Greensky Hill Mission · National Register of Historic Places
Hayes Township’s story
Hayes Township in pictures
The archive holds 2 maps from 1958 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Hayes TownshipMI
A town of 2,012.
5 bordering townsMap →
Greensky Hill Mission · Photo: rossograph · CC BY-SA 4.0
Population
2,012
2025 Census estimate · +0.5% since 2020
Median home value
$247K
Census ACS
Household income
$82K
median
Median age
50.6
years
Jobs based here
240
A commuter town
Is Hayes Township a good place to live?
Hayes Township’s best subject grades are an A− for schools and the outdoors and an A+ for civic life; its weakest is a C− for walkability. On hazard risk, just 8 of Michigan’s 1,279 towns do better. 13% of residents are under 18 in Hayes Township, below both Michigan’s towns (21%) and U.S. towns (22%). On civic life, just 38 of Michigan’s 1,265 towns do better. Greensky Hill Mission is on the National Register of Historic Places. Hayes Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Hayes Township stand out
Where Hayes Township beats most towns.
Natural hazardsA+
Lower risk than 99% of U.S. communities
Very low risk of storm and flood damage
FEMA National Risk Index.
Community nonprofits per 1,000 residents
Hayes Township8.5
Typical U.S. town3.7
Typical MI town3.1
Civic lifeA+
2.8 times the nonprofits per person
than the typical Michigan town
Charities, civic groups and human services; churches not counted.
A commuter town
96% of working residents leave Hayes Township for work
Where Hayes Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
240jobs based in Hayes Township
4%of working residents work in town
10 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2021
How Hayes Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Hayes Township is from typical.
Hazard riskinland flooding tops the listA+Open →SchoolsBeat 79% of Michigan districts on tests and graduationA−Open →WalkabilityEPA walkability 5.4 of 20; 0% of households have no car; 1.2% of workers walk, bike or ride transitC−Open →Jobs & income$82K median household incomeB+Open →HealthCharlevoix Area Hospital 5.6 miles awayB+Open →Cost of livingTypical home $247K, 3.2 years of the county’s $77K median household incomeB−Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Outdoors5% conserved landA−Open →History1 place on the National RegisterB−Open →Civic life8.5 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsA+Open →
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 Hayes Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Hayes Township, and how to reach them.
PowerConsumers Energy20.7¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterLake Michigan Heights water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet6 providers96% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Hayes 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 hereHayes Township ClerkThe town itself; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Nov 2025
ZIP code4972049720 99%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 Hayes Township.
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade A+
Hayes Township stands out in Michigan and nationally, with the FEMA risk score lower than most
Hayes Township’s FEMA risk score is 1 of 100, against 25 of 100 in Michigan’s towns and 44 of 100 across U.S. towns. Since 2026, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Hayes Township.
1risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingCold waves
2
paid flood claims since 2026
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Work & commuteJobs & income grade B+
With 0.4 jobs for every working resident, most of Hayes Township’s workers commute out
Most working residents leave Hayes Township for work: only 4% work in town. 2.4% of residents live below the poverty line in Hayes Township. Jobs based in Hayes Township grew to 240 in 2021, 144 more than in 2011.
4%work in town
| Hayes Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 2.4% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.7% | 5.9% | 8% |
Where working residents work
In Hayes Township4%
Petoskey17%
Charlevoix16%
Charlevoix Township8%
Bear Creek Township5%
10 mi
median commute distance
240
jobs based in Hayes Township
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
C−
Walkability grade: more walkable than 24% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Climate
Hayes Township has snowy winters and pleasant summers
Hayes Township has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Hayes Township’s July high is 78°F.
124″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter17–30°
Spring31–51°
Summer55–76°
Fall40–56°
Oct 20
typical first frost
May 6
typical last frost
+1.7°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
HealthB+
Hayes Township is healthier than 65% of U.S. towns
Hayes Township beats the Michigan average on 9 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 29% of Hayes Township adults feel lonely.
65%healthier than U.S. townsB+Health Grade
| Hayes Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 32% | 33% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 83% | 80% | 79% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 18% | 17% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 36% | 35% |
32 measures vs. Michigan
9 better20 too close to call3 worse
| What stands out | Hayes Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 7.7% | 11.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.1% | 15.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 12.3% | 8.9% |
Charlevoix Area Hospital
5.6 mi away · emergency room
1 of 3
care shortages: mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Who lives here
Fewer children than Michigan overall
The median age in Hayes Township is 50.6 years. 38% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across Michigan.
50.6median age · MI 40.2
| Hayes Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 50.6 years | 42.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 25% | 19% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 38% | 26% | 29% |
Hayes TownshipMichiganUnited States
Ages · share of residents
17%
Education · adults 25 and older
No diploma4%
High school25%
Some college23%
Associate’s10%
Bachelor’s22%
Graduate16%
Women and men · all residents
47% women, 53% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.4 points. Across Michigan, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Hayes Township | MI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.4% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 4.8% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.2% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.4% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.4% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.1% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 16.9% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 17% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.8% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.7% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 25.1% | 28% | 26% |
| Some college | 23.4% | 21.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.6% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 21.9% | 19.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 16.3% | 12.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,000, single groups can be off by several points
OutdoorsA−
Conserved land covers 4.8% of Hayes Township
24 miles of trail in 21 parks and preserves. Sussan Creek Nature Preserve, at 250 acres with 2.9 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
4.8%conserved
| Hayes Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.8% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
4.8%
conserved · 1,327 of 27,444 acres
24 mi
of trails · 0.6 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sussan Creek Nature Preserve | 2.9 mi | 250 |
| 2. Nathan "Barry" Driggers Memorial Nature Preserve | 1.9 mi | 71 |
| 3. Taylor Horton Creek Nature Preserve | 1.8 mi | 148 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Hayes Township
18pages on Hayes Township
The big questions
Out and about
The story
Day to day
After high school
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Hayes Township
About 2 of every 100 Hayes Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
About Hayes Township
Civil township in Michigan, United States
Hayes Township is a civil township of Charlevoix County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,000 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 43 sq mi
- Elevation
- 761 ft
Hayes Township’s neighbors
5 towns share a border with Hayes Township.
Charlevoix TownshipBay TownshipHorton BayEveline TownshipResort TownshipHayes Township
How the neighbors grade
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hayes Township | — | — | B− | — | A− | B+ |
| Charlevoix Township | — | — | B− | — | A− | B+ |
| Bay Township | — | — | B | — | B+ | B+ |
| Horton Bay | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Eveline Township | — | — | C− | — | B+ | B− |
| Resort Township | #8 | A+ | B | — | A | A− |
Hayes Township, Charlevoix Township, Bay Township and Eveline Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Hayes Township, Charlevoix Township, Bay Township, Eveline Township and Resort Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Horton Bay isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Hayes Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Hayes Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Hayes 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−.