Vandercook LakeMI
The town has 4,375 residents and lies in Michigan.
Is Vandercook Lake a good place to live?
16% of residents are under 18 in Vandercook Lake, below both Michigan’s towns (21%) and U.S. towns (22%). The biggest park or preserve is Vandercook Lake County Park, at 22 acres. We don’t grade Vandercook Lake yet; the figures below are still real.
97% of working residents leave Vandercook Lake for work
Where Vandercook Lake’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
Moving to Vandercook Lake: who provides what
Vandercook Lake is unincorporated, so Jackson County and regional agencies provide most services.
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 Vandercook Lake.
Natural hazards: low risk in Vandercook Lake, mostly inland flooding
Paid flood insurance claims in Vandercook Lake since 1982: 4. On expected storm and flood damage, Vandercook Lake sits below four fifths of U.S. communities. Of the losses FEMA expects here, 43% come from inland flooding and 30% from tornadoes.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most of Vandercook Lake’s workers commute out: the town has 0.5 jobs for each of them
In Vandercook Lake, 7% of residents live below the poverty line. Commuting out is the norm here: 3% of working residents work locally. This Michigan town had 847 jobs in 2021, down 146 from 2011. The average trip to work in the town is 20 minutes.
| Vandercook Lake | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $59,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.8% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 7% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Vandercook Lake: snowy winters and pleasant summers
Summer afternoons peak near 83° in July, and January nights bottom out around 17°; snowfall runs to about 44 inches a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
How healthy Vandercook Lake is
Two figures for adults in Vandercook Lake: 28% have been diagnosed with depression, 38% have high blood pressure. Against the Michigan average, Vandercook Lake comes out ahead on 2 CDC measures out of 32, and behind on 4. 40% of adults sleep under 7 hours here.
| Vandercook Lake | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 34% | 36% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 27% | 23% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 36% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| What stands out | Vandercook Lake | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 7.1% | 8.7% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 12.7% | 15.4% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 17.6% | 10.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Protected land: 1.1% of Vandercook Lake
Vandercook Lake’s trail network density stands at 0.1 miles per square mile. In 2 parks and preserves, walkers have 0.3 miles of trail. Parks and preserves here: 2, covering 30 acres.
| Vandercook Lake | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.1% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Vandercook Lake County Park | — | 22 |
| 2. Gatewood Park | — | 8 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Homes in Vandercook Lake sell for about $223K
A home in Vandercook Lake typically sold within 48 days of listing. The share of households in Vandercook Lake who are owner-occupiers: 93%. Also worth knowing: in Vandercook Lake, the typical sale closed at 100.1% of the list price.
| Vandercook Lake | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 93% | 84% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,141 a month | $1,046 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Michigan Stadium and 28 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Vandercook Lake. Close and well known come first.
Big draw33 mi Stadium & arenaMichigan Stadium
37 mi Park & preserveDomino's Farms
38 mi MuseumEli and Edythe Broad Art Museum150K visitors a year
39 mi LandmarkYpsilanti Water Tower
34 mi TheatreMichigan Theater
34 mi MuseumUniversity of Michigan Museum of ArtPhoto credits
Michigan Stadium: Lectrician2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Domino's Farms: Dwight Burdette, CC BY 3.0 · Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum: Dj1997, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ypsilanti Water Tower: Dwight Burdette, CC BY 3.0 · Michigan Theater: mrkumm, CC BY 2.0 · University of Michigan Museum of Art: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Everything we know about Vandercook Lake
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of Vandercook Lake
About 4 of every 100 Vandercook Lake residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
About Vandercook Lake
Census-designated place & unincorporated community in Michigan, United States
Vandercook Lake is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Jackson County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, Vandercook Lake had a population of 4,579. It is located within Summit Township.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 4.8 sq mi
- Elevation
- 974 ft
Vandercook Lake’s neighbors
2 towns share a border with Vandercook Lake.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vandercook Lake | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Summit Township | #647 | D | B− | — | C | C− |
| Jackson | #678 | D | B+ | D− | C | D− |
Summit Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. Vandercook Lake isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Vandercook Lake with a neighbor →
Questions about Vandercook Lake
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Vandercook Lake, MI a good place to live?
We don’t grade Vandercook Lake yet; the figures below are still real.