Melrose TownshipMI
A town of 1,404. 3 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Michigan town.
Is Melrose Township a good place to live?
The best of Melrose Township’s subject grades are an A− for schools and an A+ for civic life. On hazard risk, just 80 of Michigan’s 1,279 towns do better. Melrose Township’s median rent is $1,750 a month, against $1,046 a month in Michigan’s towns and $1,185 a month across U.S. towns. The biggest place to walk is Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit, 8,468 acres with 14.3 miles of trail. On civic life, just 26 of Michigan’s 1,265 towns do better. Melrose Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Melrose Township stand out
Where Melrose Township beats most towns.
Community nonprofits per 1,000 residents
1,404 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
How Melrose Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Melrose Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Melrose Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Melrose 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Melrose Township.
Inland flooding leads a very low hazard risk in Melrose Township
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 93% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Melrose Township has 0.7 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Most working residents leave Melrose Township for work: only 7% work in town. 3.9% of residents live below the poverty line in Melrose Township, below both the Michigan town median (8.9%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). Since 2011, Melrose Township has added 295 jobs, to 371 in 2021.
| Melrose Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 3.9% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $97,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Snowy winters and pleasant summers in Melrose Township
Melrose Township has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Melrose Township’s July high is 80°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
More middle-aged adults than Michigan overall
Adults 35 to 64 are 43% of residents (38% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 18% of residents (22% statewide). 33% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Melrose Township.
| Melrose Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 33% | 26% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 20% | 21% | 22% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.7 points. Across Michigan, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Melrose Township | MI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.8% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.2% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4.7% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.2% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 16% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.6% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.8% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.4% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.4% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.3% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24.9% | 28% | 26% |
| Some college | 23.1% | 21.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13.8% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 18.9% | 19.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 14% | 12.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,400, single groups can be off by several points
Residents of Melrose Township are healthier than 60% of U.S. towns
Melrose Township beats the Michigan average on 6 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 30% of Melrose Township adults feel lonely.
| Melrose Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 33% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 27% | 23% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 81% | 80% | 79% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| What stands out | Melrose Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11.2% | 15.4% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 8.8% | 11.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.7% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Conserved land covers 2.1% of Melrose Township
31 miles of trail in 12 parks and preserves. The trail density in Melrose Township is 0.9 miles per square mile.
| Melrose Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.1% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit | 14.3 mi | 8,468 |
| 2. Postle Farm Preserve | 2.3 mi | 98 |
| 3. North Shore Natural Area | 1.3 mi | 88 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Everything we know about Melrose Township
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Melrose Township
About 2 of every 100 Melrose Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
93% of working residents leave Melrose Township for work
Where Melrose Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
About Melrose Township
Civil township in Michigan, United States
Melrose Township is a civil township of Charlevoix County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,405 at the 2020 census. The township was set off from Evangeline Township by the County Board of Supervisors in 1877.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 35 sq mi
- Elevation
- 676 ft
Questions about Melrose Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Melrose Township, MI a good place to live?
3 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Michigan town.
Is Melrose Township, MI expensive?
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.