US Post Office Fowlerville Michigan, 2012
Handy Township’s story
176 years in pictures
The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 1895 and 3 maps from 1908 on.
- 1850Handy Township is settled
Handy TownshipMI
4 bordering townsMap →
Photo: RaboKarbakian · CC BY-SA 1.0
Population
8,887
2025 Census estimate · +3.2% since 2020
Median home value
$250K
Census ACS
Household income
$79K
median
Median age
39.4
years
Jobs based here
2,525
A commuter town
TownGrade
B+
#251 of 697 in MI
Is Handy Township a good place to live?
Handy Township is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B+ overall, 251st among Michigan's 697 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is incomes: the median household earns $79K. It also does better than most on schools: its public schools beat 60% of Michigan towns on state tests and graduation. A typical home there costs about $250K, 3.3 years of the Detroit metro’s $77K median household income. Handy Township’s average commute is 29 minutes, where Michigan’s towns sit at 25 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. The biggest park or preserve is Fowlerville Community Park, at 34 acres.
StrongestA−Hazard risk
What makes Handy Township stand out
Where Handy Township beats most towns.
A commuter town
89% of working residents leave Handy Township for work
Where Handy Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
2,525jobs based in Handy Township
11%of working residents work in town
28 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2021
How Handy Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Handy Township is from typical.
Hazard riskFEMA risk higher than 25% of U.S. communities; inland flooding tops the listA−Open →Jobs & incomeB+Open →SchoolsBOpen →HealthTrinity Health Livingston Hospital 7.6 miles awayBOpen →WalkabilityEPA walkability 6 of 20; 4.3% of households have no car; 2.8% of workers walk, bike or ride transitB−Open →Cost of livingB−Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Outdoors2 miles of trails; 3% conserved landCOpen →HistoryCOpen →Civic life2.6 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsBOpen →
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 Handy Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Handy Township, and how to reach them.
PowerDTE20.2¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterVillage of Fowlerville water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet7 providers96% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Handy 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 hereHandy Township ClerkThe town itself; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Nov 2025
ZIP codes48836, 4889248836 98% · 48892 2%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 Handy Township.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade B+
Handy Township has 0.7 jobs per working resident, so most workers leave town for work
11% of working residents work locally in Handy Township. Between 2011 and 2021, jobs here rose by 471, to 2,525. The top destinations are Howell (7%), Ann Arbor (5%) and Genoa Township (5%). Half the trips to work are shorter than 28 miles.
11%work in town
| Handy Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 7.8% | 10% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 11% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 8% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
In Handy Township11%
Howell7%
Ann Arbor5%
Genoa Township5%
Howell Township3%
28 mi
median commute distance
2,525
jobs based in Handy Township
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
B−
Walkability grade: more walkable than 47% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
SchoolsB
Handy Township’s grade for schools is a B
The largest public high school is Fowlerville High School, with 774 students. Below: Two of its 5 schools, each with why it was picked. Public schools: the Fowlerville Community Schools.
60%of MI districts it outscoresBSchool Grade
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fowlerville Junior High SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 550 | B− |
| Fowlerville High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 774 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade A−
Natural hazards: low risk in Handy Township, mostly inland flooding
Paid flood insurance claims in Handy Township since 1980: 6. On expected storm and flood damage, Handy Township sits below 75% of U.S. communities. Expected losses in Handy Township break down as 50% from inland flooding and 23% from tornadoes.
25risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingTornadoesCold waves
6
paid flood claims since 1980
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Climate
The climate in Handy Township brings snowy winters and pleasant summers
In July, afternoons reach 82°; in January, nights fall to 16°, and about 46 inches of snow falls in a winter.
46″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter18–33°
Spring36–57°
Summer58–80°
Fall40–60°
Oct 7
typical first frost
May 4
typical last frost
+1.7°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
HealthB
Handy Township ranks healthier than three in five of the country’s towns
The share of adults in Handy Township who report frequent mental distress: 18%. On the CDC’s 32 measures, Handy Township is ahead of Michigan on 9 and behind on 1. Among adults in the town, 31% have high blood pressure and 28% have been diagnosed with depression.
60%healthier than U.S. townsBHealth Grade
| Handy Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 36% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 27% | 23% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9.8% | 12% | 12% |
32 measures vs. Michigan
9 better22 too close to call1 worse
| What stands out | Handy Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 12.4% | 15.4% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 9.7% | 11.9% |
| More binge drinkers | 18.6% | 15.9% |
Trinity Health Livingston Hospital
7.6 mi away · emergency room
None
primary care, dental or mental-health shortage
62nd
percentile among MI towns
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
OutdoorsC
Conserved land covers 3.4% of Handy Township
2.4 miles of trail wind through 2 parks and preserves. The concentration of trails for Handy Township comes to 0.1 miles per square mile. Parks and preserves in the town: 2, covering 37 acres.
#522for trails in MI
| Handy Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.4% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
3.4%
conserved · 756 of 21,953 acres
2.4 mi
of trails · 0.1 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Fowlerville Community Park | — | 34 |
| 2. Centennial Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Handy Township
18pages on Handy Township
The big questions
Out and about
Day to day
After high school
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Handy Township
About 4 of every 100 Handy Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
About Handy Township
Civil township in Michigan, United States
Handy Township is a civil township of Livingston County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 8,602 at the time of the 2020 census, up from 8,006 at the 2000 census. The village of Fowlerville is located within the township.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 35 sq mi
- Elevation
- 906 ft
Handy Township’s neighbors
4 towns share a border with Handy Township.
Conway TownshipHowell TownshipLeroy TownshipIosco TownshipHandy Township
How the neighbors grade
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Handy Township | #251 | B+ | B− | — | B | B |
| Conway Township | #322 | B | B− | — | B | B |
| Howell Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Leroy Township | #167 | A− | B | — | A− | B+ |
| Iosco Township | #309 | B | C+ | — | B | B+ |
Handy Township, Conway Township, Leroy Township and Iosco Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Howell Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Handy Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Handy Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Handy Township, MI a good place to live?
By most measures, yes. Handy Township grades B+ overall, better than 68% of U.S. towns and #251 of 697 in Michigan. It grades B for health and B for schools.
Is Handy 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 B−.