Gerrish TownshipMI
A town of 2,839. 72% more nonprofits per person than the typical Michigan town.
Is Gerrish Township a good place to live?
Gerrish Township is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C+ overall, 448th among Michigan's 697 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is safety: it reports less crime per resident than 70% of U.S. towns. A typical home there costs about $232K, 4.2 years of the county’s $55K median household income. Gerrish Township’s median age is 59.1 years, where Michigan’s towns sit at 42.5 years and U.S. towns at 40.5 years. On hazard risk, just 101 of Michigan’s 1,279 towns do worse. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 85% of U.S. towns.
What makes Gerrish Township stand out
Where Gerrish Township beats most towns.
Community nonprofits per 1,000 residents
Violent crime per 1,000 residents
92% of working residents leave Gerrish Township for work
Where Gerrish Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
How Gerrish Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Gerrish Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Gerrish Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Gerrish 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 Gerrish Township.
Gerrish Township is a second-home town and has a shorter frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Michigan (mostly inland flooding).
3.5% of the land in Gerrish Township is protected from building
The density of trails in Gerrish Township is 0.6 miles per square mile. Count the trails in 6 parks and preserves and they come to 24 miles. The biggest place to walk is South Higgins Lake State Park, 716 acres with 1.1 miles of trail.
| Gerrish Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.5% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit | 16 mi | 5,667 |
| 2. South Higgins Lake State Park | 1.1 mi | 716 |
| 3. Gerrish Municipal Park | — | 39 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Gerrish Township’s schools rank ahead of 56% of Michigan districts
The largest public high school is Roscommon High School, with 337 students. The public schools here belong to the Roscommon Area Public Schools. Three of the 6 schools are below, and why each made the list.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roscommon Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 276 | C |
| Roscommon High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 337 | B |
| COOR Special Educational CenterTop results in townGrades K–12 | Grades K–12 | 34 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
Gerrish Township is older than the Michigan average
59.5% of homes are seasonal or vacation homes, against 5.5% statewide, which helps explain the older median age.
People 65 and older are 37% of residents (19% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 9% of residents (22% statewide). Among adults 25 and older in Gerrish Township, 41% hold a bachelor’s degree or more.
| Gerrish Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 15% | 21% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 41% | 26% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.1 points. Across Michigan, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Gerrish Township | MI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.6% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4.3% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 5% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 8% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.4% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 20.2% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 18.2% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 18.3% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.4% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 21.1% | 28% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.4% | 21.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13.2% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 20.4% | 19.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 20.4% | 12.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,800, single groups can be off by several points
Most of Gerrish Township’s workers head elsewhere: there are 0.5 jobs for each of them
Jobs based here fell from 1,083 in 2011 to 445. The average commute for its 834 working residents takes 17.6 minutes, against 24.2 across Michigan.
In Gerrish Township, the typical journey to work is 18 minutes. For most workers, Gerrish Township is a place to come home to: only 8% work in town. Between 2011 and 2021, jobs in Gerrish Township dropped by 638, to 445. The top destinations are Higgins Township (10%), Grayling (7%) and Grayling Township (4%).
| Gerrish Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $96,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 6.6% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Gerrish Township’s grade for safety is a B+
Reported crimes fell from 25 to 11 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Violent crime is rare: 1 reported in 2025, 0.3 per 1,000 residents.
For Gerrish Township, the rate of thefts and burglaries is 3.5 per 1,000 residents. Gerrish Township’s rate of reported violence comes in at 0.3 per 1,000 residents.
| Gerrish Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.3 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.5 per 1,000 residents | 8 | 9.9 |
Violent crime per 1,000 residents
Property crime per 1,000 residents
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
In Gerrish Township, expect snowy winters and pleasant summers
The Houghton Lk Roscommon Ap weather station, 8 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 125 days, shorter than in 96% of U.S. towns.
In July, afternoons reach 81°; in January, nights fall to 12°, and about 66 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Gerrish Township faces a high natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 96% of Michigan towns, with expected losses of about $541 per resident a year; that rating is what its C+ for hazard risk is built on.
Expected losses in Gerrish Township break down as 81% from inland flooding and 6% from cold waves. Gerrish Township’s natural-hazard score from FEMA stands at 62 of 100.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
On CDC estimates, Gerrish Township is less healthy than 58% of U.S. towns
Against the 9,192 U.S. towns with household incomes like Gerrish Township’s, it is less healthy than 79%, so it trails even them.
For adults in Gerrish Township, the share who say their health is fair or poor is 21%. On the CDC’s 32 measures, Gerrish Township is ahead of Michigan on 10 and behind on 9. In Gerrish Township, 30% of adults sleep under 7 hours, and 83% had a checkup this year.
| Gerrish Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 36% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 34% | 36% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 83% | 80% | 79% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 17% | 16% |
| What stands out | Gerrish Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 8.4% | 11.9% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.4% | 8.7% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 13% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Everything we know about Gerrish Township
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Gerrish Township
About 1 of every 100 Gerrish Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
About Gerrish Township
Civil township in Michigan, United States
Gerrish Township is a civil township of Roscommon County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,796 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 37 sq mi
- Elevation
- 1,158 ft
Gerrish Township’s neighbors
5 towns share a border with Gerrish Township.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gerrish Township | #448 | C+ | C+ | B+ | B | C+ |
| Lyon Township | — | — | C | — | B | C+ |
| Markey Township | — | — | B+ | — | C | C+ |
| Higgins Township | — | — | A | — | B | C− |
| Beaver Creek Township | — | — | B | — | B+ | C |
| Lake Township | — | — | C+ | — | C | C |
Lyon Township, Markey Township, Higgins Township, Beaver Creek Township and Lake Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Lyon Township, Markey Township, Higgins Township, Beaver Creek Township and Lake Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Gerrish Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Gerrish Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Gerrish Township, MI a good place to live?
Gerrish Township grades C+ overall, better than 44% of U.S. towns and #448 of 697 in Michigan. It grades C+ for health, B+ for safety and B for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Gerrish 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 C+.