Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,759. 2.4 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Michigan town.
Munising Township gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $175K, 2.9 years of the county’s $61K median household income. It grades C overall, 534th among Michigan's 697 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $62K, and 16% of residents live below the poverty line. On the plus side, it has 293 miles of trail and 69% conserved land. 69% of the land in Munising Township is conserved, above both Michigan’s towns (4.4%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). The biggest place to walk is Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (Federal Unit), 13,288 acres with 45 miles of trail. Munising Township's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 99% of U.S. towns.
Where Munising Township beats most towns.
68.8% of the town is conserved land, across 7 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Munising Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 135 in 1880, a peak of 5,037 in 1920, 1,986 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1868 and 2 maps from 1958 on.
Explore the history →Who provides power, water and the rest in Munising 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 Munising Township.
Munising Township keeps more of its land conserved than most of Michigan and gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns, but it has lost a quarter or more of its jobs in ten years.
Its 95,244 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in any other Michigan town.
293 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves. Munising Township’s trail density is 1.4 miles per square mile, above both the Michigan town median (0.3) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4).
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (Federal Unit) | 45 mi | 13,288 |
| 2. Lake Superior State Forest - Shingleton Unit | 37.3 mi | 38,547 |
| 3. Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (Inner Buffer Zone) | 24.6 mi | 17,861 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alger Maximum Correctional FacilityLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | – | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 92% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Jobs based here fell from 718 in 2011 to 427.
Most working residents leave Munising Township for work: only 13% work in town. Since 2011, Munising Township has lost 291 jobs, to 427 in 2021. Munising Township’s average trip to work is 22 minutes.
| Munising Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $62,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Munising Township beats the Michigan average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 11. 42% of Munising Township adults have high blood pressure.
| Munising Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 36% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 12% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 17% | 16% |
| What stands out | Munising Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 80.5% | 77.6% |
| More adults getting cholesterol checked | 89.3% | 87.4% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 13.9% | 10.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The Munising weather station, 7 miles away, records that 161 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 99% of U.S. towns. The Munising weather station, 7 miles away, records that about 1 days a year reach 90°, fewer than in 97% of U.S. towns.
The July high in Munising Township is 77°F. Munising Township has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
None within 15 miles of Munising Township; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Munising Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
Where Munising Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
City in Michigan, United States
Munising ( MEW-nə-sing) is a city in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Alger County. The population was 1,986 at the 2020 census. The city is partially surrounded by Munising Township, but the two are administered autonomously. Located on the southern shore of Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula, it serves as the western gateway to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Munising Township.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Munising Township | #534 | C | A− | — | B | C |
| Au Train Township | — | — | C | — | B | C+ |
| Hiawatha Township | — | — | A− | — | B− | C− |
| Munising | — | — | A | — | B | C+ |
| Grand Island Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Inwood Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Burt Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nahma Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Au Train Township, Hiawatha Township and Munising have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Munising Township, Au Train Township, Hiawatha Township and Munising report no FBI crime data of their own. Grand Island Township, Inwood Township, Burt Township and Nahma Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Munising Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Munising Township grades C overall, better than 32% of U.S. towns and #534 of 697 in Michigan. It grades C for health and B for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
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−.