Garfield TownshipMI
A town of 1,685.
Is Garfield Township a good place to live?
Garfield Township’s best subject grade is an A− for cost of living; its weakest is a C− for walkability. Among 702 Michigan towns, just 1 have a higher share of households owning their home than Garfield Township. The biggest park or preserve is Garfield Township Park, at 36 acres. Garfield Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
100% of working residents leave Garfield Township for work
Where Garfield Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
How Garfield Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Garfield Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Garfield Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Garfield 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 Garfield Township.
Garfield Township stands out in Michigan and nationally, with fewer of its working residents who work locally
0.5% of working residents work locally in Garfield Township, where Michigan’s towns sit at 5.9% and U.S. towns at 8%. The median household income in Garfield Township is $97,000. The top destinations are Bay City (10%), Midland (10%) and Saginaw (8%).
| Garfield Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 0.5% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Median household income | $97,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 5.5% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Snowy winters and pleasant summers in Garfield Township
Garfield Township has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Garfield Township’s July high is 82°F, near the Michigan town median (82°F) and below the median of U.S. towns (85°F).
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
On CDC estimates, Garfield Township is less healthy than 60% of U.S. towns
Garfield Township beats the Michigan average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 4. 39% of Garfield Township adults have high blood pressure.
| Garfield Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 36% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 14% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 27% | 23% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Garfield Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 9.8% | 11.9% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 7.2% | 8.7% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.6% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Low risk in Garfield Township, with inland flooding at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 61% of U.S. communities. Since 1986, 32 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Garfield Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Garfield Township Park | — | 36 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
USS Edson and 10 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Garfield Township. Close and well known come first.
16 mi MuseumUSS Edson
13 mi GardenDow Gardens
16 mi GardenChippewa Nature Center
16 mi MuseumSaginaw Valley Naval Ship Museum
25 mi TheatreTemple Theatre26 mi Zoo & aquariumChildren's Zoo at Celebration SquarePhoto credits
USS Edson: U.S. Navy, Public domain · Dow Gardens: Chris.Schiemann, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Chippewa Nature Center: Christian Collins, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Saginaw Valley Naval Ship Museum: John McCullough, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Temple Theatre: Ian Poellet, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Everything we know about Garfield Township
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Garfield Township
About 3 of every 100 Garfield Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
About Garfield Township
Civil township in Michigan, United States
Garfield Township is a civil township of Bay County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The township's population was 1,693 as of the 2020 census. It is included in the Bay City Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 36 sq mi
- Elevation
- 643 ft
Garfield Township’s neighbors
4 towns share a border with Garfield Township.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garfield Township | — | — | A− | — | B | C+ |
| Fraser Township | #490 | C+ | B+ | — | B | C+ |
| Mount Forest Township | — | — | B− | — | B | C |
| Beaver Township | #499 | C+ | C+ | — | B− | B+ |
| Mills Township | — | — | B | — | A | B+ |
Garfield Township, Mount Forest Township and Mills Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Garfield Township, Fraser Township, Mount Forest Township, Beaver Township and Mills Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Garfield Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Garfield Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Garfield 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−.