Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Marquette Township's standout: natural-hazard risk is low. Overall it grades B−, ranked 407th of 697 in Michigan. Its public schools beat 80% of Michigan towns on state tests and graduation and it has 212 miles of trail. Its weakest subject is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $287K, 4.4 years of the Marquette area’s $65K median household income. Marquette Township’s average commute is 11 minutes, where Michigan’s towns sit at 25 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. The biggest park or preserve is Marquette Unit, at 3,176 acres. Only 9 of the 701 Michigan towns we compare have a lower typical July afternoon high than Marquette Township.
Where Marquette Township beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| North Star Montessori Academy | PK–8 | 145 |
| Vandenboom Alternative High School | 9–12 | 127 |
18.7% of the town is conserved land, across 13 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Marquette Township is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for hazard risk (better than 97% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 15%), so the B− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 136 in 1850, 20,629 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1850 and 2 maps from 1953 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Marquette 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 Marquette Township.
Marquette Township has a shorter frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and trades workers with Marquette and other neighbors.
Across 13 parks and preserves: 212 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Escanaba River State Forest - Gwinn Unit | 53.1 mi | 5,584 |
| 2. Heartwood Forestland | 23.6 mi | 1,285 |
| 3. South Vandenboom Recreation Area | 11.8 mi | 379 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
That grade comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $287K.
Its two schools are below. Public school enrollment in Marquette Township: 272 students across 2 schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Star Montessori AcademyLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 145 | C |
| Vandenboom Alternative High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 127 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
Storm and flood damage is expected to run lower than in 96% of U.S. communities. 56% of Marquette Township’s expected losses from natural hazards come from cold waves, followed by inland flooding at 23%.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Marquette weather station, 5 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 129 days, shorter than in 95% of U.S. towns. The Marquette weather station, 5 miles away, records that 197 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 100% of U.S. towns.
For Marquette Township, the January low is 9°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Marquette Township has about as many jobs (1,354) as working residents, but only 114 people both live and work here. The average commute takes 11.3 minutes, against 24.2 across Michigan.
For half of commuters, work is under 4 miles away. Between 2011 and 2021, jobs in Marquette Township rose by 217, to 1,354. The middle household income in the town is $58,000. The top destinations are Marquette (52%), Ishpeming (4%) and Negaunee (3%).
| Marquette Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $58,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Against the 8,327 U.S. towns with household incomes like Marquette Township’s, it is healthier than 88%, so its B isn’t only a matter of income.
Marquette Township: 18% of adults binge drink. On the CDC’s 32 measures, Marquette Township is ahead of Michigan on 3 and behind on 1.
| Marquette Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 34% | 36% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 27% | 23% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 16% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 25% | 25% |
| What stands out | Marquette Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had a stroke | 3.2% | 3.7% |
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 10.3% | 11.9% |
| Fewer adults getting cholesterol checked | 84.3% | 87.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Marquette Township
About 9 of every 100 Marquette Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
City in the United States
Marquette ( mar-KET) is the county seat of Marquette County and the largest city in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, United States. Located on the shores of Lake Superior, Marquette is a major port known primarily for shipping iron ore (hematite, magnetite) from the Marquette Iron Range. The city is partially surrounded by Marquette Township, but the two are administered autonomously. Marquette is named after Jacques Marquette, a French Jesuit missionary who had explored the Great Lakes region. Marquette had a population of 20,629 at the 2020 census, making it the largest city in Michigan north of the Tri-Cities. It is the third-largest American city on Lake Superior, behind Duluth, Minneso…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Marquette Township.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marquette Township | #407 | B− | D | — | A− | B |
| Marquette | #310 | B | C− | B+ | A− | B |
| Negaunee Township | #331 | B | C | — | A | B+ |
| Sands Township | — | — | B+ | — | C | B− |
| Ishpeming Township | #119 | A− | A | — | B+ | B |
| Powell Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Trowbridge Park | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Sands Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Marquette Township, Negaunee Township, Sands Township and Ishpeming Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Powell Township and Trowbridge Park aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Marquette Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Marquette Township grades B− overall, better than 49% of U.S. towns and #407 of 697 in Michigan. It grades B for health and A− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.