Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Few places in the country grade higher. Orion Township earns an A+, 24th among Michigan's 697 graded towns. Residents are healthier than 93% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates, its public schools beat 92% of Michigan towns on state tests and graduation, and crime is low: it reports less per resident than 88% of U.S. towns. The exception is cost of living: homes are expensive, about $402K for a typical one and 5.2 times the Detroit metro’s $77K median household income. Orion Township’s trail density is 1.8 miles per square mile, against 0.3 in Michigan’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. Bald Mountain State Recreation Area, at 2,754 acres with 21.4 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
Where Orion Township beats most towns.
9.2% of the town is conserved land, across 24 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Orion Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 2009 and 5 maps from 1943 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Who provides power, water and the rest in Orion 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 Orion Township.
Orion Township has less tooth loss than most of Michigan, has household incomes well above the Michigan norm and sees little violent crime.
For Orion Township, that is where Michigan’s towns sit at 4.4% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. 64 miles of trail in 24 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bald Mountain State Recreation Area | 21.4 mi | 2,754 |
| 2. Orion Oaks County Park | 12.8 mi | 907 |
| 3. Friendship Park | 4 mi | 132 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Lake Orion Community Schools. Three of its 15 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orion Oaks Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 514 | B+ |
| Lake Orion Community High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,035 | A |
| Webber SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 485 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Michigan is tooth loss: 5.7% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 10.2% statewide.
11% of adults report frequent physical distress in Orion Township. Orion Township beats the Michigan average on 23 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 17% of adults get no exercise outside work in Orion Township.
| Orion Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 14% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 25% | 25% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 34% | 36% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.4% | 12% | 12% |
| What stands out | Orion Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.7% | 10.2% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.8% | 15.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The median property tax bill is $4,359, against $2,904 across Michigan, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Orion Township home is worth about $402,000, up 2.6% in a year, 52% above the Michigan typical home. Orion Township’s median rent is $1,327 a month.
| Orion Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,327 a month | $1,045 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 83% | 84% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Violent crime is rare: 24 reported in 2025, 0.7 per 1,000 residents.
The property crime rate in Orion Township is 3.1 per 1,000 residents.
| Orion Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.1 per 1,000 residents | 8 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.7 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 89% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most working residents leave Orion Township for work: only 9% work in town. 21% of Orion Township workers work from home. Since 2011, Orion Township has added 2,181 jobs, to 11,098 in 2021.
| Orion Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 21% | 10% | 11% |
| Median household income | $119,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 4.6% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 9.3% | 5.9% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Orion Township has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 16° and about 36 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
6 within 15 miles of the center of Orion Township
About 5 of every 100 Orion Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Michigan.
Where Orion Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
3 places in Orion Township on the National Register of Historic Places.
Charter township in the United States
Orion Charter Township ( ORR-ee-ən) is a charter township of Oakland County, Michigan, United States. The population was 38,206 as of the 2020 census. The official motto of the township and village is "Where living is a vacation." "Lake Orion" is often used to describe both the village and the township. The township hosts General Motors' Orion Assembly plant which produces small cars and EV pickup trucks.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Orion Township.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orion Township | #24 | A+ | C− | A | A | A |
| Oakland Township | #16 | A+ | D | A+ | A+ | A+ |
| Auburn Hills | #603 | C− | C− | C− | D | A− |
| Independence Township | #51 | A | C− | A− | A | A |
| Oxford Township | #125 | A− | D | A | A− | A− |
| Waterford Township | #346 | B | C+ | B− | B− | B+ |
| Rochester Hills | #29 | A+ | C− | A− | A+ | A+ |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Orion Township grades A+ overall, better than 96% of U.S. towns and #24 of 697 in Michigan. It grades A for health, A for safety 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−.
