Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,455, settled in 1882.
Kingsley’s best subject grades are an A for schools and an A− for the outdoors; its weakest is a C for incomes. Kingsley’s median age is 30.4 years, where Michigan’s towns sit at 42.5 years and U.S. towns at 40.5 years. The biggest park or preserve is Civic Center South, at 40 acres. Kingsley has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Kingsley beats most towns.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Kingsley is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 419 in 1900, a low of 302 in 1930, 1,431 in 2020. The archive holds 10 old photos and papers going back to 2015 and 2 maps from 1956 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Kingsley, 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 Kingsley.
11% of residents are 65 or older in Kingsley, below both Michigan’s towns (19%) and U.S. towns (18%). Kingsley has grown 3.1% since 2020, to 1,455 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 26% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across Michigan.
| Kingsley | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 11% | 19% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 26% | 26% | 29% |
47% women, 53% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.8 points. Across Michigan, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Kingsley | MI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 14.8% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 25.7% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.6% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8.7% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.7% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 8.1% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 9.7% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 6.4% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4.1% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.6% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 33.1% | 28% | 26% |
| Some college | 25.8% | 21.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.9% | 19.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 5.6% | 12.7% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,500, single groups can be off by several points
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 79% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most working residents leave Kingsley for work: only 5% work in town. Jobs based in Kingsley grew to 318 in 2021, 237 more than in 2011. The top destinations are Traverse City (31%), Garfield Township (15%) and Paradise Township (6%).
| Kingsley | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $67,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.5% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
The typical Kingsley home is worth about $350,000, up 4.6% in a year, 33% above the Michigan typical home. 67% of households own their home in Kingsley.
| Kingsley | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 67% | 84% | 73% |
| Median rent | $982 a month | $1,046 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Kingsley has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Kingsley is 81°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Kingsley beats the Michigan average on 5 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 19% of Kingsley adults binge drink.
| Kingsley | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 16% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 17% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 27% | 23% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 36% | 35% |
| What stands out | Kingsley | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 9.1% | 11.9% |
| Fewer adults who have had a stroke | 2.9% | 3.7% |
| Fewer adults treating high blood pressure | 72.4% | 77.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1.0 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. Kingsley’s trail density is 0.8 miles per square mile.
| Kingsley | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Civic Center South | — | 40 |
| 2. Pioneer Park | 0.1 mi | 8 |
| 3. Brownson Memorial Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Kingsley
About 5 of every 100 Kingsley residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Michigan.
Where Kingsley’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
Village in Michigan, United States
Kingsley () is a village in Grand Traverse County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,431 at the 2020 census. The village is located within Paradise Township and is part of the Traverse City metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
That is 4.3 years of the area's median household income ($80,889 across the Traverse City, MI metro 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−.