Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,968, settled in 1837. Public schools that outperform most of Michigan.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Vergennes Township grades A− overall, 163rd of 697 graded towns in Michigan. The median household earns $113K. Its schools outperform 94% of the state's and residents are healthier than 76% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The catch is cost: the typical home is worth about $392K, 4.7 years of the Grand Rapids metro’s $83K median household income. 54% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Vergennes Township, above both Michigan’s towns (26%) and U.S. towns (29%). Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 90% of U.S. towns. Vergennes Township has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Fallasburg Covered Bridge and Fallasburg Historic District.
Where Vergennes Township beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Murray Lake Elementary | PK–5 | 433 |
| Lowell Senior High School | 9–12 | 1,058 |
4,189 counted in 2010 and 4,741 in 2020; an estimated 4,968 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 Vergennes Township is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for jobs and income (better than 98% of comparable towns) to D for walkability (better than 10%), so the A− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 1871 and 3 maps from 1918 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Vergennes 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 Vergennes Township.
Vergennes Township owes part of its health edge to its incomes, has household incomes well above the Michigan norm and has an unusually large share working from home.
Its public schools are run by the Lowell Area Schools. Its two schools are below. The largest public high school is Lowell Senior High School, with 1,058 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Murray Lake ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 433 | A |
| Lowell Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,058 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
17 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves. Saranac-Lowell State Game Area, at 868 acres with 5.3 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Saranac-Lowell State Game Area | 5.3 mi | 868 |
| 2. Fallasburg Park | 2.9 mi | 295 |
| 3. Wittenbach/Wege Agriscience & Environmental Education Center | 2.4 mi | 85 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Against the 6,678 U.S. towns with household incomes like Vergennes Township’s, it is healthier than 54%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
20% of Vergennes Township adults get no exercise outside work. Vergennes Township beats the Michigan average on 14 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 18% of Vergennes Township adults binge drink.
| Vergennes Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 25% | 25% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 16% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 19% | 19% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9.8% | 12% | 12% |
| What stands out | Vergennes Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.5% | 15.4% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.2% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
21.8% of workers work from home, against 13.5% across Michigan.
1.5% of residents live below the poverty line in Vergennes Township. Jobs based in Vergennes Township grew to 717 in 2021, 486 more than in 2011. Most working residents leave Vergennes Township for work: only 3% work in town.
| Vergennes Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 1.5% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $113,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.5% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 78% of U.S. communities. Since 1986, 31 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Vergennes Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Vergennes Township has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 16° and about 66 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Vergennes Township. Close and well known come first.
4 mi Park & preserveNorth Country Trail
15 mi MuseumGerald R. Ford Presidential Museum
11 mi MuseumFrederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park15 mi TheatreAcrisure Amphitheater
12 mi Theme parkRamona Park
17 mi Zoo & aquariumJohn Ball ZooNorth Country Trail: Huron-Manistee National Forests, Public domain · Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum: Staff of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, Public domain · Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park: User Jeffness on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Ramona Park: Gpwitteveen, CC BY-SA 3.0 · John Ball Zoo: Gpwitteveen, CC BY-SA 3.0
7 within 15 miles of the center of Vergennes Township
About 1 of every 100 Vergennes Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
Where Vergennes Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
2 places in Vergennes Township on the National Register of Historic Places.
Civil township in Michigan, United States
Vergennes Township is a civil township of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the township population was 4,741. It is part of the Grand Rapids metropolitan area and is located about 15 miles (24 km) east of the city of Grand Rapids.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Vergennes Township.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vergennes Township | #163 | A− | C− | — | A | A− |
| Lowell | #47 | A | B− | B | A | B− |
| Ada Township | #34 | A | C− | — | A+ | A+ |
| Grattan Township | #231 | B+ | C+ | — | A | B |
| Keene Township | — | — | B− | — | A− | B− |
| Forest Hills | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Lowell Township | #63 | A | C | — | A | A− |
Keene Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Vergennes Township, Ada Township, Grattan Township, Keene Township and Lowell Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Forest Hills isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Vergennes Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Vergennes Township grades A− overall, better than 79% of U.S. towns and #163 of 697 in Michigan. It grades A− for health and A for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D.
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−.
