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Michigan›Antrim County

Milton TownshipMI

A town of 2,485.

Is Milton Township a good place to live?

Milton Township’s best subject grade is an A for schools; its weakest is a C− for cost of living. 38% of residents are 65 or older in Milton Township, where Michigan’s towns sit at 19% and U.S. towns at 18%. Only 89 of Michigan’s 1,279 towns score lower on cost of living. The biggest park or preserve is Grand Traverse Bay Underwater Preserve, at 1,593 acres. Milton Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.

What makes Milton Township stand out

Where Milton Township beats most towns.

A commuter town

95% of working residents leave Milton Township for work

Where Milton Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.

20% → Traverse City Traverse City 20% 15% → Elk Rapids Township Elk Rapids Township 15% 6% → Garfield Township Garfield Township 6% 3% → Kalkaska Township Kalkaska Township 3% 2% → East Bay Township East Bay Township 2% 2% → Whitewater Township Whitewater Township 2% Milton Township · 5% stay
235jobs based in Milton Township
5%of working residents work in town
18 mimedian commute distance

Census LEHD 2021

How Milton Township grades

Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Milton Township is from typical.

How grading works

Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.

How TownRatings grades towns →

Getting set up

Moving to Milton Township: who provides what

Who provides power, water and the rest in Milton Township, and how to reach them.

The full setup list →
PowerConsumers Energy20.7¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterCottage Cove on Elk Lake water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet7 providers84% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Milton Township’s trash rules yet
SchoolsElk Rapids SchoolsWhich school depends on your addressNCES
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.gov
Who runs elections hereMilton Township ClerkThe town itself; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Nov 2025
ZIP codes49648, 4967649648 51% · 49676 49%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 Milton Township.

Work & commuteJobs & income grade B−

With 0.3 jobs for every working resident, most of Milton Township’s workers commute out

Most working residents leave Milton Township for work: only 5% work in town. Since 2011, Milton Township has added 58 jobs, to 235 in 2021. 6.7% of residents live below the poverty line in Milton Township, below both the Michigan town median (8.9%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%).

5%work in town
Milton TownshipMichigan townsU.S. towns
Below the poverty line6.7%8.9%9.6%
Median household income$89,000$77,000$80,000
Average trip to work26 minutes25 minutes25 minutes
Working residents who work in town5.3%5.9%8%

Where working residents work

In Milton Township5%
Traverse City20%
Elk Rapids Township15%
Garfield Township6%
Kalkaska Township3%
18 mi
median commute distance
235
jobs based in Milton Township
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
C
Walkability grade: more walkable than 32% of U.S. towns

Census LEHD 2021 · ACS

Climate

Snowy winters and pleasant summers in Milton Township

Milton Township has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Milton Township is 81°F.

101″snow a winter

Typical low → high °F

Winter18–31°
Spring32–53°
Summer55–79°
Fall40–58°
Oct 19
typical first frost
May 13
typical last frost
+2.1°
vs. the 20th-century average

NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020

HealthB

Residents of Milton Township are healthier than 65% of U.S. towns

Milton Township beats the Michigan average on 10 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 4. 29% of adults feel lonely in Milton Township.

65%healthier than U.S. townsBHealth Grade
Milton TownshipMichigan townsU.S. towns
Feel lonely (CDC PLACES)29%32%33%
Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES)15%18%17%
Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES)83%80%79%
High blood pressure (CDC PLACES)40%36%35%
32 measures vs. Michigan
10 better18 too close to call4 worse
What stands outMilton TownshipMI
Fewer adults facing food insecurity9.8%15.4%
Fewer adults facing housing insecurity7.6%11.9%
More adults who have had cancer12.5%8.9%
Kalkaska Memorial Health Center
14.2 mi away · emergency room
1 of 3
care shortages: mental health

CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA

Natural hazardsHazard risk grade A−

Milton Township faces a low natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding

Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 67% of U.S. communities. Since 1980, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Milton Township.

33risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
33Low riskLowerHigher
Inland floodingCold waves
2
paid flood claims since 1980

FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA

OutdoorsB

1% of Milton Township is conserved land

17 miles of trail in 8 parks and preserves.

1%conserved
Milton TownshipMichigan townsU.S. towns
Conserved land1%4.4%4.3%
Miles of trail per square mile0.4 miles per square mile0.30.4
1%
conserved · 285 of 27,764 acres
17 mi
of trails · 0.4 per sq mi
Biggest places to walkTrailsAcres
1. Maplehurst Natural Area8.5 mi413
2. Torch River Ridge: A Cotanche Family Legacy4.1 mi282
3. Milton Township Park0.8 mi44

Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US

Keep exploring

Everything we know about Milton Township

17pages on Milton Township
After high school

Colleges nearby

None within 15 miles of Milton Township; the nearest are

About Milton Township

Civil township in Michigan, United States

Milton Township is a civil township of Antrim County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,355 at the 2020 census.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)

Area
44 sq mi
Elevation
633 ft

Milton Township’s neighbors

7 towns share a border with Milton Township.

Explore the map →
How the neighbors grade
TownMI rankOverallCostSafetySchoolsHealth
Milton Township——C−—AB
Clearwater Township#324BA—C+B
Helena Township——————
Whitewater Township#118AB−—AA−
Elk Rapids Township#76AC−—AA−
Rapid City——————
Forest Home Township——B−—BB
Torch Lake Township——D—A−B+

Milton Township, Forest Home Township and Torch Lake Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Milton Township, Clearwater Township, Whitewater Township, Elk Rapids Township, Forest Home Township and Torch Lake Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Helena Township and Rapid City aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Milton Township with a neighbor →

Questions about Milton Township

Short answers, built from the data on this page.

Is Milton Township, MI expensive?

Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.