Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Saugatuck Township’s strongest is incomes: the median household earns $94K. Schools are another plus: its schools outperform 73% of the state's. The trade-off is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $628K, 7.5 years of the Holland area’s $83K median household income. Put together, the subjects come to an A− overall, ranking 162nd of 697 in Michigan. On that grade it does better than nearly four fifths of U.S. towns. Navigation Structures at Saugatuck Harbor is on the National Register of Historic Places. 31% of residents are 65 or older here, against 19% in Michigan’s towns and 18% across U.S. towns. Among 322 Michigan towns, just 7 have a higher value of a typical home than Saugatuck Township.
Figures: incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · schools, state test and graduation results · home values, Zillow · National Register of Historic Places · Zillow, September 2026.
Where Saugatuck Township beats most towns.
Navigation Structures at Saugatuck Harbor2,944 counted in 2010 and 3,443 in 2020; an estimated 3,688 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 6.7% since 2020, after 16.9% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Saugatuck Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,026 in 1870, 865 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1873 and 3 maps from 1928 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Saugatuck 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 Saugatuck Township.
Saugatuck Township is a second-home town and gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Michigan.
At 7.5 years of the Holland area’s $83K median household income, the typical home (about $628K) costs more against local pay than in 98% of Michigan towns; that ratio is one input to that grade. Home values rose 45% in five years, to about $628K, against 24% across Michigan.
Zillow values the typical Saugatuck Township home at about $628,000, up 5.2% in a year, more than twice the Michigan typical home. The share of households in Saugatuck Township who own their home: 95%. Also worth knowing: for Saugatuck Township, the midpoint rent is $1,103 a month.
| Saugatuck Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 95% | 84% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,103 a month | $1,045 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Saugatuck Township’s trail density comes in at 1.0 miles per square mile. Walkers can cover 24 miles of trail in 8 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Allegan State Game Area, at 234 acres.
| Saugatuck Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.0 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.8% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Tallmadge Woods Nature Preserve | 1.8 mi | 120 |
| 2. Saugatuck Wilds Nature Preserve | 1.7 mi | 169 |
| 3. Lawrence A. and Mary Bell Wade Memorial Nature Sanctuary | 1.2 mi | 65 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
22.8% of workers work from home, against 13.5% across Michigan.
In Saugatuck Township, the average commute is 23 minutes. Only 5% of working residents stay in Saugatuck Township for work; the rest commute out. Among residents here, 2.5% live below the poverty line. Jobs based in Saugatuck Township grew to 373 in 2021, 162 more than in 2011.
| Saugatuck Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 2.5% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $94,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.6% | 5.9% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Of the losses FEMA expects in Saugatuck Township, 76% come from inland flooding and 8% from tornadoes. Compared with 69% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage locally is lower. 4 flood insurance claims have been paid here since 1978.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Bloomingdale weather station, 20 miles away, records that 109 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 98% of U.S. towns.
Saugatuck Township’s typical July afternoon high stands at 81°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Of 32 CDC measures, Saugatuck Township beats the Michigan average on 5 and trails it on 1. In Saugatuck Township, 30% of adults sleep under 7 hours. Two figures for adults here: 16% report frequent mental distress, 30% feel lonely.
| Saugatuck Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 34% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 33% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 81% | 80% | 79% |
| What stands out | Saugatuck Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 7.2% | 8.7% |
| Fewer adults without reliable transportation | 7.1% | 8.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.4% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
2 within 15 miles of the center of Saugatuck Township
About 3 of every 100 Saugatuck Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
Where Saugatuck Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
City in Michigan, United States
Saugatuck ( SAW-gə-tuck) is a city in Allegan County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 865 at the 2020 census. The city is within Saugatuck Township, but is administratively autonomous. Originally a lumber town and port, Saugatuck, along with the adjacent city of Douglas, became a noted art colony and tourist destination in the Arts and Crafts movement of the late 19th century. In the early 20th century, Saugatuck was home to the famous Big Pavilion, a large dance hall that attracted bands and visitors from across the Midwest. The building was a popular destination on Lake Michigan from its construction in 1909 until it burned down on May 6, 1960. Today, tourists are drawn...
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Saugatuck Township.
Ganges Township next door grades lower for schools (C+ to Saugatuck Township’s B+) and higher for cost of living (B+ to C+).
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saugatuck Township · Saugatuck | #162 | A− | C+ | — | B+ | B |
| Douglas | — | — | C+ | — | A+ | A− |
| Manlius Township | #295 | B | B− | — | B+ | B− |
| Laketown Township | #149 | A− | C+ | — | A | A− |
| Ganges Township | #512 | C+ | B+ | — | C+ | C+ |
Douglas has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Saugatuck Township, Douglas, Manlius Township, Laketown Township and Ganges Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Saugatuck and Saugatuck Township are one community, graded once. Compare Saugatuck Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Saugatuck Township grades A− overall, better than 79% of U.S. towns and #162 of 697 in Michigan. It grades B for health and B+ 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 C+.