 in-state tuitionMott Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · Flint13.1 mi$6,845 in-state tuition
About 3 of every 100 Fenton Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
About Fenton Township
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)
- Established
- 1834
- Area
- 7.0 sq mi
- Elevation
- 902 ft
- ZIP code
- 48430
Fenton Township’s neighbors
5 towns share a border with Fenton Township.
Holly Township next door grades lower for schools (B to Fenton Township’s A) and higher for cost of living (B− to D).
FentonLake FentonHolly TownshipArgentine TownshipMundy TownshipFenton Township
How the neighbors grade
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fenton Township | #286 | B | D | — | A | B+ |
| Fenton | #408 | B− | C− | C+ | A− | B+ |
| Lake Fenton | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Holly Township | #278 | B | B− | — | B | B+ |
| Argentine Township | #191 | A− | C | A | A− | B |
| Mundy Township | #551 | C | C | — | B− | B− |
Fenton Township, Holly Township and Mundy 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 Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Fenton Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Fenton Township, MI a good place to live?
For most people who can afford it, yes. Fenton Township grades B overall, better than 63% of U.S. towns and #286 of 697 in Michigan. It grades B+ for health and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Fenton Township, 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 D.