Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,268, settled in 1841. 92% more nonprofits per person than the typical Michigan town.
Manistee Township gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $194K, 3.1 years of the county’s $64K median household income. It grades B− overall, 423rd among Michigan's 697 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $65K, and 10% of residents live below the poverty line. On the plus side, it has 15 miles of trail. 8.9% of residents are under 18 in Manistee Township, below both the Michigan town median (21%) and the median of U.S. towns (22%). Manistee River State Game Area, at 4,007 acres with 1.3 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Manistee Township's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 94% of U.S. towns.
Where Manistee Township beats most towns.
Where Manistee Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Manistee Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 3,343 in 1870, a peak of 14,260 in 1900, 6,259 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1870 and a map from 1982 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Manistee 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.
Ordered by what stands out in Manistee Township.
Manistee Township is a second-home town, draws workers from Manistee and beyond and gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns.
2,148 jobs are based in Manistee Township, 1.8 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 17.7 minutes, against 24.2 across Michigan.
About one in 4 of Manistee Township’s working residents works in town. The average trip to work in Manistee Township is 18 minutes. Since 2011, Manistee Township has added 855 jobs, to 2,148 in 2021.
| Manistee Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 23% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $65,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Its public schools are run by Manistee ISD. One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manistee ISD Center ProgramsLargest public high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 46 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Orchard Beach State Park | 2.9 mi | 200 |
| 2. Manistee National Forest - Manistee Ranger District | 1.6 mi | 1,165 |
| 3. Lake Bluff Bird Sanctuary | 1.4 mi | 53 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
15% of homes are seasonal or vacation homes, against 5.5% statewide, which helps explain the older median age.
Children under 18 are 9% of residents (21% statewide); people 65 and older are 30% of residents (19% statewide). Manistee Township’s median age is 51.7 years. Manistee Township has grown 5.9% since 2020, to 4,268 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Manistee Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 30% | 19% | 18% |
| Median age | 51.7 years | 42.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 24% | 26% | 29% |
36% women, 64% men
About 175 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±3.1 points). Across Michigan, 50.4% of residents are women. Among residents 35 to 44, 79% are men (MI 50%).
| Manistee Township | MI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 4.6% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 4.3% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.2% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.1% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.6% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.9% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.1% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.7% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 16.5% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 9.6% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 36.9% | 28% | 26% |
| Some college | 23.5% | 21.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 6.2% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 17.8% | 19.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 6% | 12.7% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,300, single groups can be off by several points
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 75% of U.S. communities. Since 1985, 6 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Manistee Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Beulah 7ssw weather station, 18 miles away, records that 92 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 96% of U.S. towns.
Manistee Township has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 79° and January nights drop to 16°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Manistee Township beats the Michigan average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5. 40% of Manistee Township adults have high blood pressure.
| Manistee Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 36% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 34% | 36% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 12% | 12% |
| What stands out | Manistee Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| More adults who have had cancer | 11% | 8.9% |
| More adults with heart disease | 8.5% | 7% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.7% | 8.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
None within 15 miles of Manistee Township; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Manistee Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
City in Michigan, United States
Manistee ( man-iss-TEE) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located in southwestern Manistee County, it is part of the northwestern Lower Peninsula. Manistee is the county seat of Manistee County, and its population was 6,259 at the 2020 census. This makes Manistee the fifth-largest city in Northern Michigan. Manistee is located on an isthmus between Manistee Lake and Lake Michigan, with the Manistee River bisecting the city as it flows west to the latter. Manistee is located along US 31, one of the major trunkline highways of the state.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Manistee Township.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manistee Township | #423 | B− | A− | — | B | C+ |
| Onekama Township | — | — | C− | — | B | B |
| Manistee | #519 | C | B+ | C | B | C+ |
| Stronach Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Eastlake | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Brown Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Onekama Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Manistee Township and Onekama Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Stronach Township, Eastlake and Brown Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Manistee Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Manistee Township grades B− overall, better than 46% of U.S. towns and #423 of 697 in Michigan. It grades C+ for health and B for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a C−.
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−.