Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Waterloo Township grades C overall, ranked 537th of 697 in Michigan, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. It has 55 miles of trail. On the other side, the typical home is worth about $244K, 3.7 years of the Jackson metro’s $66K median household income. 19% of the land in Waterloo Township is conserved, above both Michigan’s towns (4.4%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). The biggest place to walk is Waterloo State Recreation Area, 11,290 acres with 46.3 miles of trail. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 83% of U.S. towns.
Where Waterloo Township beats most towns.
19.4% of the town is conserved land, across 4 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Waterloo Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 4 maps from 1919 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Waterloo 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 Waterloo Township.
Waterloo Township’s trail density is 1.1 miles per square mile, above both the Michigan town median (0.3) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4).
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Waterloo State Recreation Area | 46.3 mi | 11,290 |
| 2. Clear Lake Park | — | 6 |
| 3. Portage Lake Park | — | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Waterloo Township has 186 jobs for its 922 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. The average commute takes 32.1 minutes, against 24.2 across Michigan.
Most working residents leave Waterloo Township for work: only 3% work in town. The average trip to work in Waterloo Township is 32 minutes. Jobs based in Waterloo Township grew to 186 in 2021, 112 more than in 2011.
| Waterloo Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.4% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 7.4% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
People 65 and older are 31% of residents (19% statewide); children under 18 are 15% of residents (21% statewide). Waterloo Township’s median age is 54.6 years. Waterloo Township has grown 2.3% since 2020, to 2,995 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Waterloo Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 54.6 years | 42.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 15% | 21% | 22% |
46% women, 54% men
About 119 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±3.3 points). Across Michigan, 50.4% of residents are women. Among residents 65 to 74, 63% are men (MI 48%).
| Waterloo Township | MI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.2% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.3% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.6% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.2% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.1% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 8.8% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 18.9% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 22.8% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.1% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.1% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 40.3% | 28% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.7% | 21.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.4% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 15.3% | 19.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12.1% | 12.7% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,000, single groups can be off by several points
Waterloo Township has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 16° and about 33 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Waterloo Township beats the Michigan average on 9 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 30% of Waterloo Township adults feel lonely.
| Waterloo Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 33% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 14% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 27% | 23% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 34% | 36% |
| What stands out | Waterloo Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.1% | 15.4% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.1% | 8.7% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.2% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 62% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of Waterloo Township; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Waterloo Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
Where Waterloo Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
Civil township in Michigan, United States
Waterloo Township is a civil township of Jackson County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,931 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Waterloo Township.
All 6 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its C; Leoni Township (C) is closest. Leoni Township next door grades lower for schools (C to Waterloo Township’s B+) and higher for cost of living (B to C−).
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waterloo Township | #537 | C | C− | — | B+ | B |
| Grass Lake Township | #138 | A− | C+ | — | B+ | B+ |
| Lyndon Township | #134 | A− | C | — | A | A |
| Henrietta Township | #494 | C+ | B+ | — | B− | C+ |
| Sylvan Township | #72 | A | D | — | A | A |
| Stockbridge Township | #157 | A− | B | — | B+ | B |
| Leoni Township | #532 | C | B | — | C | C |
Waterloo Township, Grass Lake Township, Lyndon Township, Henrietta Township, Sylvan Township, Stockbridge Township and Leoni Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Waterloo Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Waterloo Township grades C overall, better than 31% of U.S. towns and #537 of 697 in Michigan. It grades B for health and B+ for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a C−.
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−.
