Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 5,096. 84% more nonprofits per person than the typical Michigan town.
Trash & recyclingKingsford gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $154K for a typical one, or 2.4 years of the Iron Mountain area’s $65K median household income. It grades A overall, 116th of 697 graded towns in Michigan. On the plus side, its schools outperform 87% of the state's. Kingsford’s average trip to work is 13 minutes, against 25 minutes in Michigan’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. Kingsford's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 89% of U.S. towns. Among 701 Michigan towns, just 2 have a lower January low than Kingsford.
Where Kingsford beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Woodland Elementary School | K–4 | 771 |
| Kingsford Middle School | 5–8 | 608 |
| Kingsford High School | 9–12 | 566 |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Kingsford is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 5,526 in 1930, 5,139 in 2020. The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 1850 and 2 maps from 1955 on.
Explore the history →Who provides power, water and the rest in Kingsford, 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.
Ordered by what stands out in Kingsford.
Kingsford pairs an A overall with homes cheaper than the Michigan norm, pairs an A for schools with modest home prices and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
Its A for schools comes with an A− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $154K.
Its public schools are run by the Breitung Township School District. Three of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Kingsford High School, with 566 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodland Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–4 | Grades K–4 | 771 | A− |
| Kingsford High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 566 | B+ |
| DickinsonIron Special EducationTop results in townGrades K–12 | Grades K–12 | 58 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
Kingsford grades A overall with a typical home of about $154K, below the Michigan typical value; only 13 of the 103 Michigan towns graded A− or better can say that. At 2.4 years of the Iron Mountain area’s $65K median household income, the typical home (about $154K) costs less against local pay than in 88% of Michigan towns; that ratio is one input to its A− for cost of living.
The typical Kingsford home is worth about $154,000, up 2.2% in a year, 42% below the Michigan typical home. Kingsford’s median rent is $917 a month.
| Kingsford | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $917 a month | $1,047 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 76% | 84% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 83% of U.S. communities. Since 1996, 4 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Kingsford.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Kingsford has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Kingsford is 80°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
People 65 and older are 27% of residents (19% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 17% of residents (22% statewide). 28% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across Michigan.
| Kingsford | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 27% | 19% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 23% | 21% | 22% |
53% women, 47% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.4 points. Across Michigan, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Kingsford | MI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.6% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.4% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 7.7% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.7% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.4% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 8.5% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 15.6% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 11.1% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.8% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 29.8% | 28% | 26% |
| Some college | 26.9% | 21.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.1% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 20.4% | 19.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8% | 12.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The average commute for its 2,177 working residents takes 12.8 minutes, against 24.2 across Michigan. Jobs based here grew from 1,963 in 2011 to 2,651.
About one in 5 of Kingsford’s working residents works in town. Jobs based in Kingsford grew to 2,651 in 2021, 688 more than in 2011. The top destinations are Iron Mountain (41%), Breitung Township (7%) and Norway (3%).
| Kingsford | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 20% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Median household income | $62,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Against the 9,315 U.S. towns with household incomes like Kingsford’s, it is healthier than 81%, so its B isn’t only a matter of income.
Kingsford beats the Michigan average on 4 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 31% of Kingsford adults sleep under 7 hours.
| Kingsford | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 34% | 36% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 27% | 23% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 82% | 80% | 79% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 36% | 35% |
| What stands out | Kingsford | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.9% | 15.4% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.2% | 8.7% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.3% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
0.7 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Cowboy Lake Park, at 31 acres.
| Kingsford | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.6% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Cowboy Lake Park | 0.4 mi | 31 |
| 2. Lodal Park | — | 21 |
| 3. Menominee River Recreation Area | — | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Kingsford; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Kingsford residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
City in Michigan, United States
Kingsford is a city in Dickinson County, Michigan, United States. Its population was 5,139 at the 2020 census, a slight increase from the 5,133 recorded at the 2010 census. It was named for the developer Edward G. Kingsford.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Kingsford.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kingsford | #116 | A | A− | — | A | B |
| Breitung Township | #282 | B | B | — | A | C+ |
| Iron Mountain | #298 | B | A− | — | B− | C |
Kingsford, Breitung Township and Iron Mountain report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Kingsford with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Kingsford grades A overall, better than 85% of U.S. towns and #116 of 697 in Michigan. It grades B for health and A for schools.
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−.