Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,280, settled in 1869. 4.4 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Michigan town.
The best of Frankfort’s subject grades are an A for schools and walkability and an A+ for civic life; the weakest is a D for incomes. 44% of residents are 65 or older in Frankfort, against 19% in Michigan’s towns and 18% across U.S. towns. Only 39 of Michigan’s 1,279 towns score higher on walkability. Only 61 of Michigan’s 1,265 towns score higher on civic life. Frankfort has 4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them City of Milwaukee and Frankfort Land Company House. Frankfort has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Frankfort beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Frankfort Elementary School | PK–5 | 240 |
| Frankfort High School | 6–12 | 248 |
Census counts: 782 in 1880, a peak of 1,690 in 1960, 1,252 in 2020. The archive holds 26 old photos and papers going back to 1930 and 2 maps from 1956 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Frankfort is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Frankfort. Close and well known come first.
4 mi National LakeshoreSleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore1.6M visitors a year
27 mi TheatreRamsdell Theatre14 mi MuseumMichigan Legacy Art ParkSleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore: en:User:Grod028, Public domain · Ramsdell Theatre: Doug Coldwell, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Frankfort, 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 Frankfort.
The typical Frankfort home is worth about $525,000, up 7.6% in a year, 99% above the Michigan typical home. 64% of Frankfort households own their home, where Michigan’s towns sit at 84% and U.S. towns at 73%. The median rent in Frankfort is $876 a month.
| Frankfort | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 64% | 84% | 73% |
| Median rent | $876 a month | $1,046 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Frankfort-Elberta Area Schools. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frankfort Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 240 | A− |
| Frankfort High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 248 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
Frankfort’s median age is 62.3 years. Frankfort has grown 2.2% since 2020, to 1,280 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 14% of Frankfort residents are under 18.
| Frankfort | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 62.3 years | 42.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 14% | 21% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 40% | 26% | 29% |
54% women, 46% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±8.5 points. Across Michigan, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Frankfort | MI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 5.8% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.1% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4.7% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 4.1% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 7.5% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 7.8% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 17.8% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 18% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 26.2% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.9% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 32.4% | 28% | 26% |
| Some college | 14.1% | 21.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.8% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 18.1% | 19.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 21.7% | 12.7% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,300, single groups can be off by several points
About one in 4 of Frankfort’s working residents works in town. Since 2011, Frankfort has added 337 jobs, to 864 in 2021. 12% of residents live below the poverty line in Frankfort.
| Frankfort | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 27% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $54,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 81% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Frankfort has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 77°, January nights drop to 17° and about 93 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Frankfort beats the Michigan average on 12 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 7. Only 1 of the 702 Michigan towns we compare have a higher share of adults who had a checkup this year than Frankfort.
| Frankfort | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 17% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 36% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 86% | 80% | 79% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 34% | 36% |
| What stands out | Frankfort | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 6.3% | 11.9% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 4.7% | 8.7% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 15.6% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Frankfort's reported crime rate is well below Michigan's. Violent crime is rare: 3 reported in 2025.
| Frankfort | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.9 per 1,000 residents | 7.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.3 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
| Frankfort | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.2% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Tank Hill Park | — | 14 |
| 2. Open Space Park | — | 9 |
| 3. Lockhart Field | — | 8 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Frankfort; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Frankfort residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
4 places in Frankfort on the National Register of Historic Places.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
4.4 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Michigan town.
That is 6.5 years of the area's median household income ($80,889 across the Traverse City, MI metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
2 notable people were born here, including Sam Slyfield and Paul Edinger.
