Jefferson TownshipHillsdale County, MI
A town of 3,037, settled in 1856.
Is Jefferson Township a good place to live?
Jefferson Township’s weakest is walkability. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 97% of U.S. towns. At C− overall, Jefferson Township ranks 593rd of 697 in Michigan. Set against the rest, it does better than a fifth of U.S. towns. It also trails on health: residents are less healthy than just over three quarters of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. On cost of living it is strong: a typical home costs about $148K, 2.3 years of the Hillsdale area’s $64K median household income. 30% of residents are 65 or older locally, above both the Michigan town median (19%) and the median of U.S. towns (18%).
Figures: home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · health, CDC PLACES.
What makes Jefferson Township stand out
Where Jefferson Township beats most towns.
99% of working residents leave Jefferson Township for work
Where Jefferson Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
How Jefferson Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Jefferson Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Jefferson Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Jefferson 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 Jefferson Township.
Jefferson Township is a second-home town, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and sends most of its workers to Hillsdale and beyond.
Health in Jefferson Township trails 76% of U.S. towns
Against the 8,533 U.S. towns with household incomes like Jefferson Township’s, it is less healthy than 61%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
The share of adults in Jefferson Township who have obesity: 38%. Among adults in the town, 29% have been diagnosed with depression and 16% report frequent physical distress.
| Jefferson Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 36% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 27% | 23% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Jefferson Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 10.5% | 8.1% |
| More adults with heart disease | 8.8% | 7% |
| More smokers | 18% | 14.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most people working in Jefferson Township commute elsewhere
Jefferson Township has 124 jobs for its 1,217 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
In Jefferson Township, the middle household income is $59,000. Most working residents leave Jefferson Township for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Hillsdale (18%), Jonesville (6%) and Adrian (5%). For half of commuters, work is under 24 miles away.
| Jefferson Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $59,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.5% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Top of a low hazard risk in Jefferson Township: inland flooding
Storm and flood damage is expected to run lower than in 77% of U.S. communities. Of the losses FEMA expects in Jefferson Township, 49% come from inland flooding and 24% from tornadoes.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
9.6% of Jefferson Township is conserved land
8.0 miles of trail wind through 1 park or preserve. Jefferson Township’s trail density comes in at 0.2 miles per square mile. Parks and preserves in the town: one, of 2 acres.
| Jefferson Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 9.6% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bird Lake Public Access | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expect snowy winters and pleasant summers in Jefferson Township
Jefferson Township’s typical July afternoon high stands at 82°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Everything we know about Jefferson Township
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Jefferson Township
About 1 of every 100 Jefferson Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
About Jefferson Township
Civil township in Michigan, United States
Jefferson Township is a civil township of Hillsdale County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,063 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 36 sq mi
- Elevation
- 1,060 ft
Jefferson Township’s neighbors
7 towns share a border with Jefferson Township.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson Township | #593 | C− | B+ | — | C+ | C− |
| Pittsford Township | — | — | B− | — | C− | C− |
| Cambria Township | #522 | C | B+ | — | B− | C− |
| Adams Township | — | — | A | — | C | C |
| Ransom Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hillsdale | #420 | B− | B+ | B− | B− | C |
| Woodbridge Township | — | — | A | — | B− | D |
| Hillsdale Township | — | — | B | — | B− | C |
Pittsford Township, Adams Township, Woodbridge Township and Hillsdale Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Jefferson Township, Pittsford Township, Cambria Township, Adams Township, Woodbridge Township and Hillsdale Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Ransom Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Jefferson Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Jefferson Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Jefferson Township, MI a good place to live?
Jefferson Township grades C− overall, better than 20% of U.S. towns and #593 of 697 in Michigan. It grades C− for health and C+ for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D−.
Is Jefferson 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 B+.