Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,764, settled in 1875. 2.8 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Michigan town.
The best of Forest Home Township’s subject grades are an A+ for civic life and an A for the outdoors. 36% of residents are 65 or older in Forest Home Township, against 19% in Michigan’s towns and 18% across U.S. towns. Only 3 of the 702 Michigan towns we compare have a higher median age than Forest Home Township. Forest Home Township is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 69% of U.S. towns. Forest Home Township’s trail density is 1.4 miles per square mile, above both Michigan’s towns (0.3) and U.S. towns (0.4). On civic life, just 28 of Michigan’s 1,265 towns do better. Forest Home Township has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Henry Richardi House and M-88-Intermediate River Bridge. Forest Home Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Forest Home Township beats most towns.
Where Forest Home Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Forest Home Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 2 maps from 1957 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Forest Home 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.
Ordered by what stands out in Forest Home Township.
Its public schools are run by the Bellaire Public Schools. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| John R Rodger Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 119 | C− |
| Bellaire MiddleHigh SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 140 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
Forest Home Township’s average trip to work is 22 minutes. Most working residents leave Forest Home Township for work: only 4% work in town. The top destinations are Kearney Township (21%), Central Lake Township (9%) and Traverse City (6%).
| Forest Home Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.8% | 5.9% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 73% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Forest Home Township has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Forest Home Township is 80°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
84% of adults had a checkup this year in Forest Home Township. Forest Home Township beats the Michigan average on 14 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 7. 5.1% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance in Forest Home Township.
| Forest Home Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 17% | 16% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 32% | 33% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 36% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 84% | 80% | 79% |
| What stands out | Forest Home Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 7.2% | 11.9% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5.4% | 8.7% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 13.7% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
46 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves. Glacial Hills Pathway and Natural Area, at 814 acres with 37.3 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Glacial Hills Pathway and Natural Area | 37.3 mi | 814 |
| 2. Torch Lake Nature Preserve | 2.3 mi | 100 |
| 3. Grass River Natural Area | 0.1 mi | 163 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Forest Home Township; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Forest Home Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
2 places in Forest Home Township on the National Register of Historic Places.
Civil township in Michigan, United States
Forest Home Township is a civil township of Antrim County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,675 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Forest Home Township.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forest Home Township | — | — | B− | — | B | B |
| Kearney Township | — | — | B | — | B | B |
| Helena Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Custer Township | — | — | A− | — | B | C+ |
| Bellaire | — | — | B | — | B | B+ |
| Torch Lake Township | — | — | D | — | A− | B+ |
| Milton Township | — | — | C− | — | A | B |
| Central Lake Township | — | — | B+ | — | C+ | B |
Forest Home Township, Kearney Township, Custer Township, Bellaire, Torch Lake Township, Milton Township and Central Lake Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Forest Home Township, Kearney Township, Custer Township, Bellaire, Torch Lake Township, Milton Township and Central Lake Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Helena Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Forest Home Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
2.8 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Michigan town.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
