Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Niles Township gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $173K for a typical one, or 2.6 years of the Niles metro’s $65K median household income. It grades C+ overall, 505th of 697 graded towns in Michigan. On the plus side, natural-hazard risk is low. 18% of residents live below the poverty line in Niles Township, against 8.9% in Michigan’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 76% of U.S. towns. The biggest place to walk is Madeline Bertrand County Park, 124 acres with 4.2 miles of trail.
Where Niles Township beats most towns.
Where Niles 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 Niles Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 4,630 in 1870, 11,988 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1680 and 5 maps from 1927 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Niles Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw11 mi Stadium & arenaNotre Dame Stadium
33 mi National ParkIndiana Dunes National Park2.6M visitors a year
11 mi CaveGrotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, Notre Dame
3 mi Ancient siteFort St. Joseph
17 mi State parkWarren Dunes State Park
12 mi MuseumStudebaker National MuseumNotre Dame Stadium: Tysto, Public domain · Indiana Dunes National Park: J. Crocker, Attribution · 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 · Warren Dunes State Park: hakkun, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Studebaker National Museum: Unknown, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Niles 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 Niles Township.
41% of working residents cross a state line to work, Mishawaka among the top destinations. Jobs based here grew from 2,069 in 2011 to 2,817.
Most working residents leave Niles Township for work: only 8% work in town. Since 2011, Niles Township has added 748 jobs, to 2,817 in 2021. 5.5% of workers work from home in Niles Township.
| Niles Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 5.5% | 10% | 11% |
| Median household income | $63,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Brandywine Community Schools. Three of its 8 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Brandywine Senior High School, with 366 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brandywine Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades 3–6 | Grades 3–6 | 379 | C+ |
| Brandywine Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 366 | C+ |
| WAY NilesTop results in townGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 95 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
Niles Township beats the Michigan average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 9. 16% of Niles Township adults report frequent physical distress.
| Niles Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 34% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 36% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 27% | 23% |
| What stands out | Niles Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 13.2% | 10.2% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.6% | 8.1% |
| More smokers | 16.5% | 14.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
| Niles Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Madeline Bertrand County Park | 4.2 mi | 124 |
| 2. Brandywine Creek Nature Park | — | 42 |
| 3. Trillium Ravine Prairie Plant Preserve | — | 13 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 71% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Niles Township since 1981.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Niles Township has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 18° and about 63 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
8 within 15 miles of the center of Niles Township
About 2 of every 100 Niles Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
City in Michigan, United States
Niles is a city in Berrien and Cass counties in the U.S. state of Michigan, near the Indiana state line city of South Bend. The population was 11,988 according to the 2020 census. It is the larger, by population, of the two principal cities in the Niles-Benton Harbor metropolitan area, an area with 153,797 people.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Niles Township.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Niles Township | #505 | C+ | B | — | B | C |
| Niles | #560 | C | B+ | C− | B− | C− |
| Bertrand Township | #335 | B | B− | — | A− | C |
| Buchanan Township | #406 | B− | B | — | A− | C+ |
| Howard Township | #359 | B− | A− | — | B− | C |
| Milton Township | #212 | B+ | B | — | A− | C |
| Berrien Township | #574 | C− | B− | — | C− | C+ |
Niles Township, Bertrand Township, Buchanan Township, Howard Township, Milton Township and Berrien Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Niles Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Niles Township grades C+ overall, better than 36% of U.S. towns and #505 of 697 in Michigan. It grades C for health and B for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a C−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
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