Town of Lake Leelanau Civic bldg 8-96, 1996
Lake Leelanau’s story
102 years in pictures
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1996 and 2 maps from 1957 on.
- 1924Lake Leelanau is settled
Lake LeelanauMI
124 people live in this town, settled in 1924.
2 bordering townsMap →
Photo: rossograph · CC BY-SA 4.0
Population
124
Census survey, 2020–24
Typical home
$900K
+5.7% in a year
Median age
59.1
years
Jobs based here
199
A job hub
Is Lake Leelanau a good place to live?
Only 4 of the 702 Michigan towns we compare have a higher midpoint age than Lake Leelanau. Lake Leelanau has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
What makes Lake Leelanau stand out
Where Lake Leelanau beats most towns.
Small town
124 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Nearby towns
Suttons Bay TownshipLeland TownshipLake Leelanau
Nearby attractions
All 4 attractions →Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and 1 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lake Leelanau. Close and well known come first.
4 mi National LakeshoreSleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore1.6M visitors a year35 mi MuseumMichigan Legacy Art ParkSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore: en:User:Grod028, Public domain
Getting set up
Moving to Lake Leelanau: who provides what
Lake Leelanau is unincorporated, so Leelanau County and regional agencies provide most services.
PowerDTE20.2¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
Internet3 providers96% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesLeelanau CountyLeelanau County provides services here
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 hereLeland Township ClerkLeland Township; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Nov 2025
ZIP code4965349653 100%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 Lake Leelanau.
Housing
A typical Lake Leelanau home is worth about $900K
Home values are up 5.7% over the year to September 2026. For households in Lake Leelanau, the share who own their home is 93%.
$900KZillow home value
Typical home value
Lake Leelanau$900K
Michigan$264K
+5.7%
value change, 1 year
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Work & commute
A job hub: Lake Leelanau has 2.8 jobs for every working resident and draws in 196 commuters
Half commute less than 16 miles. Employers in Lake Leelanau added 137 jobs between 2011 and 2021, to 199. Most people who work leave Lake Leelanau to do it: just 4% work in town. Also worth knowing: among residents here, 3.2% live below the poverty line.
4%work in town
| Lake Leelanau | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 3.2% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.2% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
In Lake Leelanau4%
Traverse City18%
Leland Township17%
Suttons Bay Township6%
Leelanau Township6%
16 mi
median commute distance
199
jobs based in Lake Leelanau
A job hub
jobs vs. working residents
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Natural hazards
Lake Leelanau faces a low natural-hazard risk, led by cold waves
54% of Lake Leelanau’s expected losses from natural hazards come from cold waves, followed by inland flooding at 39%. On expected storm and flood damage, Lake Leelanau sits below 79% of U.S. communities.
21risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Cold wavesInland flooding
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Climate
The climate in Lake Leelanau brings snowy winters and pleasant summers
Lake Leelanau’s July high is 78°F.
115″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter18–30°
Spring32–52°
Summer56–76°
Fall41–57°
Nov 1
typical first frost
Apr 30
typical last frost
+2.3°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Health
How healthy Lake Leelanau is
In Lake Leelanau, nearly a third of adults have obesity. On the CDC’s 32 measures, Lake Leelanau is ahead of Michigan on 13 and behind on 1. Among adults here, 11% smoke cigarettes and 20% get no exercise outside work.
| Lake Leelanau | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 34% | 36% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 15% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 25% | 25% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 83% | 80% | 79% |
32 measures vs. Michigan
13 better18 too close to call1 worse
| What stands out | Lake Leelanau | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9% | 15.4% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5.4% | 8.7% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.6% | 8.9% |
Munson Medical Center
15.6 mi away · emergency room
None
primary care, dental or mental-health shortage
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Outdoors
5.8% of the land in Lake Leelanau is protected from building
Lake Leelanau has 3 parks and preserves, 8 acres in all.
5.8%conserved
5.8%
conserved · 10 of 180 acres
0.0 mi
of trails · 0 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Narrows Natural Area | — | 5 |
| 2. The Narrows DNR Boat Ramp | — | 2 |
| 3. Grove Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Lake Leelanau
16pages on Lake Leelanau
The big questions
Out and about
After high school
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Lake Leelanau; the nearest are
Northwestern Michigan CollegeCommunity college · Public · Traverse City16.2 mi$5,860 in-state tuitionNorth Central Michigan CollegeCommunity college · Public · Petoskey45.5 mi$5,430 in-state tuitionFerris State UniversityUniversity or college · Public · Big Rapids90.1 mi$14,778 in-state tuition
About 4 of every 100 Lake Leelanau residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
A job hub
Every workday, about 196 people come to Lake Leelanau for work
Where Lake Leelanau’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
199jobs based in Lake Leelanau
4%of working residents work in town
16 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2021
About Lake Leelanau
Census-designated place & unincorporated community in Michigan, United States
Lake Leelanau is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Leelanau County, Michigan, near the lake of the same name. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 229. It is situated along M-204 at the "narrows" that separate North and South Lake Leelanau. The community is divided between Leland Township and Suttons Bay Township.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 0.3 sq mi
- Elevation
- 617 ft
- ZIP code
- 49653
Questions about Lake Leelanau
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Lake Leelanau, MI a good place to live?
Lake Leelanau has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.