Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Population 3,557: a town settled in 1856.
One weak subject stands out against an otherwise good record. Its strongest is cost of living (A): a typical home costs about $268K, 3.5 years of the Detroit metro’s $77K median household income. With a B+ overall, North Branch Township is better than 70% of U.S. towns and ranks 235th of 697 in Michigan. What holds it back is incomes — the median household income is $78K, and 7% of residents live below the poverty line. The town’s typical journey to work is 38 minutes, above both the Michigan town median (25 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes).
Figures: home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24.
Where North Branch Township beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| North Branch Elementary School | PK–4 | 964 |
| Ruth Fox Middle School | 5–8 | 722 |
| North Branch High School | 9–12 | 695 |
Where North Branch 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 North Branch Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 705 in 1890, 1,096 in 2020. The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 2005 and 3 maps from 1963 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in North Branch 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 North Branch Township.
North Branch Township trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, but it has little public open land and has commutes longer than most of Michigan.
Storm and flood damage is expected to run lower than in 82% of U.S. communities. Of the losses FEMA expects in North Branch Township, 53% come from inland flooding and 20% from cold waves.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Two of its 4 schools are shown below, with the reason for each. The largest public high school is North Branch High School, with 695 students. The public schools here belong to the North Branch Area Schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Branch Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 964 | B+ |
| North Branch High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 695 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
The average commute for its 1,434 working residents takes 37.9 minutes, against 24.2 across Michigan. Jobs based here grew from 375 in 2011 to 737.
North Branch Township had 737 jobs in 2021, up 362 from 2011. Commuting out is the norm here: 9% of working residents work locally. The top destinations are Lapeer (9%), Marlette (5%) and Rochester Hills (3%).
| North Branch Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 38 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 7.2% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 8.6% | 5.9% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Its July high comes in at 82°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
18% of adults smoke cigarettes in North Branch Township. Two figures for adults in the town: 28% have been diagnosed with depression, 19% report frequent mental distress.
| North Branch Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 15% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 27% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 32% | 33% |
| What stands out | North Branch Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| More smokers | 17.6% | 14.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Just 621 of its 23,139 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in North Branch Township itself; its outdoors grade is C−.
In 1 park or preserve, walkers have 0.5 miles of trail. One park or preserve covers 2 acres in North Branch Township.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. North Branch Memorial Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Homes are within reach (about $268K for the typical one, A for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 31 miles.
Zillow values the typical North Branch Township home at about $268,000, up 4.5% in a year, close to the Michigan typical home. Its rent at the middle of the market comes in at $749 a month. 90% of North Branch Township households own their home.
| North Branch Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 90% | 84% | 73% |
| Median rent | $749 a month | $1,047 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
None within 15 miles of North Branch Township; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 North Branch Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Michigan.
Village in Michigan, United States
North Branch is a village in Lapeer County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,096 at the 2020 census. The village is located within North Branch Township.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with North Branch Township.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Branch Township | #235 | B+ | A | — | B+ | C+ |
| Burlington Township | — | — | A− | — | B+ | C |
| Deerfield Township | #201 | B+ | A− | — | B+ | C+ |
| Arcadia Township | #394 | B− | A− | — | B | C+ |
Burlington Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. North Branch Township, Burlington Township, Deerfield Township and Arcadia Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare North Branch Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. North Branch Township grades B+ overall, better than 70% of U.S. towns and #235 of 697 in Michigan. It grades C+ for health and B+ for schools.
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.