Ford River TownshipMI
A town of 2,014, settled in 1860.
Is Ford River Township a good place to live?
The best of Ford River Township’s subject grades are a B for schools and civic life; the weakest is a D− for walkability. 33% of residents are 65 or older in Ford River Township, against 19% in Michigan’s towns and 18% across U.S. towns. On walkability, just 86 of Michigan’s 1,279 towns do worse. Ford River Township’s trail density is 1.4 miles per square mile, above both the Michigan town median (0.3) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). The biggest park or preserve is Fuller County Park, at 83 acres. Ford River Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
99% of working residents leave Ford River Township for work
Where Ford River Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
How Ford River Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Ford River Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Ford River Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ford River Township, 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Ford River Township.
Older than Michigan overall
Ford River Township’s median age is 52.9 years. 30% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across Michigan. 14% of Ford River Township residents are under 18.
| Ford River Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 52.9 years | 42.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 14% | 21% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 30% | 26% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±9.5 points. Across Michigan, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Ford River Township | MI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 5.9% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.4% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 7.8% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.9% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.5% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.7% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 16.8% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 16% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 1.5% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 27.7% | 28% | 26% |
| Some college | 29.6% | 21.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.3% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22.7% | 19.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7.1% | 12.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,000, single groups can be off by several points
Most of Ford River Township’s workers commute out: the town has 0.1 jobs for each of them
Most working residents leave Ford River Township for work: only 1% work in town. The average trip to work in Ford River Township is 21 minutes. The top destinations are Escanaba (34%), Harris Township (9%) and Wells Township (8%).
| Ford River Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.4% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Median household income | $70,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 7.9% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Snowy winters and pleasant summers in Ford River Township
Ford River Township has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 77°, January nights drop to 11° and about 47 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Inland flooding leads a low hazard risk in Ford River Township
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 66% of U.S. communities. Since 1986, 4 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Ford River Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
On CDC estimates, Ford River Township is less healthy than 58% of U.S. towns
Ford River Township beats the Michigan average on 4 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5. 31% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Ford River Township.
| Ford River Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 34% | 36% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 27% | 23% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 36% | 35% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 37% | 35% |
| What stands out | Ford River Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 9.2% | 11.9% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.9% | 8.7% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.2% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Ford River Township has set aside 1.5% of its land for conservation
91 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Escanaba River State Forest - Escanaba Unit | 37.9 mi | 11,953 |
| 2. Fuller County Park | — | 83 |
| 3. Hyde State Roadside Park | — | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Everything we know about Ford River Township
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Ford River Township
About 4 of every 100 Ford River Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
About Ford River Township
Unincorporated community in Michigan, United States
Ford River is an unincorporated community in Delta County, in the U.S. state of Michigan.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Ford River Township’s neighbors
5 towns share a border with Ford River Township.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ford River Township | — | — | B | — | B | C+ |
| Escanaba | #547 | C | A− | C− | B | D |
| Bark River Township | — | — | A− | — | A− | B− |
| Wells Township | #489 | C+ | B+ | — | B | C− |
| Gourley Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Cedarville Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Ford River Township and Bark River Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Ford River Township, Bark River Township and Wells Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Gourley Township and Cedarville Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Ford River Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Ford River Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Ford River Township, MI expensive?
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.