Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Ludington's standout: natural-hazard risk is low. Overall it grades C, 521st among Michigan's 697 graded towns. It is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 89% of U.S. towns and it has 6 miles of trail. Its weakest subject is health: residents are less healthy than 84% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Ludington’s average trip to work is 14 minutes, against 25 minutes in Michigan’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. Ludington has 7 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them S.S. BADGER (carferry) and Mason County Courthouse.
Where Ludington beats most towns.
S.S. BADGER (carferry) is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 4,190 in 1880, 7,655 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1871 and 3 maps from 1932 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Ludington is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ludington, 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 Ludington.
Ludington is healthier than towns with similar incomes, has cooler summers than nearly all U.S. towns and trades workers with Pere Marquette Township and other neighbors.
The trail density in Ludington is 1.5 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Cartier Park, 116 acres with 4.2 miles of trail.
| Ludington | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.5 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5.7% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Cartier Park | 4.2 mi | 116 |
| 2. Stearns Park | 0.5 mi | 27 |
| 3. Waterfront Park | — | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Ludington Area School District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Ludington High School, with 687 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| OJ DeJonge Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 447 | B+ |
| Ludington High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 687 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
Ludington’s FEMA risk score is 2 of 100. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Ludington since 2019.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Against the 4,477 U.S. towns with household incomes like Ludington’s, it is less healthy than 51%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
43% of Ludington adults have high blood pressure. Ludington beats the Michigan average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 10. 17% of Ludington adults report frequent physical distress.
| Ludington | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 36% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 12% | 12% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 17% | 16% |
| What stands out | Ludington | MI |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 81.5% | 77.6% |
| More adults with COPD | 11.8% | 8.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
People 65 and older are 30% of residents (19% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 31% of residents (38% statewide). 29% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across Michigan.
| Ludington | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 30% | 19% | 18% |
| Median age | 45.3 years | 42.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 20% | 21% | 22% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.4 points. Across Michigan, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Ludington | MI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.4% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.8% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4.7% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.6% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.4% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.1% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.2% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 17.4% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 12.6% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.8% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 32% | 28% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.9% | 21.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.4% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 16.6% | 19.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12.3% | 12.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
July afternoons average 77.8°, cooler than in 96% of U.S. towns; January nights average 17.8°.
Ludington has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. About 79 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Ludington | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 78°F | 82°F | 85°F |
| January low | 18°F | 16°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Ludington has about as many jobs (3,231) as working residents, but only 730 people both live and work here. The average commute takes 14.2 minutes, against 24.2 across Michigan.
About one in 4 of Ludington’s working residents works in town. 23% of residents live below the poverty line in Ludington. Jobs based in Ludington fell to 3,231 in 2021, 680 fewer than in 2011.
| Ludington | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 23% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 25% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Median household income | $46,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 13% | 10% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
The typical Ludington home is worth about $302,000, up 6.7% in a year, 15% above the Michigan typical home.
| Ludington | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 60% | 84% | 73% |
| Median rent | $902 a month | $1,047 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
1 within 15 miles of the center of Ludington
About 3 of every 100 Ludington residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
7 places in Ludington on the National Register of Historic Places.
8 notable people were born in Ludington.
City in Michigan, United States
Ludington ( LUH-ding-tən) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat and the largest city in Mason County. The population was 7,655 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth largest city in the northern Michigan area. It is located near a military base. The city is located at the mouth of the Pere Marquette River at Lake Michigan. Nearby are Ludington State Park (which includes the Big Sable Point Light), Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness, and Manistee National Forest, making the area a popular tourist destination in the summer. Ludington is the home port of the SS Badger, a vehicle and passenger ferry with daily service in the summer across Lake Michigan to Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Ludington.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ludington | #521 | C | C+ | B− | B | C− |
| Pere Marquette Township | — | — | B− | — | B | C |
Pere Marquette Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Pere Marquette Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Ludington with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Ludington grades C overall, better than 33% of U.S. towns and #521 of 697 in Michigan. It grades C− for health, B− for safety and B for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a C−.
That is 4.7 years of the area's median household income ($64,748 across the Ludington, MI area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
8 notable people were born here, including Murphy Jensen and Matt Hughes.
