Pennfield TownshipMI
A town of 8,681.
Is Pennfield Township a good place to live?
Pennfield Township is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C− overall, 600th of 697 graded towns in Michigan, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is incomes: the median household earns $66K. Its lowest everyday mark is in health: CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 78% of the country. A typical home there costs about $166K, 2.6 years of the Battle Creek metro’s $63K median household income. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 85% of U.S. towns. The biggest park or preserve is Danklefsen Acres, at 30 acres. 17% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Pennfield Township, against 26% in Michigan’s towns and 29% across U.S. towns.
96% of working residents leave Pennfield Township for work
Where Pennfield Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
How Pennfield Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Pennfield Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Pennfield Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Pennfield 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Pennfield Township.
Pennfield Township earns a C− for health
43% of adults have obesity in Pennfield Township. Pennfield Township beats the Michigan average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 6. 18% of adults smoke cigarettes in Pennfield Township.
| Pennfield Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 37% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 15% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 36% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 12% | 12% |
| What stands out | Pennfield Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| More smokers | 17.6% | 14.6% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 10.3% | 8.7% |
| More adults with obesity | 42.8% | 36.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Pennfield Township’s schools rank behind 51% of Michigan districts
Its public schools are run by the Pennfield Schools. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Pennfield Senior High School, with 748 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennfield Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–7 | Grades 5–7 | 471 | C |
| Pennfield Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 8–12 | Grades 8–12 | 748 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
About one in three of Pennfield Township’s working residents commute to Battle Creek
Pennfield Township has 847 jobs for its 3,522 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Most working residents leave Pennfield Township for work: only 4% work in town. 4.6% of Pennfield Township workers work from home. Jobs based in Pennfield Township fell to 847 in 2021, 95 fewer than in 2011.
| Pennfield Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 4.6% | 10% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $66,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.8% | 5.9% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
In Pennfield Township, expect snowy winters and pleasant summers
Pennfield Township has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 17° and about 65 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Moderate risk in Pennfield Township, with inland flooding at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 56% of U.S. communities. Since 1985, 6 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Pennfield Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Conserved land covers 0.8% of Pennfield Township
1.8 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves. The trail density in Pennfield Township is 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Pennfield Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.8% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Danklefsen Acres | — | 30 |
| 2. Pennfield Bog Nature Sanctuary | — | 29 |
| 3. Wanondoger Creek Preserve | — | 28 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Air Zoo and 17 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Pennfield Township. Close and well known come first.
25 mi Theme parkAir Zoo
40 mi Park & preserveNorth Country Trail
11 mi MuseumAmerican Museum of Magic10 mi Zoo & aquariumBinder Park Zoo
16 mi MuseumGilmore Car Museum87K visitors a year
38 mi Zoo & aquariumPotter Park ZooPhoto credits
Air Zoo: User:my name, CC BY-SA 3.0 · North Country Trail: Huron-Manistee National Forests, Public domain · American Museum of Magic: rossograph, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Gilmore Car Museum: Kevin S. Forsyth, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Potter Park Zoo: Dj1997, CC BY-SA 3.0
Everything we know about Pennfield Township
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of Pennfield Township
About 4 of every 100 Pennfield Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
About Pennfield Township
Charter township in Michigan, United States
Pennfield Charter Township is a charter township of Calhoun County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 8,781 at the 2020 census. It contains part of the census-designated place of Brownlee Park.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 35 sq mi
- Elevation
- 837 ft
Pennfield Township’s neighbors
5 towns share a border with Pennfield Township.
It grades higher overall than all 3 graded towns on its borders; Bedford Township (C−) comes closest.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennfield Township | #600 | C− | B− | — | B− | C− |
| Battle Creek | #684 | D− | B− | D− | C | D |
| Brownlee Park | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Bedford Township | #624 | C− | B+ | — | C+ | C− |
| Convis Township | — | — | B | — | B | C+ |
| Emmett Township | #648 | D | C+ | D | B | C |
Convis Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Pennfield Township, Bedford Township and Convis Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Brownlee Park isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Pennfield Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Pennfield Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Pennfield Township, MI a good place to live?
Pennfield Township grades C− overall, better than 19% of U.S. towns and #600 of 697 in Michigan. It grades C− for health and B− for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a C−.
Is Pennfield Township, MI expensive?
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.