Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 9,692. Public schools that outperform most of Michigan.
Thornapple Township is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades A overall, 75th among Michigan's 697 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is incomes: the median household earns $91K. It also does better than most on schools: its schools rank ahead of 80% of Michigan towns. A typical home there costs about $281K, 3.4 years of the Grand Rapids metro’s $83K median household income. 10% of residents are 65 or older in Thornapple Township, where Michigan’s towns sit at 19% and U.S. towns at 18%. Thornapple Township has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them John Carveth House and Michigan Central Railroad Middleville Depot.
Where Thornapple Township beats most towns.
7,884 counted in 2010 and 9,331 in 2020; an estimated 9,692 in 2025.
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 Thornapple Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 6,685 in 2000, 9,331 in 2020. The archive holds a map from 1982 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Who provides power, water and the rest in Thornapple 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 Thornapple Township.
Its public schools are run by the Thornapple Kellogg School District. Three of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Thornapple Kellogg High School, with 982 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thornapple Kellogg Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 693 | B |
| Thornapple Kellogg High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 982 | B+ |
| Lee Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades 2–3 | Grades 2–3 | 398 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
14 miles of trail in 11 parks and preserves. Middleville State Game Area, at 534 acres with 4.5 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Thornapple Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2.7% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Middleville State Game Area | 4.5 mi | 534 |
| 2. Wildwood Trails Park | 0.8 mi | 20 |
| 3. Lions Spring Park | — | 30 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Most working residents leave Thornapple Township for work: only 12% work in town. Since 2011, Thornapple Township has added 616 jobs, to 3,044 in 2021. 5.6% of Thornapple Township residents live below the poverty line.
| Thornapple Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 5.6% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 12% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Median household income | $91,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 9.6% | 10% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 74% of U.S. communities. Since 1982, 18 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Thornapple Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Thornapple Township beats the Michigan average on 11 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 31% of adults have high blood pressure in Thornapple Township.
| Thornapple Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 36% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9.5% | 12% | 12% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 27% | 23% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Thornapple Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11.5% | 15.4% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.8% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Thornapple Township has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 17° and about 78 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
People 65 and older are 11% of residents (19% statewide); children under 18 are 26% of residents (21% statewide). The median age in Thornapple Township is 36.2 years. Thornapple Township has grown 3.9% since 2020, to 9,692 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Thornapple Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 26% | 21% | 22% |
| Median age | 36.2 years | 42.5 years | 40.5 years |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.8 points. Across Michigan, 50.4% of residents are women. Median age: women 34.6, men 36.9.
| Thornapple Township | MI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 15.4% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.9% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.2% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.3% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.1% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.7% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 6.4% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4.1% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 29.5% | 28% | 26% |
| Some college | 23.2% | 21.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13.7% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22.8% | 19.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 6.7% | 12.7% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Thornapple Township. Close and well known come first.
20 mi MuseumGerald R. Ford Presidential Museum
17 mi Park & preserveNorth Country Trail
19 mi MuseumFrederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park
34 mi Theme parkAir Zoo19 mi TheatreAcrisure Amphitheater
17 mi Theme parkRamona ParkGerald R. Ford Presidential Museum: Staff of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, Public domain · North Country Trail: Huron-Manistee National Forests, Public domain · Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park: User Jeffness on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Air Zoo: User:my name, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ramona Park: Gpwitteveen, CC BY-SA 3.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Thornapple Township
About 6 of every 100 Thornapple Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Michigan.
Where Thornapple Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
Township in Michigan, United States
Thornapple Township is a civil township of Barry County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 9,331 at the 2020 census. It is the most populous township in Barry County.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Thornapple Township.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thornapple Township | #75 | A | B | — | A− | B+ |
| Irving Township | #233 | B+ | B− | — | A− | B |
| Yankee Springs Township | #202 | B+ | B− | — | A− | B+ |
| Caledonia Township | #10 | A+ | B− | — | A+ | A− |
| Leighton Township | #142 | A− | C+ | — | A− | B+ |
Thornapple Township, Irving Township, Yankee Springs Township, Caledonia Township and Leighton Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Thornapple Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Thornapple Township grades A overall, better than 90% of U.S. towns and #75 of 697 in Michigan. It grades B+ for health and A− 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 B.
