Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,084, settled in 1858.
The best of Pokagon Township’s subject grades is a B+ for cost of living; the weakest is a C− for health. 18% of residents are under 18 in Pokagon Township, against 21% in Michigan’s towns and 22% across U.S. towns. Pokagon Township's schools rank behind 70% of the state's. First Methodist Episcopal Church of Pokagon is on the National Register of Historic Places. Pokagon Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Pokagon Township beats most towns.
Where Pokagon 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 Pokagon Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,199 in 2000, 2,119 in 2020. The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 1923 and 2 maps from 1945 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Pokagon 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 Pokagon Township.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 85% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Pokagon Township beats the Michigan average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 10. 16% of Pokagon Township adults report frequent physical distress, above both the Michigan town median (14%) and the median of U.S. towns (14%). 28% of Pokagon Township adults have been diagnosed with depression.
| Pokagon Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 27% | 23% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 15% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 19% | 19% |
| What stands out | Pokagon Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 14.5% | 10.2% |
| More adults with COPD | 10.1% | 8.1% |
| More uninsured adults | 8.3% | 6.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most working residents leave Pokagon Township for work: only 3% work in town. Since 2011, Pokagon Township has added 316 jobs, to 487 in 2021. The top destinations are Dowagiac (8%), South Bend (8%) and Niles (6%).
| Pokagon Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 2.6% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $72,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Pokagon Township has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 18° and about 63 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Michigan average. 24% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across Michigan.
| Pokagon Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 42.9 years | 42.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 24% | 26% | 29% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±6 points. Across Michigan, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Pokagon Township | MI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.7% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.2% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.1% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.7% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.4% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.7% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 16.2% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.1% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.1% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 27.3% | 28% | 26% |
| Some college | 25.7% | 21.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 15.4% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 15.4% | 19.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9% | 12.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,100, single groups can be off by several points
2.2 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Dowagiac Woods Nature Sanctuary, 381 acres with 1.9 miles of trail. The trail density in Pokagon Township is 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Pokagon Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.1% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Dowagiac Woods Nature Sanctuary | 1.9 mi | 381 |
| 2. Arthur Dodd Memorial Park | 0.3 mi | 49 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Pokagon Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw17 mi Stadium & arenaNotre Dame Stadium
17 mi CaveGrotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, Notre Dame
37 mi Theme parkAir Zoo
10 mi Ancient siteFort St. Joseph
22 mi State parkWarren Dunes State Park
19 mi MuseumStudebaker National MuseumNotre Dame Stadium: Tysto, Public domain · Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, Notre Dame: Know1one1, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Air Zoo: User:my name, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort St. Joseph: Chris Light (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Warren Dunes State Park: hakkun, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Studebaker National Museum: Unknown, Public domain
2 within 15 miles of the center of Pokagon Township
About 4 of every 100 Pokagon Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
Civil township in Michigan, United States
Pokagon Township is a civil township of Cass County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,119 at the 2020 census. The township includes the unincorporated communities of Pokagon and Sumnerville, adjacent to each other on M-51. Pokagon Township is the location of the first public performance of the hymn "The Old Rugged Cross", the birthplace of journalist Webb Miller, and the location of the government offices of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Pokagon Township.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pokagon Township | — | — | B+ | — | C | C− |
| Dowagiac | #628 | C− | A− | D | C | D |
| Howard Township | #359 | B− | A− | — | B− | C |
| Silver Creek Township | #516 | C | B+ | — | C | C− |
| LaGrange Township | #484 | C+ | A− | — | C | C |
| Berrien Township | #574 | C− | B− | — | C− | C+ |
Pokagon Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Pokagon Township, Howard Township, Silver Creek Township, LaGrange Township and Berrien Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Pokagon Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
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 B+.
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