Is Monitor Township a good place to live?
Monitor Township is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C+ overall, 504th of 697 graded towns in Michigan, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is incomes: the median household earns $77K. A typical home there costs about $240K, 3.9 years of the Bay City metro’s $62K median household income. 28% of residents are 65 or older in Monitor Township, above both the Michigan town median (19%) and the median of U.S. towns (18%). Only 121 of Michigan’s 1,279 towns score lower on the outdoors. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 77% of U.S. towns.
How Monitor Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Monitor Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
USS Edson and 11 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Monitor Township. Close and well known come first.
6 mi MuseumUSS Edson
13 mi GardenDow Gardens
6 mi MuseumSaginaw Valley Naval Ship Museum
15 mi GardenChippewa Nature Center
12 mi TheatreTemple Theatre14 mi Zoo & aquariumChildren's Zoo at Celebration SquarePhoto credits
USS Edson: U.S. Navy, Public domain · Dow Gardens: Chris.Schiemann, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Saginaw Valley Naval Ship Museum: John McCullough, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Chippewa Nature Center: Christian Collins, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Temple Theatre: Ian Poellet, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Moving to Monitor Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Monitor 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 Monitor Township.
Monitor Township trades workers with Bay City and other neighbors, but it has little public open land.
Fewer young adults than Michigan overall
Monitor Township’s median age is 50.3 years. 28% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across Michigan.
| Monitor Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 50.3 years | 42.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 22% | 21% | 22% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.5 points. Across Michigan, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Monitor Township | MI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.9% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 14% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.6% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 6.9% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 8.9% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.1% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.6% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 15.5% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 12.5% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.8% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 30.9% | 28% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.5% | 21.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 14% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 17.4% | 19.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.4% | 12.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
On state tests, Monitor Township’s schools trail 54% of Michigan districts
Its public schools are run by the Bay City School District. Three of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| McAlearSawden Elem SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 378 | C+ |
| ISDLocal ProgramsLargest public high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 92 | D |
| Mackensen Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 265 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
In Monitor Township, expect snowy winters and pleasant summers
Monitor Township has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 16° and about 49 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents commute out of Monitor Township
Monitor Township has about as many jobs (4,302) as working residents, but only 260 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Monitor Township for work: only 6% work in town. Since 2011, Monitor Township has added 884 jobs, to 4,302 in 2021. 5.9% of residents live below the poverty line in Monitor Township.
| Monitor Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 5.9% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 6.4% | 5.9% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
For cost of living, Monitor Township earns a C+
91% of Monitor Township households own their home. Typical home values rose 5.2% in the year to September 2026. The median rent in Monitor Township is $901 a month.
| Monitor Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 91% | 84% | 73% |
| Median rent | $901 a month | $1,047 a month | $1,185 a month |
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
On CDC estimates, Monitor Township is less healthy than 56% of U.S. towns
Monitor Township beats the Michigan average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3.
| Monitor Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 27% | 23% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 36% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 17% | 16% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 32% | 33% |
| What stands out | Monitor Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 10% | 11.9% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 7.5% | 8.7% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.6% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Conserved land covers 0.6% of Monitor Township
Just 135 of its 23,514 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Monitor Township itself; its outdoors grade is D.
1.4 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Valley Center Park | 0.6 mi | 11 |
| 2. Monitor Township Park | — | 18 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Inland flooding leads a moderate hazard risk in Monitor Township
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 53% of U.S. communities. Since 1996, 11 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Monitor Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Everything we know about Monitor Township
Colleges nearby
3 within 15 miles of the center of Monitor Township
About 2 of every 100 Monitor Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
About Monitor Township
Charter township in Michigan, United States
Monitor Charter Township is a charter township of Bay County in the U.S. state of Michigan, organized in 1869. The township's population was 10,687 as of the 2020 census and is included in the Bay City Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 37 sq mi
- Elevation
- 600 ft
Monitor Township’s neighbors
5 towns share a border with Monitor Township.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monitor Township | #504 | C+ | C+ | — | B− | C+ |
| Kawkawlin Township | #319 | B | B+ | — | B− | B |
| Frankenlust Township | #496 | C+ | C+ | — | B− | B− |
| Bangor Township | #531 | C | B− | — | B− | C+ |
| Williams Township | #329 | B | C+ | — | B− | B+ |
| Bay City | #586 | C− | A− | C− | B− | C− |
Monitor Township, Kawkawlin Township, Frankenlust Township, Bangor Township and Williams Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Monitor Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Monitor Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Monitor Township, MI a good place to live?
Monitor Township grades C+ overall, better than 37% of U.S. towns and #504 of 697 in Michigan. It grades C+ for health and B− for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a C−.
Is Monitor 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 C+.