Port Sheldon TownshipMI
A town of 5,480, settled in 1838. Public schools that outperform most of Michigan.
Trash day: SaturdayIs Port Sheldon Township a good place to live?
Port Sheldon Township grades B+ overall, 249th of 697 graded towns in Michigan, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Its public schools beat 80% of Michigan towns on state tests and graduation and the median household earns $107K. It also does better than most on health: it is healthier than 79% of U.S. towns. Its lowest everyday mark is in cost of living: the typical home is worth about $389K, 4.7 years of the Grand Rapids metro’s $83K median household income. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 86% of U.S. towns. 2.6% of residents live below the poverty line in Port Sheldon Township, below both the Michigan town median (8.9%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). The biggest place to walk is Port Sheldon Natural Area, 440 acres with 3 miles of trail.
What makes Port Sheldon Township stand out
Where Port Sheldon Township beats most towns.
Port Sheldon Township has grown 34% since 2010
4,240 counted in 2010 and 5,206 in 2020; an estimated 5,480 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 8.7% since 2020, after 22.8% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
How Port Sheldon Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Port Sheldon Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Port Sheldon Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Port Sheldon 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 Port Sheldon Township.
Port Sheldon Township gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns and sends most of its workers to Holland Township and beyond.
Conserved land covers 7% of Port Sheldon Township
18 miles of trail in 8 parks and preserves. The trail density in Port Sheldon Township is 0.8 miles per square mile.
| Port Sheldon Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 7% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Hemlock Crossing | 6.1 mi | 299 |
| 2. VanBuren Street Dunes Open Space | 3.6 mi | 120 |
| 3. Port Sheldon Natural Area | 3 mi | 440 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Port Sheldon Township earns an A− for schools
Its public schools are run by the West Ottawa Public School District. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sheldon Woods Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 145 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
Port Sheldon Township earns an A− for health
28% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Port Sheldon Township. Port Sheldon Township beats the Michigan average on 14 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 21% of adults get no exercise outside work in Port Sheldon Township.
| Port Sheldon Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 34% | 36% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 25% | 25% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 19% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Port Sheldon Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 7.1% | 10.2% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.3% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most working residents commute out of Port Sheldon Township
Port Sheldon Township has 397 jobs for its 2,278 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Most working residents leave Port Sheldon Township for work: only 2% work in town. Since 2011, Port Sheldon Township has added 196 jobs, to 397 in 2021. The top destinations are Holland Township (18%), Holland (17%) and Zeeland (10%).
| Port Sheldon Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $107,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.1% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 12% | 10% | 11% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Port Sheldon Township faces a low natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 70% of U.S. communities. Since 1985, 10 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Port Sheldon Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
In Port Sheldon Township, expect snowy winters and pleasant summers
The Muskegon Co Ap weather station, 19 miles away, records that 87 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 96% of U.S. towns.
Port Sheldon Township has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Port Sheldon Township’s July high is 81°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Fewer young adults than Michigan overall
Adults 18 to 34 are 15% of residents (22% statewide); children under 18 are 25% of residents (21% statewide). 41% of Port Sheldon Township adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more. Port Sheldon Township has grown 8.7% since 2020, to 5,480 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Port Sheldon Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 41% | 26% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 25% | 21% | 22% |
| Median age | 43.9 years | 42.5 years | 40.5 years |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
46% women, 54% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4 points. Across Michigan, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Port Sheldon Township | MI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 5.9% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 19.4% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.6% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8.6% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14.4% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.9% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.8% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.3% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.2% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 25.5% | 28% | 26% |
| Some college | 18.2% | 21.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.9% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 25.6% | 19.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 15.6% | 12.7% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Everything we know about Port Sheldon Township
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of Port Sheldon Township
About 5 of every 100 Port Sheldon Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Michigan.
98% of working residents leave Port Sheldon Township for work
Where Port Sheldon Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
About Port Sheldon Township
Civil township in Michigan, United States
Port Sheldon Township is a civil township of Ottawa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the township population was 5,206.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 23 sq mi
- Elevation
- 594 ft
Port Sheldon Township’s neighbors
3 towns share a border with Port Sheldon Township.
All 3 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its B+; Park Township (B+) is closest.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port Sheldon Township | #249 | B+ | C | — | A− | A− |
| Grand Haven Township | #133 | A− | C+ | — | A | A− |
| Olive Township | #12 | A+ | A− | — | A− | A− |
| Park Township | #227 | B+ | C+ | — | B+ | A− |
Port Sheldon Township, Grand Haven Township, Olive Township and Park Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Port Sheldon Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Port Sheldon Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Port Sheldon Township, MI a good place to live?
By most measures, yes. Port Sheldon Township grades B+ overall, better than 69% of U.S. towns and #249 of 697 in Michigan. It grades A− for health and A− for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Port Sheldon 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 C.