A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Arbela Township$930/mo

Typical home $150K (Census) · tax rate 1.13% · or rent about $985/mo · Housing →

Sidney Township$1,410/mo

Typical home $231K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.03% · or rent about $1,294/mo · Housing →

The difference: $480 a month, about $5,700 a year, between Sidney Township and Arbela Township.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Report cards

Arbela Township places higher on 10 of 19 MI lists

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every Michigan ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Schools

–Arbela TownshipNot graded B−Sidney TownshipBetter than 46% of districts in the state

Health

C−Arbela TownshipHealthier than 23% of U.S. towns C−Sidney TownshipHealthier than 17% of U.S. towns

10Arbela Township

7Sidney Township

Lists won, of 19 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Most conserved landOutdoors · 712 towns #593#180 Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 723 towns #655#365 Cheapest rentCost of living · 687 towns #297#545 Most trailsOutdoors · 601 towns #543#339 Shortest commuteGetting around · 723 towns #694#449 Fastest growingGrowth · 723 towns #691#519 Highest graduation rateSchools · 540 towns #135#256 Most walkableOutdoors · 723 towns #706#584

Left end = #1 in Michigan. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Arbela Township’s rankings →

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

Arbela TownshipSidney Township

Snow a year49″73″

January low—13°F

July high—84°F

Growing season (days)—133d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)53rd 15th

Outdoors & history

Arbela TownshipSidney Township

Trails2 mi 12 mi

Conserved land1.3%8.1%

National Register places—1

Community

Arbela TownshipSidney Township

Colleges in town—1

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Where they are

75 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

Arbela TownshipTuscola County Sidney TownshipMontcalm County

Arbela Township ↔ Sidney Township75 miles apart

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs Michigan average

Arbela TownshipSidney Township

People

Population 2,794Highest 2,603Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -8.5%Lowest MI: +2% -1.4%Highest MI: +2%

Median age 47.8±6.6Highest 19% above MI 46.9±6.1Lowest 17% above MI

Arbela Township and Sidney Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 18.3%±4.3Lowest MI: 21.2% 20.9%±3.9Highest MI: 21.2%

Sidney Township and Arbela Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 21.4%±3.9Lowest MI: 18.6% 27.3%±6.3Highest MI: 18.6%

Sidney Township and Arbela Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 12.5%Lowest MI: 32.4% 15.8%Highest MI: 32.4%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 1.5%±1 MI: 6.1% 1.5%±1 MI: 6.1%

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $65,185±$9kHighest 11% below MI $60,050±$11kLowest 18% below MI

Arbela Township and Sidney Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $150,400±$16kLowest 35% below MI $188,300±$28kHighest 19% below MI

Sidney Township and Arbela Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Rentmedian gross, monthly $985±$223Lowest 13% below MI $1,294±$367Highest 15% above MI

Sidney Township and Arbela Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Property taxmedian, yearly $1,707Lowest 41% below MI $1,938Highest 33% below MI

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 26.1%±42.7Lowest MI: 50.4% 69.2%±33.7Highest MI: 50.4%

Sidney Township and Arbela Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 13.4%Lowest MI: 13.2% 14.7%Highest MI: 13.2%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 92.7%Highest MI: 73.2% 90%Lowest MI: 73.2%

Typical home builtmedian year 1975Lowest 3 yrs newer than MI 1976Highest 4 yrs newer than MI

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 36 minHighest 50% above MI 26 minLowest 8% above MI

Work from home 9.1%±3.8Highest MI: 13.5% 8.3%±3.8Lowest MI: 13.5%

Arbela Township and Sidney Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 0.8%Lowest 2.3%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 19.8 miLowest 26.8 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.06Lowest 0.55Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Frankenmuth (11%)Greenville (12%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in Sidney TownshipFew work in Arbela Township

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 1.3%Lowest 8.1%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 2.4 miLowest 11.9 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.1 miLowest 0.3 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 0Lowest 4Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 2.1Lowest 3.9Highest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading —#326 of 493 in MI

School district —Central Montcalm Public Schools · Montcalm Area ISD

High school in town —Central Montcalm Middle High School

Students per teacherat that high school — 19.7

Michigan average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Arbela Township neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Arbela Township’s Town Square.

Sidney Township neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Sidney Township’s Town Square.

Add a town

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Bordering Arbela Township

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Thetford Township6,559 people · $204K homes

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Tuscola Township1,988 people · $197K homes

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Millington Township4,190 people · $175K homes

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Birch Run Township5,862 people · $217K homes

Towns like Arbela Township

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Sage Township2,325 people · $164K homes

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Warren Township2,295 people · $155K homes

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Adams Township2,149 people · $164K homes

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Wilson Township1,987 people · $165K homes

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Arbela Township vs Sidney Township

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $480 more a month in Sidney Township

Arbela Township places higher on 10 of 19 MI lists

What daily life feels like in each

75 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Arbela Township and Sidney Township

Bordering Arbela Township

Towns like Arbela Township

Post to Arbela Township

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