Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,517. Public schools that outperform most of Michigan.
For most people who can afford it, yes. New Buffalo Township grades B overall, ranked 333rd of 697 in Michigan. Its schools score near the top of Michigan on tests and graduation. What holds it back is price: homes are expensive, about $618K for a typical one and 9.4 times the Niles metro’s $65K median household income. 38% of residents are 65 or older in New Buffalo Township, where Michigan’s towns sit at 19% and U.S. towns at 18%. The biggest place to walk is Galien River County Park, 86 acres with 1.3 miles of trail.
Where New Buffalo Township beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| New Buffalo Elementary School | PK–5 | 211 |
Where New Buffalo Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far New Buffalo Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 683 in 1870, a peak of 2,821 in 1980, 1,708 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 2 maps from 1930 on.
Explore the history →Who provides power, water and the rest in New Buffalo 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 New Buffalo Township.
New Buffalo Township has schools in the top 5% of Michigan, is a second-home town and draws workers from Michigan City and beyond.
Its A+ ranks #1 of the 699 Michigan towns we grade for schools. Its A+ for schools comes with a C− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $618K.
Its public schools are run by the New Buffalo Area Schools. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Buffalo Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 211 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
2,337 jobs are based in New Buffalo Township, 3.1 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. 33% of working residents cross a state line to work, Michigan City among the top destinations.
Most working residents leave New Buffalo Township for work: only 13% work in town. 14% of New Buffalo Township residents live below the poverty line. The top destinations are New Buffalo (19%), Michigan City (6%) and Grand Rapids (5%).
| New Buffalo Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Median household income | $92,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
16 miles of trail in 9 parks and preserves. The trail density in New Buffalo Township is 0.8 miles per square mile.
| New Buffalo Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 7% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. East Nature Study Trails | 1.5 mi | 36 |
| 2. Galien River County Park | 1.3 mi | 86 |
| 3. West Nature Study Trails | 0.9 mi | 30 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 78% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
New Buffalo Township has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 19° and about 65 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
New Buffalo Township beats the Michigan average on 11 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5. 14% of adults report frequent mental distress in New Buffalo Township.
| New Buffalo Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 18% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 32% | 33% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 36% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 17% | 16% |
| What stands out | New Buffalo Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 7.7% | 11.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.3% | 15.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 12.8% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around New Buffalo Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw26 mi Stadium & arenaNotre Dame Stadium
11 mi National ParkIndiana Dunes National Park2.6M visitors a year
11 mi State parkWarren Dunes State Park
25 mi CaveGrotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, Notre Dame
24 mi Ancient siteFort St. Joseph
25 mi MuseumStudebaker National MuseumNotre Dame Stadium: Tysto, Public domain · Indiana Dunes National Park: J. Crocker, Attribution · Warren Dunes State Park: hakkun, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, Notre Dame: Know1one1, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort St. Joseph: Chris Light (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Studebaker National Museum: Unknown, Public domain
None within 15 miles of New Buffalo Township; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 New Buffalo Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
City in Michigan, United States
New Buffalo is a city in Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,708 during the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with New Buffalo Township.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Buffalo Township | #333 | B | C− | — | A+ | B |
| New Buffalo | — | — | C− | B | A+ | B+ |
| Grand Beach | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Michiana | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Three Oaks Township | — | — | C+ | — | B+ | B− |
| Chikaming Township | #264 | B+ | C− | B+ | B+ | B |
New Buffalo and Three Oaks Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. New Buffalo Township and Three Oaks Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Grand Beach and Michiana aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare New Buffalo Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. New Buffalo Township grades B overall, better than 58% of U.S. towns and #333 of 697 in Michigan. It grades B for health and A+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
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−.
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