Portsmouth TownshipMI
The town, settled in 1857, counts 3,139 residents.
Is Portsmouth Township a good place to live?
Where it falls short is health (C−): CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 82% of the country. With a C+ overall, Portsmouth Township sits 460th of 697 in Michigan. That leaves it better than just over two fifths of U.S. towns. Its strongest subject is incomes (B+): the median household earns $79K. Cost of living is another plus: a typical home costs about $199K, 3.2 years of the Bay City metro’s $62K median household income. 17% of residents are under 18 in the town, against 21% in Michigan’s towns and 22% across U.S. towns. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B− for schools and B− for hazard risk.
Figures: incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · home values, Zillow · health, CDC PLACES · schools, state test and graduation results · FEMA National Risk Index.
98% of working residents leave Portsmouth Township for work
Where Portsmouth Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
How Portsmouth Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Portsmouth Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Portsmouth Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Portsmouth 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 Portsmouth Township.
Portsmouth Township earns a C− for health
40% of adults have obesity in Portsmouth Township. Two figures for adults locally: 16% report frequent physical distress, 28% have been diagnosed with depression.
| Portsmouth Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 15% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 27% | 23% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 37% | 35% |
| What stands out | Portsmouth Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 15.3% | 10.2% |
| More uninsured adults | 8.8% | 6.9% |
| More adults with COPD | 10.3% | 8.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Portsmouth Township has 0.4 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Most people who work leave Portsmouth Township to do it: just 2% work in town. Since 2011, Portsmouth Township has added 268 jobs, to 534 in 2021. The top destinations are Bay City (17%), Saginaw (9%) and Midland (7%). Portsmouth Township: 6.6% of residents live below the poverty line.
| Portsmouth Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 1.7% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 6.6% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Portsmouth Township earns a B+ for cost of living
Home values rose 40% in five years, to about $199K, against 24% across Michigan.
Homes in Portsmouth Township are typically worth about $199,000, up 5.9% in a year, 25% below the Michigan typical home. Its median rent comes in at $944 a month. The share of households in Portsmouth Township who own their home: 88%.
| Portsmouth Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 88% | 84% | 73% |
| Median rent | $944 a month | $1,047 a month | $1,185 a month |
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Conserved land covers 4.5% of Portsmouth Township
3.4 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. Portsmouth Township’s density of trails stands at 0.2 miles per square mile. One park or preserve covers 17 acres here.
| Portsmouth Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.5% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Crow Island State Game Area | — | 17 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Portsmouth Township: snowy winters and pleasant summers
Summer afternoons peak near 82° in July, and January nights bottom out around 16°; snowfall runs to about 49 inches a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Fewer children than Michigan overall
For adults 25 and older in Portsmouth Township, the share who hold a bachelor’s degree or more is 23%. 3,139 people lived in Portsmouth Township by the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate, 2.3% fewer than in 2020. In Portsmouth Township, the age of the median resident is 45.2 years.
| Portsmouth Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 17% | 21% | 22% |
| Median age | 45.2 years | 42.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 22% | 19% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 23% | 26% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±5.2 points. Across Michigan, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Portsmouth Township | MI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 5.5% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.2% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 11% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8.4% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.6% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 15.2% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.3% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.6% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10.2% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.9% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 32.8% | 28% | 26% |
| Some college | 26.9% | 21.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.9% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 17.3% | 19.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 5.2% | 12.7% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,100, single groups can be off by several points
Natural hazards: moderate risk in Portsmouth Township, mostly inland flooding
The FEMA hazard score for Portsmouth Township comes to 47 of 100. FEMA puts nearly half of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 20% to cold waves. 7 flood insurance claims have been paid here since 1985.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
USS Edson and 14 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Portsmouth Township. Close and well known come first.
4 mi MuseumUSS Edson
4 mi MuseumSaginaw Valley Naval Ship Museum
22 mi GardenDow Gardens
38 mi MuseumSloan Museum
10 mi TheatreTemple Theatre
23 mi City parkChippewa Nature CenterPhoto credits
USS Edson: U.S. Navy, Public domain · Saginaw Valley Naval Ship Museum: John McCullough, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Dow Gardens: Chris.Schiemann, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Sloan Museum: Amancour, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Temple Theatre: Ian Poellet, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Chippewa Nature Center: Christian Collins, CC BY-SA 2.0
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Everything we know about Portsmouth Township
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of Portsmouth Township
About 4 of every 100 Portsmouth Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
About Portsmouth Township
Charter township in Michigan, United States
Portsmouth Charter Township is a charter township located in Bay County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The township's population was 3,224 as of the 2020 census and is included in the Bay City Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 20 sq mi
- Elevation
- 600 ft
Portsmouth Township’s neighbors
5 towns share a border with Portsmouth Township.
It grades higher overall than all 4 graded towns on its borders; Frankenlust Township (C+) comes closest.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portsmouth Township | #460 | C+ | B+ | — | B− | C− |
| Bay City | #586 | C− | A− | C− | B− | C− |
| Hampton Township | #548 | C | B− | B− | B− | C+ |
| Merritt Township | — | — | B+ | — | B− | C+ |
| Frankenlust Township | #496 | C+ | C+ | — | B− | B− |
| Buena Vista Township | #683 | D | B+ | D− | C | D− |
Merritt Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Portsmouth Township, Merritt Township and Frankenlust Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Portsmouth Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Portsmouth Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Portsmouth Township, MI a good place to live?
Portsmouth Township grades C+ overall, better than 42% of U.S. towns and #460 of 697 in Michigan. It grades C− for health and B− for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a C−.
Is Portsmouth Township, MI expensive?
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+.