Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,234, settled in 1830. Public schools that outperform most of Michigan.
Portage Township's standout: its schools rank ahead of 96% of Michigan towns. Overall it grades A−, ranked 145th of 697 in Michigan. It has 168 miles of trail and natural-hazard risk is low. Portage Township’s average trip to work is 15 minutes, where Michigan’s towns sit at 25 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. Copper Country State Forest- Baraga Unit, at 10,548 acres with 36.1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Portage Township is more walkable than 69% of U.S. towns.
Where Portage Township beats most towns.
17.2% of the town is conserved land, across 8 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Portage Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 33,590 in 1970, 48,891 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1928 and 2 maps from 1954 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Portage 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 Portage Township.
Portage Township has schools in the top 5% of Michigan, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has cooler summers than nearly all U.S. towns.
Portage Township’s trail density is 1.5 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Copper Country State Forest- Baraga Unit | 36.1 mi | 10,548 |
| 2. Pilgrim River Community Forest | 2.6 mi | 272 |
| 3. River Bend Nature Sanctuary | — | 39 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A+ ranks #14 of the 699 Michigan towns we grade for schools.
Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copper Country Christian School PrivateLargest high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 22 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 87% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
July afternoons average 77.7°, cooler than in 96% of U.S. towns; January nights average 7.2°.
The January low in Portage Township is 7°F. Portage Township has cold winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Portage Township is 78°F.
| Portage Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 78°F | 82°F | 85°F |
| January low | 7°F | 16°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Portage Township has about as many jobs (883) as working residents, but only 57 people both live and work here. The average commute takes 15.3 minutes, against 24.2 across Michigan.
Most working residents leave Portage Township for work: only 6% work in town. Since 2011, Portage Township has added 450 jobs, to 883 in 2021. The top destinations are Houghton (33%), Hancock (15%) and Baraga Township (5%).
| Portage Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $67,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 5.5% | 5.9% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Adults 35 to 64 are 32% of residents (38% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 28% of residents (22% statewide). 38% of Portage Township adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more.
| Portage Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 33.2 years | 42.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 38% | 26% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 24% | 21% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 16% | 19% | 18% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.6 points. Across Michigan, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Portage Township | MI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.2% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.8% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 18% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.3% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.7% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.6% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.2% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.5% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.8% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.3% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 27.3% | 28% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.4% | 21.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.5% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22.6% | 19.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 14.9% | 12.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,200, single groups can be off by several points
Against the 10,159 U.S. towns with household incomes like Portage Township’s, it is healthier than 78%, so its B isn’t only a matter of income.
Portage Township beats the Michigan average on 4 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 30% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Portage Township.
| Portage Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 34% | 36% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 32% | 33% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 27% | 23% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 5.7% | 6.5% | 8.1% |
| What stands out | Portage Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 8.9% | 11.9% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.7% | 8.7% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.3% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Portage Township. Close and well known come first.
27 mi MountainMount Arvon
11 mi National Historical ParkKeweenaw National Historical Park35K visitors a year
11 mi MuseumA. E. Seaman Mineral Museum
11 mi MuseumCarnegie Museum of the KeweenawMount Arvon: Yinan Chen, Public Domain · Keweenaw National Historical Park: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0 · A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum: Chris857, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Carnegie Museum of the Keweenaw: Chris857, CC BY-SA 3.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Portage Township
About 13 of every 100 Portage Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
10 towns share a border with Portage Township.
Baraga Township next door grades lower for schools (C to Portage Township’s A+) and higher for cost of living (A to B−).
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portage Township | #145 | A− | B− | — | A+ | B |
| Houghton | – | A− | D | B+ | A+ | A− |
| Adams Township | #168 | A− | A− | — | A− | B |
| Chassell Township | — | — | B− | — | B+ | B+ |
| Hancock | #143 | A− | C+ | B+ | A− | B |
| Hurontown | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Torch Lake Township | — | — | A− | — | A− | C |
| Baraga Township | #590 | C− | A | — | C | D |
Chassell Township and Torch Lake Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Portage Township, Adams Township, Chassell Township, Torch Lake Township and Baraga Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Hurontown isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Portage Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Portage Township grades A− overall, better than 81% of U.S. towns and #145 of 697 in Michigan. It grades B for health and A+ for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
