Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A city of 80,415. Public schools that outperform most of Michigan.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Shelby Township grades B+ overall, 207th among Michigan's 697 graded towns. Its schools outperform 83% of the state's. The median household earns $91K. The trade-off is money: homes are expensive, about $403K for a typical one and 5.3 times the Detroit metro’s $77K median household income. Shelby Township’s trail density is 1.1 miles per square mile, above both Michigan’s towns (0.3) and U.S. towns (0.4). Only 16 of Michigan’s 1,265 towns score lower on civic life. Shelby Township has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Packard Proving Grounds Gateway Complex and Clinton-Kalamazoo Canal.
Where Shelby Township beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Shelby Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 2026 and 7 maps from 1908 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Who provides power, water and the rest in Shelby 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 Shelby Township.
Shelby Township pairs an A− for schools with high home prices and sees little violent crime.
In the comparison, Shelby Township comes above both the Michigan town median (4.4%) and the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). 39 miles of trail in 17 parks and preserves. River Bends Park, at 727 acres with 16.7 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. River Bends Park | 16.7 mi | 727 |
| 2. Holland Ponds | 3.4 mi | 192 |
| 3. Chief Gene Shepherd Park | 2.9 mi | 78 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A− for schools comes with a C− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $403K.
Its public schools are run by the Utica Community Schools. Three of its 14 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beacon Tree Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 787 | B+ |
| Eisenhower High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 10–12 | Grades 10–12 | 1,625 | A− |
| Richard J Duncan ElementaryTop results in townGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 716 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
The typical Shelby Township home is worth about $403,000, up 2% in a year, 53% above the Michigan typical home. The median rent in Shelby Township is $1,346 a month.
| Shelby Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,346 a month | $1,045 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 52% | 45% | 48% |
| Households that own their home | 74% | 84% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 76% of U.S. communities. Since 1981, 13 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Shelby Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Shelby Township beats the Michigan average on 9 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 82% of adults had a checkup this year in Shelby Township.
| Shelby Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 82% | 80% | 79% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 12% | 12% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 27% | 23% |
| What stands out | Shelby Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11.1% | 15.4% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.3% | 8.7% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.9% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Violent crime is rare: 114 reported in 2025, 1.4 per 1,000 residents.
Shelby Township’s property crime rate is 4.9 per 1,000 residents.
| Shelby Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.9 per 1,000 residents | 8 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.4 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Shelby Township has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 18° and about 32 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Shelby Township for work: only 9% work in town. Since 2011, Shelby Township has added 4,033 jobs, to 26,046 in 2021. 16% of Shelby Township workers work from home.
| Shelby Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 16% | 10% | 11% |
| Median household income | $91,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 8.1% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 8.7% | 5.9% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Michigan average. 38% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across Michigan.
| Shelby Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 38% | 26% | 29% |
| Median age | 45.5 years | 42.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 21% | 19% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 20% | 21% | 22% |
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.2 points). Across Michigan, 50.4% of residents are women. Median age: women 47.0, men 43.3.
| Shelby Township | MI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.9% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.1% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.5% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14.2% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.5% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.2% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.7% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.9% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 23.6% | 28% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.3% | 21.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.7% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22.5% | 19.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 15% | 12.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Shelby Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw23 mi Stadium & arenaFord Field
23 mi Stadium & arenaComerica Park
24 mi LakeLake Saint Clair
23 mi TheatreFox Theatre
27 mi MuseumThe Henry Ford1.8M visitors a year
22 mi MuseumDetroit Institute of ArtsFord Field: Unknown, CC BY 2.5 · Comerica Park: City of Detroit, Public domain · Lake Saint Clair: Copernicus Sentinel-2, ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 igo · Fox Theatre: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0 · The Henry Ford: Alvintrusty, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Detroit Institute of Arts: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0
7 within 15 miles of the center of Shelby Township
About 5 of every 100 Shelby Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Michigan.
2 places in Shelby Township on the National Register of Historic Places.
6 towns share a border with Shelby Township.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shelby Township | #207 | B+ | C− | B+ | A− | B+ |
| Utica | #410 | B− | C | C− | A− | B− |
| Rochester Hills | #29 | A+ | C− | A− | A+ | A+ |
| Sterling Heights | #447 | C+ | C− | B− | A− | B− |
| Macomb Township | #219 | B+ | C− | — | A− | A− |
| Washington Township | #225 | B+ | C− | — | A | B+ |
| Rochester | #4 | A+ | C− | A | A+ | A+ |
Macomb Township and Washington Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Shelby Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Shelby Township grades B+ overall, better than 74% of U.S. towns and #207 of 697 in Michigan. It grades B+ for health, B+ for safety and A− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
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