Plat book of Mecosta County, Michigan, 1900
Fork Township’s story
156 years in pictures
The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 1900 and 2 maps from 1959 on.
- 1870Fork Township is settled
Fork TownshipMI
A town of 1,700, settled in 1870.
Population
1,700
2025 Census estimate · +4.9% since 2020
Median home value
$145K
Census ACS
Household income
$56K
median
Median age
52.8
years
Jobs based here
110
A commuter town
Is Fork Township a good place to live?
Fork Township’s best subject grade is an A− for cost of living; its weakest is a D for incomes. The biggest park or preserve is Merrill-Gorrel County Park, at 80 acres. Fork Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
A commuter town
96% of working residents leave Fork Township for work
Where Fork Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
110jobs based in Fork Township
4%of working residents work in town
21 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2021
How Fork Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Fork Township is from typical.
Jobs & incomeDOpen →Hazard riskinland flooding tops the listC−Open →Cost of livingTypical home $145K, 2.4 years of the Big Rapids area’s $61K median household incomeA−Open →HealthCorewell Health Big Rapids Hospital 17.2 miles awayC−Open →WalkabilityEPA walkability 4.9 of 20; 8% of households have no car; 2.6% of workers walk, bike or ride transitCOpen →SchoolsB−Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
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 Fork Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Fork Township, and how to reach them.
PowerDTE20.2¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterT.j. White Pine Manor Apartments water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet6 providers91% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Fork Township’s trash rules yet
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 hereFork Township ClerkThe town itself; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Nov 2025
ZIP codes49305, 4967949305 85% · 49679 15%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 Fork Township.
HealthC−
Residents of Fork Township are less healthy than four in five U.S. towns
The share of adults in Fork Township who get no exercise outside work is 29%, above both Michigan’s towns (25%) and U.S. towns (25%). Against the Michigan average, Fork Township comes out ahead on 1 CDC measures out of 32, and behind on 11. 42% of Fork Township adults have high blood pressure.
20%healthier than U.S. townsC−Health Grade
| Fork Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 36% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 12% | 12% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 15% | 14% |
32 measures vs. Michigan
1 better20 too close to call11 worse
| What stands out | Fork Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 80.4% | 77.6% |
| More adults with COPD | 11.4% | 8.1% |
Corewell Health Big Rapids Hospital
17.2 mi away · emergency room
3 of 3
care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
SchoolsB−
Public schools in Fork Township fall behind 54% of Michigan districts
The public schools here belong to the Chippewa Hills School District. Its one school is below. 204 students attend Fork Township’s public school.
46%of MI districts it outscoresB−School Grade
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barryton Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 204 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
Work & commuteJobs & income grade D
With 0.2 jobs for every working resident, most of Fork Township’s workers commute out
Commuting out is the norm locally: 4% of working residents work locally. The share of residents in Fork Township who live below the poverty line is 15%, above both the Michigan town median (8.9%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). Between 2011 and 2021, jobs locally rose by 49, to 110. Also worth knowing: its median household income is $56,000.
4%work in town
| Fork Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $56,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.2% | 5.9% | 8% |
Where working residents work
In Fork Township4%
Evart8%
Big Rapids8%
Wheatland Township7%
Mount Pleasant6%
21 mi
median commute distance
110
jobs based in Fork Township
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
C
Walkability grade: more walkable than 34% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade C−
The FEMA risk score in Fork Township is higher than in most of Michigan or the rest of the country
43% of Fork Township’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by strong winds at 38%. The national flood insurance program has paid 11 claims locally since 2004. Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in three quarters of U.S. communities.
75risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingStrong windCold waves
11
paid flood claims since 2004
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Climate
In Fork Township, expect snowy winters and pleasant summers
In July, afternoons reach 82°; in January, nights fall to 13°, and about 61 inches of snow falls in a winter.
61″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter16–31°
Spring32–55°
Summer55–80°
Fall38–58°
Oct 2
typical first frost
May 13
typical last frost
+1.6°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
OutdoorsB−
Fork Township has set aside 2% of its land for conservation
Across 4 parks and preserves: 4.0 miles of trail. Fork Township’s trail density stands at 0.1 miles per square mile.
2%conserved
| Fork Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
2%
conserved · 451 of 22,395 acres
4.0 mi
of trails · 0.1 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Merrill-Gorrel County Park | 0.1 mi | 80 |
| 2. Central Park | 0.2 mi | 17 |
| 3. Barryton Lions Club Riverside Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Fork Township
18pages on Fork Township
The big questions
Out and about
Day to day
After high school
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Fork Township; the nearest are
Ferris State UniversityUniversity or college · Public · Big Rapids17.7 mi$14,778 in-state tuitionSaginaw Chippewa Tribal CollegeCommunity college · Public · Mount Pleasant23.3 mi$2,730 in-state tuition
About 1 of every 100 Fork Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
About Fork Township
Township in Michigan, United States
Fork Township is a civil township of Mecosta County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,627 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 35 sq mi
- Elevation
- 981 ft
Fork Township’s neighbors
4 towns share a border with Fork Township.
Coldwater TownshipSheridan TownshipChippewa TownshipOrient TownshipFork Township
How the neighbors grade
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fork Township | — | — | A− | — | B− | C− |
| Coldwater Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sheridan Township | — | — | A− | — | B− | C− |
| Chippewa Township | — | — | A | — | C+ | C− |
| Orient Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Fork Township, Sheridan Township and Chippewa Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Fork Township, Sheridan Township and Chippewa Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Coldwater Township and Orient Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Fork Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Fork Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Fork Township, MI expensive?
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.