Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Portland gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $292K, 3.5 years of the Grand Rapids metro’s $83K median household income. It grades A− overall, 141st among Michigan's 697 graded towns. On the plus side, 8% of its land is conserved. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 97% of U.S. towns, with 2 places on the National Register. Portland’s trail network density is 1.5 miles per square mile, where Michigan’s towns sit at 0.3 and U.S. towns at 0.4. On hazard risk, just 115 of Michigan’s 1,279 towns do worse. The biggest park or preserve is Bogue Flats Recreation Area, at 93 acres.
Where Portland beats most towns.
Portland Downtown Historic District8.1% of the town is conserved land, across 11 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Portland is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 440 in 1860, 3,796 in 2020. The archive holds 9 old photos and papers going back to 1907 and 2 maps from 1945 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Portland, 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 Portland.
Portland draws workers from Portland Township and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Michigan (mostly inland flooding).
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bogue Flats Recreation Area | 0.3 mi | 93 |
| 2. Community Lake Park | — | 21 |
| 3. Rivertrail Linear Park | — | 17 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Of its 5 schools, two are listed below, each with the reason. The largest public high school is Portland High School, with 665 students. The Portland Public Schools runs its public schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oakwood Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–2 | Grades PK–2 | 473 | – |
| Portland High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 665 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
3,717 jobs are based in Portland, 3 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. Jobs based here fell from 6,979 in 2011 to 3,717.
The median household income for Portland comes to $66,000, below both Michigan’s towns ($77,000) and U.S. towns ($80,000). For most workers, Portland is a place to come home to: only 15% work in town. Jobs here fell by 3,262 from 2011 to 2021, to 3,717. Its average trip to work stands at 28 minutes.
| Portland | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 15% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $66,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 7.3% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Against the 10,065 U.S. towns with household incomes like Portland’s, it is healthier than 92%, so its B+ isn’t only a matter of income.
Against the Michigan average, Portland comes out ahead on 13 CDC measures out of 32, and behind on 1. The share of adults in Portland who have diabetes: 9.5%. Among adults here, 28% have been diagnosed with depression and 12% report frequent physical distress.
| Portland | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9.5% | 12% | 12% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 27% | 23% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 14% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 16% |
| What stands out | Portland | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.6% | 15.4% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.2% | 8.7% |
| Fewer adults treating high blood pressure | 74.5% | 77.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 16° and about 37 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The bachelor’s-degree share among adults 25 and older is 28%, against 32% across Michigan. Adults 18 to 34 are 30% of residents (22% statewide); children under 18 are 15% of residents (21% statewide). In Portland, just over a fifth of residents are 65 or older.
| Portland | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 15% | 21% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 21% | 19% | 18% |
| Median age | 39.9 years | 42.5 years | 40.5 years |
54% women, 46% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.4 points. Across Michigan, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Portland | MI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 4.5% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.8% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 21.8% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.6% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 15.1% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.3% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.6% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 25.8% | 28% | 26% |
| Some college | 29.3% | 21.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 21.3% | 19.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7% | 12.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,800, single groups can be off by several points
The rate of reported violence for Portland comes to 2.1 per 1,000 residents. Its rate of thefts and burglaries is 8.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Portland | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.1 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 8.5 per 1,000 residents | 7.8 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Values rose 5.6% in the 12 months to September 2026. For households in Portland, the share who live in a home they own is 71%. The rent at the middle of the market here is $972 a month.
| Portland | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 71% | 84% | 73% |
| Median rent | $972 a month | $1,047 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 95% of Michigan towns; that rating is what its C+ for hazard risk is built on.
Expected losses in Portland break down as 61% from inland flooding and 17% from tornadoes. For Portland, the natural-hazard score from FEMA is 59 of 100. The national flood insurance program has paid 7 claims here since 2004.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of Portland; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Portland residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
Where Portland’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
2 places in Portland on the National Register of Historic Places.
5 notable people were born in Portland.
City in Michigan, United States
Portland is a city in Ionia County of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,796 at the 2020 Census. The city is situated in the south central portion of Portland Township and is known as the "City of Two Rivers" since it is the confluence of the Grand River and the Looking Glass River. Portland is home to Portland Public Schools and Portland Saint Patrick Catholic School.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Portland.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portland · Portland Township | #141 | A− | A− | B | B | B+ |
| Danby Township | #216 | B+ | A− | — | B | B |
Danby Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. Portland Township and Portland are one community, graded once. Compare Portland with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Portland grades A− overall, better than 81% of U.S. towns and #141 of 697 in Michigan. It grades B+ for health, B for safety and B for schools.
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 A−.
5 notable people were born here, including Kristen McDonald Rivet and Clarence Budington Kelland.
