Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 49,862, settled in 1830. Public schools that outperform most of Michigan.
Trash & recyclingPortage grades B− overall, 361st of 697 graded towns in Michigan, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Its schools outperform 84% of the state's and CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 80% of the country. On the other side, it reports more crime per resident than 83% of U.S. towns, including 100 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. 12% of the land in Portage is conserved, above both the Michigan town median (4.4%) and the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). The biggest place to walk is Gourdneck State Game Area, 1,676 acres with 2.1 miles of trail.
Where Portage beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Portage is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 33,590 in 1970, 48,891 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1928 and 4 maps from 1922 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Portage, 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 Portage.
Its public schools are run by the Portage Public Schools. Three of its 18 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portage Central Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 719 | A |
| Portage Central High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,391 | A |
| Portage West Middle SchoolTop results in townGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 717 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
Reported crimes fell from 1,784 to 1,300 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Portage’s property crime rate is 23.9 per 1,000 residents, where Michigan’s towns sit at 7.8 and U.S. towns at 9.9. Portage reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 83% report less.
| Portage | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 23.9 per 1,000 residents | 7.8 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
16 miles of trail in 22 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Gourdneck State Game Area | 2.1 mi | 1,676 |
| 2. West Lake Nature Preserve | 2 mi | 114 |
| 3. Eliason Nature Reserve | 1.3 mi | 133 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
26% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Portage. Portage beats the Michigan average on 18 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 11% of adults smoke cigarettes in Portage.
| Portage | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 34% | 36% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 15% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 19% | 19% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9.4% | 12% | 12% |
| What stands out | Portage | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.5% | 15.4% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.1% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 80% of U.S. communities. Since 2008, 11 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Portage.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Portage has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 17° and about 65 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
About one in 5 of Portage’s working residents works in town. Portage’s average trip to work is 20 minutes. Jobs based in Portage grew to 26,678 in 2021, 3,240 more than in 2011.
| Portage | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 22% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 14% | 10% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 7.1% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
The typical Portage home is worth about $296,000, up 4.7% in a year, 12% above the Michigan typical home. 69% of Portage households own their home.
| Portage | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 69% | 84% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,133 a month | $1,045 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Portage. Close and well known come first.
3 mi Theme parkAir Zoo
19 mi MuseumGilmore Car Museum87K visitors a year
6 mi MuseumKalamazoo Institute of Arts23 mi Zoo & aquariumBinder Park Zoo
33 mi MuseumAmerican Museum of Magic
7 mi MuseumKalamazoo Valley MuseumAir Zoo: User:my name, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Gilmore Car Museum: Kevin S. Forsyth, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Kalamazoo Institute of Arts: 72elyod, CC BY-SA 3.0 · American Museum of Magic: rossograph, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Kalamazoo Valley Museum: Cody Hough, CC BY-SA 3.0
4 within 15 miles of the center of Portage
About 6 of every 100 Portage residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Michigan.
6 notable people were born in Portage.
City in Michigan, United States
Portage is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States. The population was 48,891 at the 2020 census. It is the smaller of the two main cities included in the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a population of 261,670 in 2020.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Portage.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portage | #361 | B− | C | C− | A− | A− |
| Kalamazoo | #675 | D | C+ | D− | C | C |
| Pavilion Township | #553 | C | C | — | B+ | C+ |
| Texas Township | #206 | B+ | C− | — | A | A− |
| Schoolcraft Township | #241 | B+ | C+ | — | A− | B+ |
Pavilion Township, Texas Township and Schoolcraft Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Portage with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Portage grades B− overall, better than 54% of U.S. towns and #361 of 697 in Michigan. It grades A− for health, C− for safety and A− for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a C−.
That is 4.1 years of the area's median household income ($72,532 across the Kalamazoo-Portage, MI metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
6 notable people were born here, including Thomas Schippers and Jacob Peterson.
