Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A regional job hub with 2,222 jobs. A town of 2,371, settled in 1855.
Pere Marquette Township’s best subject grades are an A− for civic life and the outdoors. Pere Marquette Township’s typical journey to work is 15 minutes, where Michigan’s towns sit at 25 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. Only 90 of Michigan’s 1,279 towns score higher on hazard risk. The biggest park or preserve is Pere Marquette State Game Area, at 292 acres. Pere Marquette Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Pere Marquette Township beats most towns.
Where Pere Marquette 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 Pere Marquette Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 4,190 in 1880, 7,655 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1871 and 3 maps from 1932 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Pere Marquette 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 Pere Marquette Township.
11% of working residents work locally in Pere Marquette Township. The top destinations are Ludington (22%), Grand Rapids (8%) and Amber Township (4%). Half commute less than 21 miles.
| Pere Marquette Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 5.9% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 11% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Median household income | $85,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Public schools: the Ludington Area School District. Its one school is below. 911 students attend Pere Marquette Township’s public school.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ludington Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 911 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
Compared with 94% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage here is lower. Pere Marquette Township has had 3 paid flood insurance claims since 1986. Expected losses in Pere Marquette Township break down as 68% from inland flooding and 8% from cold waves.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
27% of Pere Marquette Township adults have been diagnosed with depression. Of 32 CDC measures, Pere Marquette Township beats the Michigan average on 1 and trails it on 5. Among adults locally, 14% have diabetes and 15% binge drink.
| Pere Marquette Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 36% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 12% | 12% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 17% | 16% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 37% | 35% |
| What stands out | Pere Marquette Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 81% | 77.6% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.7% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
A winter brings about 79 inches of snow, with January nights at 18° and July afternoons at 78°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The share of adults 25 and older in Pere Marquette Township who hold a bachelor’s degree or more: 38%. Adults 18 to 34 are 15% of residents (22% statewide). The age of the median resident for Pere Marquette Township comes to 40.6 years.
| Pere Marquette Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 25% | 21% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 38% | 26% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 22% | 19% | 18% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.5 points. Across Michigan, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Pere Marquette Township | MI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 14.5% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.7% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.1% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.3% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.3% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.6% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.5% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.5% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24.8% | 28% | 26% |
| Some college | 18.2% | 21.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 14.4% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 26.7% | 19.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.3% | 12.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,400, single groups can be off by several points
16 miles of trail wind through 12 parks and preserves. Pere Marquette Township’s concentration of trails comes in at 1.0 miles per square mile. Parks and preserves locally: 12, covering 911 acres.
| Pere Marquette Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.0 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ludington School Forest Trails | 9.3 mi | 123 |
| 2. Mason County Picnic Area | 0.8 mi | 88 |
| 3. Pere Marquette State Game Area | — | 292 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Pere Marquette Township
About 3 of every 100 Pere Marquette Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
City in Michigan, United States
Ludington ( LUH-ding-tən) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat and the largest city in Mason County. The population was 7,655 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth largest city in the northern Michigan area. It is located near a military base. The city is located at the mouth of the Pere Marquette River at Lake Michigan. Nearby are Ludington State Park (which includes the Big Sable Point Light), Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness, and Manistee National Forest, making the area a popular tourist destination in the summer. Ludington is the home port of the SS Badger, a vehicle and passenger ferry with daily service in the summer across Lake Michigan to Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Pere Marquette Township.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pere Marquette Township | — | — | B− | — | B | C |
| Hamlin Township | #445 | C+ | B | — | B | C |
| Ludington | #521 | C | C+ | B− | B | C− |
| Amber Township | #540 | C | C | — | B | C |
| Summit Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Riverton Township | — | — | A− | — | B− | C+ |
Pere Marquette Township and Riverton Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Pere Marquette Township, Hamlin Township, Amber Township and Riverton Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Summit Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Pere Marquette Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.