Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,704.
Surrey Township gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $121K, 2.5 years of the county’s $49K median household income. It grades C− overall, 616th of 697 graded towns in Michigan. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $51K, and 24% of residents live below the poverty line, and CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 84% of the country. On the plus side, natural-hazard risk is low. 24% of residents live below the poverty line in Surrey Township, above both Michigan’s towns (8.9%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). George and Martha Hitchcock House is on the National Register of Historic Places. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 71% of U.S. towns.
Where Surrey Township beats most towns.
Where Surrey Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Surrey Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 2 maps from 1959 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Who provides power, water and the rest in Surrey 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 Surrey Township.
Surrey Township is a second-home town and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it has lost a quarter or more of its jobs in ten years.
Against the 6,053 U.S. towns with household incomes like Surrey Township’s, it is less healthy than 61%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
43% of adults have high blood pressure in Surrey Township. Surrey Township beats the Michigan average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 13. 17% of adults report frequent physical distress in Surrey Township.
| Surrey Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 36% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 15% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 12% | 12% |
| What stands out | Surrey Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 15.9% | 10.2% |
| More adults with COPD | 11.4% | 8.1% |
| More adults with heart disease | 9.3% | 7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Farwell Area Schools. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Farwell High School, with 344 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Farwell Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–3 | Grades PK–3 | 336 | C |
| Farwell High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 8–12 | Grades 8–12 | 344 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
18 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Central Michigan University Nethercut Woodland, at 251 acres.
| Surrey Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.9% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit | 7.9 mi | 1,977 |
| 2. Central Michigan University Nethercut Woodland | 0.3 mi | 251 |
| 3. Alta Warren Parsons Memorial Nature Sanctuary | — | 79 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 87% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Jobs based here fell from 1,008 in 2011 to 780.
Most working residents leave Surrey Township for work: only 11% work in town. Jobs based in Surrey Township fell to 780 in 2021, 228 fewer than in 2011. The average trip to work in Surrey Township is 23 minutes.
| Surrey Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $51,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 11% | 5.9% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Surrey Township has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Surrey Township’s July high is 82°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
1 within 15 miles of the center of Surrey Township
About 4 of every 100 Surrey Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
Civil township in Michigan, United States
Surrey Township () is a civil township of Clare County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,635 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Surrey Township.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surrey Township | #616 | C− | B+ | — | C+ | C− |
| Grant Township | #658 | D | C+ | — | B− | D |
| Garfield Township | — | — | C+ | — | C+ | C− |
| Lincoln Township | — | — | B+ | — | C+ | D |
| Gilmore Township | — | — | A− | — | C+ | C− |
Garfield Township, Lincoln Township and Gilmore Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Surrey Township, Grant Township, Garfield Township, Lincoln Township and Gilmore Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Surrey Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Surrey Township grades C− overall, better than 16% of U.S. towns and #616 of 697 in Michigan. It grades C− for health and C+ for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
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+.