Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town, settled in 1846, counts 2,277 residents. 3.4 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Michigan town.
The best of Ontonagon Township’s subject grades are an A for cost of living and the outdoors and an A+ for civic life; the weakest is a C− for incomes. 38% of residents are 65 or older in Ontonagon Township, where Michigan’s towns sit at 19% and U.S. towns at 18%. Only 43 of Michigan’s 1,279 towns score higher on cost of living. Ontonagon Township is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 70% of U.S. towns. 20% of the land in Ontonagon Township is conserved, above both Michigan’s towns (4.4%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). The biggest place to walk is Copper Country State Forest- Baraga Unit, 6,004 acres with 3.9 miles of trail. Only 4 of Michigan’s 1,265 towns score higher on civic life. Ontonagon Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Ontonagon Township beats most towns.
2,579 counted in 2010 and 2,253 in 2020; an estimated 2,277 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Ontonagon Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,267 in 1900, a peak of 2,432 in 1970, 1,285 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1853 and 2 maps from 1955 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ontonagon 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 Ontonagon Township.
The public schools here belong to the Ontonagon Area School District. Its one school is below. 271 students attend Ontonagon Township’s public school.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ontonagon Area SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades K–12 | Grades K–12 | 271 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
The risk rating from FEMA for Ontonagon Township comes to 10 of 100. Of the losses FEMA expects in the town, 52% come from inland flooding and 35% from cold waves. This Michigan town has had 3 paid flood insurance claims since 1983.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Ontonagon Township: 13% of adults binge drink. Only 5 of the 702 Michigan towns we compare have a higher share of adults who have high blood pressure than Ontonagon Township. On the CDC’s 32 measures, Ontonagon Township is ahead of Michigan on 6 and behind on 11.
| Ontonagon Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 48% | 36% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 12% | 12% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 17% | 16% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 84% | 80% | 79% |
| What stands out | Ontonagon Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 9.4% | 11.9% |
| Fewer binge drinkers | 12.7% | 15.9% |
| More adults with heart disease | 11.7% | 7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Between 2011 and 2021, jobs in Ontonagon Township dropped by 277, to 546. Its median household income is $59,000. Half the trips to work are shorter than 24 miles. The top destinations are Baraga Township (4%), McMillan Township (4%) and Houghton (4%).
| Ontonagon Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 37% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Median household income | $59,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
For Ontonagon Township, the density of trails is 0.9 miles per square mile. Trails total 163 miles in 12 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ottawa National Forest - Ontonagon Ranger District | 10.2 mi | 6,847 |
| 2. Ottawa National Forest - Bergland Ranger District | 7.8 mi | 11,120 |
| 3. Copper Country State Forest- Baraga Unit | 3.9 mi | 6,004 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The midsummer high in Ontonagon Township is 77°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
None within 15 miles of Ontonagon Township; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Ontonagon Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
4 places in Ontonagon Township on the National Register of Historic Places.
Village in Michigan, United States
Ontonagon ( ON-tə-NAH-gən is a village in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,285 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Ontonagon County, and is the only incorporated place within the county. The village is located within Ontonagon Township, at the mouth of the Ontonagon River on Lake Superior. Industry was centered on the Smurfit-Stone Container production facility at the river mouth until the plant closed in 2010.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Ontonagon Township.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ontonagon Township | — | — | A | — | B | C− |
| Greenland Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Carp Lake Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Ontonagon | — | — | A | — | B | C− |
| Rockland Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Matchwood Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Bohemia Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Ontonagon Township and Ontonagon have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Ontonagon Township and Ontonagon report no FBI crime data of their own. Greenland Township, Carp Lake Township, Rockland Township, Matchwood Township and Bohemia Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Ontonagon Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
3.4 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Michigan town.
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.
