Soo TownshipMI
A town of 2,983.
Is Soo Township a good place to live?
Soo Township gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $241K, 3.9 years of the Sault Ste. Marie area’s $62K median household income. It grades B+ overall, ranked 247th of 697 in Michigan. On the plus side, natural-hazard risk is low. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 86% of U.S. towns. Among 701 Michigan towns, just 4 have a lower July high than Soo Township. The biggest park or preserve is Round Island Point Nature Preserve, at 365 acres.
What makes Soo Township stand out
Where Soo Township beats most towns.
Community nonprofits per 1,000 residents
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Malcolm High School | 9–12 | 71 |
94% of working residents leave Soo Township for work
Where Soo Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
How Soo Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Soo Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Soo Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Soo 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 Soo Township.
Soo Township is a second-home town, gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns and has commutes shorter than most of Michigan.
Soo Township faces a very low natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 83% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Public schools in Soo Township beat 71% of Michigan districts
Its public schools are run by the Sault Ste. Marie Area Schools. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Malcolm High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 71 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
| Soo Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2.2% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Dunbar Forest Experiment Station Michigan State University | 7.2 mi | 3,129 |
| 2. Lake Superior State Forest - Sault Ste. Marie Unit | 7 mi | 1,304 |
| 3. Round Island Point Nature Preserve | 0.1 mi | 365 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
More than half of Soo Township’s working residents commute to Sault Ste. Marie
The average commute for its 1,115 working residents takes 17.2 minutes, against 24.2 across Michigan. Jobs based here grew from 328 in 2011 to 465.
Most working residents leave Soo Township for work: only 6% work in town. At 17 minutes, Soo Township’s average trip to work is against 25 minutes in Michigan’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. Jobs based in Soo Township grew to 465 in 2021, 137 more than in 2011.
| Soo Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 5.4% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
A typical January night in Soo Township is colder than in the typical Michigan or U.S. town
The Sault Ste Marie Sanderson Fld weather station, 16 miles away, records that 120 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 99% of U.S. towns. The Sault Ste Marie Sanderson Fld weather station, 16 miles away, records that about 1 days a year reach 90°, fewer than in 96% of U.S. towns.
At 9°F, Soo Township’s January low is below both Michigan’s towns (16°F) and U.S. towns (22°F). Soo Township has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Health in Soo Township trails 61% of U.S. towns
Soo Township beats the Michigan average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 6. 42% of adults have high blood pressure in Soo Township.
| Soo Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 36% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 17% | 16% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 12% | 12% |
| What stands out | Soo Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with heart disease | 8.9% | 7% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.3% | 8.9% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.8% | 8.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Fewer young adults than Michigan overall
19.4% of homes are seasonal or vacation homes, against 5.5% statewide, which helps explain the older median age.
Adults 18 to 34 are 17% of residents (22% statewide); people 65 and older are 24% of residents (19% statewide). Soo Township’s median age is 49.3 years. 26% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across Michigan.
| Soo Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 49.3 years | 42.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 18% | 21% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 24% | 19% | 18% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
47% women, 53% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.6 points. Across Michigan, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Soo Township | MI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 4.9% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12.6% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 11.7% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 5.3% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.7% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 18.3% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.8% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10.6% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.2% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 32.2% | 28% | 26% |
| Some college | 25.5% | 21.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.7% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 20.1% | 19.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 6.2% | 12.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,000, single groups can be off by several points
Soo Locks and 7 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Soo Township. Close and well known come first.
18 mi DamSoo Locks35 mi Park & preserveMackinac National Park
36 mi LandmarkFort Mackinac
17 mi MuseumSS Valley Camp
17 mi MuseumTower of History
39 mi MuseumSt. Ignace MissionPhoto credits
Soo Locks: USGS, Public domain · Fort Mackinac: P. Hughes, CC BY 4.0 · SS Valley Camp: Cason at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Tower of History: P199, CC BY-SA 3.0 · St. Ignace Mission: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0
Everything we know about Soo Township
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Soo Township; the nearest are
About 9 of every 100 Soo Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
Soo Township’s neighbors
7 towns share a border with Soo Township.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soo Township | #247 | B+ | A− | — | B+ | C+ |
| Raber Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Bruce Township | — | — | A− | — | B+ | C+ |
| Sugar Island Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sault Ste. Marie | #418 | B− | B | C+ | B+ | C |
| Bay Mills Township | — | — | A | — | B+ | C− |
| Pickford Township | — | — | A | — | C+ | B− |
| Dafter Township | — | — | A | — | B+ | C+ |
Bruce Township, Bay Mills Township, Pickford Township and Dafter Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Soo Township, Bruce Township, Bay Mills Township, Pickford Township and Dafter Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Raber Township and Sugar Island Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Soo Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Soo Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Soo Township, MI a good place to live?
By most measures, yes. Soo Township grades B+ overall, better than 69% of U.S. towns and #247 of 697 in Michigan. It grades C+ for health and B+ for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Soo Township, MI expensive?
Not for the area. Marie, MI 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−.