Wilson Township (Alpena), MI location
Wilson Township’s story
Wilson Township in pictures
The archive holds 1 old photo or paper and 2 maps from 1971 on.
Explore the history →Wilson TownshipMI
A town of 1,987. 2.1 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Michigan town.
Population
1,987
2025 Census estimate · +0.2% since 2020
Median home value
$165K
Census ACS
Household income
$62K
median
Median age
47.1
years
Jobs based here
127
A commuter town
Is Wilson Township a good place to live?
Wilson Township’s best subject grades are an A+ for civic life and an A− for the outdoors; its weakest is a D for incomes. 11% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Wilson Township, against 26% in Michigan’s towns and 29% across U.S. towns. 16% of the land in Wilson Township is conserved, above both Michigan’s towns (4.4%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). Mackinac State Forest - Atlanta Unit, at 7,540 acres with 15.9 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. On civic life, just 96 of Michigan’s 1,265 towns do better. Wilson Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Wilson Township stand out
Where Wilson Township beats most towns.
Community nonprofits per 1,000 residents
Wilson Township6.6
Typical U.S. town3.7
Typical MI town3.1
Civic lifeA+
2.1 times the nonprofits per person
than the typical Michigan town
Charities, civic groups and human services; churches not counted.
Natural hazardsA−
Very low risk of storm and flood damage
FEMA National Risk Index.
A commuter town
99% of working residents leave Wilson Township for work
Where Wilson Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
127jobs based in Wilson Township
1%of working residents work in town
12 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2021
How Wilson Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Wilson Township is from typical.
Jobs & income$62K median household incomeDOpen →HealthMymichigan Medical Center Alpena 9.6 miles awayC−Open →Hazard riskFEMA risk higher than 11% of U.S. communities; inland flooding tops the listA−Open →Cost of livingTypical home $165K, 3.1 years of the Alpena area’s $54K median household incomeBOpen →SchoolsC+Open →WalkabilityEPA walkability 3.6 of 20; 3.6% of households have no car; 8.9% of workers walk, bike or ride transitB−Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Wilson Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Wilson Township, and how to reach them.
PowerDTE20.2¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
InternetProviders and speedsData pending · D4
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Wilson Township’s trash rules yet
Register to voteOnlineIn Michigan you can register online until 15 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 15 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereWilson Township ClerkThe town itself; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Nov 2025
ZIP codes49707, 49744, 4975349707 56% · 49744 41% · 49753 2%Census 2020
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 Wilson Township.
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade A−
Inland flooding leads a very low hazard risk in Wilson Township
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 89% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Wilson Township since 2026.
11risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingCold waves
1
paid flood claims since 2026
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
SchoolsC+
On state tests, Wilson Township’s schools trail 58% of Michigan districts
Its public schools are run by the Alpena Public Schools. Its one school is below.
42%of MI districts it outscoresC+School Grade
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wilson ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 220 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
HealthC−
Health in Wilson Township trails 82% of U.S. towns
Wilson Township beats the Michigan average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 9. 17% of adults report frequent physical distress in Wilson Township.
18%healthier than U.S. townsC−Health Grade
| Wilson Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 15% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 37% | 35% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 36% | 35% |
32 measures vs. Michigan
0 better23 too close to call9 worse
| What stands out | Wilson Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 11% | 8.1% |
| More adults with heart disease | 8.9% | 7% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 12.9% | 10.2% |
Mymichigan Medical Center Alpena
9.6 mi away · emergency room
2 of 3
care shortages: primary care, dental
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Work & commuteJobs & income grade D
Most of Wilson Township’s workers commute out: the town has 0.2 jobs for each of them
Most working residents leave Wilson Township for work: only 1% work in town. Since 2011, Wilson Township has lost 104 jobs, to 127 in 2021. The average trip to work in Wilson Township is 22 minutes.
1%work in town
| Wilson Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.3% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $62,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
In Wilson Township1%
Alpena37%
Alpena Township19%
Sanborn Township2%
Garfield Township2%
12 mi
median commute distance
127
jobs based in Wilson Township
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
B−
Walkability grade: more walkable than 47% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Climate
Wilson Township has snowy winters and pleasant summers
Wilson Township has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Wilson Township’s July high is 80°F.
78″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter14–30°
Spring30–52°
Summer54–78°
Fall38–57°
Oct 1
typical first frost
May 17
typical last frost
+2.0°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
15.6%conserved
15.6%
conserved · 7,914 of 50,722 acres
28 mi
of trails · 0.4 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Mackinac State Forest - Atlanta Unit | 15.9 mi | 7,540 |
| 2. Norway Ridge Pathway | 4.4 mi | 217 |
| 3. Wolf Creek Park | 0.1 mi | 16 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Wilson Township
17pages on Wilson Township
The big questions
Out and about
Day to day
After high school
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Wilson Township
About 4 of every 100 Wilson Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
About Wilson Township
Civil township in Michigan, United States
Wilson Township is a civil township of Alpena County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,972 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 80 sq mi
- Elevation
- 728 ft
Wilson Township’s neighbors
5 towns share a border with Wilson Township.
Maple Ridge TownshipAlpena TownshipGreen TownshipOssineke TownshipLong Rapids TownshipWilson Township
How the neighbors grade
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilson Township | — | — | B | — | C+ | C− |
| Maple Ridge Township | — | — | B+ | — | C+ | C− |
| Alpena Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Green Township | — | — | B | — | C+ | D |
| Ossineke Township | — | — | B+ | — | C+ | C− |
| Long Rapids Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Wilson Township, Maple Ridge Township, Green Township and Ossineke Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Wilson Township, Maple Ridge Township, Green Township and Ossineke Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Alpena Township and Long Rapids Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Wilson Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Wilson Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Wilson Township, MI a good place to live?
2.1 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Michigan town.
Is Wilson Township, MI expensive?
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.