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%

Cheboygan$1,440/mo

Typical home $223K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.46% · or rent about $683/mo · Housing →

Benton Township$1,190/mo

Typical home $201K (Census) · tax rate 0.82% · or rent about $936/mo · Housing →

The difference: $250 a month, about $3,000 a year, between Cheboygan and Benton 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.

Where they are

Cheboygan and Benton Township share a border

And the people who already live in one and work in the other.

CheboyganBenton Township

Cheboygan ↔ Benton Township5.3 miles apart · They share a border

Who commutes between them

250 Benton Township residents work in Cheboygan (23.5% of its workers)

Work & commute in Benton Township →

Report cards

Benton Township places higher on 13 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.

Safety

C+CheboyganSafer than 35% of U.S. towns –Benton TownshipNot graded

Schools

BCheboyganBetter than 57% of districts in the state –Benton TownshipNot graded

Health

DCheboyganHealthier than 14% of U.S. towns CBenton TownshipHealthier than 25% of U.S. towns

5Cheboygan

13Benton Township

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

Most remote workersWork · 714 towns #650#133 Most walkableOutdoors · 723 towns #217#684 Lowest depressionHealth · 723 towns #610#233 Highest incomeIncome · 723 towns #701#469 Most conserved landOutdoors · 712 towns #239#16 Cheapest rentCost of living · 687 towns #27#240 Most affordableCost of living · 723 towns #49#272 Shortest commuteGetting around · 723 towns #245#23

Left end = #1 in Michigan. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Cheboygan’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

CheboyganBenton Township

Snow a year88″88″

January low11°F 11°F

July high77°F 77°F

Growing season (days)152d 152d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)38th 50th

Outdoors & history

CheboyganBenton Township

Trails4 mi 99 mi

Conserved land6.6%28.5%

Settled1871 1871

National Register places3 —

Community

CheboyganBenton Township

Library hours a week58 hrs —

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.

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

CheboyganBenton Township

People

Population 4,820Highest 3,170Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -2%Highest MI: +2% -2.3%Lowest MI: +2%

Median age 43.3±5.3Lowest 8% above MI 53.6±2.6Highest 33% above MI

Kids under 18 16.4%±2.8Highest MI: 21.2% 13.2%±3.4Lowest MI: 21.2%

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

Age 65+ 24%±4.5Lowest MI: 18.6% 32.2%±5.4Highest MI: 18.6%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 18.8%Lowest MI: 32.4% 21.4%Highest MI: 32.4%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 4.3%±1.6Highest MI: 6.1% 2.5%±1.7Lowest MI: 6.1%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $42,290±$7kLowest 42% below MI $68,401±$5kHighest 6% below MI

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $123,200±$18kLowest 47% below MI $200,900±$30kHighest 13% below MI

Rentmedian gross, monthly $683±$77Lowest 40% below MI $936±$505Highest 17% below MI

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

Property taxmedian, yearly $1,800Highest 38% below MI $1,645Lowest 43% below MI

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 44.4%±16.2Highest MI: 50.4% 32%±34.7Lowest MI: 50.4%

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

Below poverty line 14.9%Highest MI: 13.2% 10.3%Lowest MI: 13.2%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 66.9%Lowest MI: 73.2% 93.7%Highest MI: 73.2%

Typical home builtmedian year 1959Lowest 13 yrs older than MI 1985Highest 13 yrs newer than MI

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 22 minHighest 7% below MI 15 minLowest 38% below MI

Work from home 4.3%±2.6Lowest MI: 13.5% 15.8%±6.2Highest MI: 13.5%

Work in townworking residents 24.4%Highest 1.4%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 28.8 miHighest 28.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.26Highest 0.13Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Inverness Township (5%)Cheboygan (23%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in Benton Township23% work in Cheboygan

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 6.6%Lowest 28.5%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 4.1 miLowest 99.1 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.6 miLowest 1.6 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 16Highest 7Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 40.6Highest 2.6Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #231 of 493 in MI—

School district Cheboygan Area Schools—

High school in town Cheboygan Area High School—

Students per teacherat that high school 15.5 —

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.

Cheboygan neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Cheboygan’s Town Square.

Benton Township neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Benton Township’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Cheboygan and Benton Township

One tap adds it. Up to 4 towns at once.

Bordering Cheboygan

+ Compare

Inverness Township1,836 people · $199K homes

+ Compare

Beaugrand Township1,048 people · $206K homes

Towns like Cheboygan

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Caro4,290 people · $103K homes

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Eaton Rapids5,183 people · $156K homes

+ Compare

Clare3,324 people · $135K homes

+ Compare

Iron River3,002 people · $85K homes

Not sure which town to add? Find your place ranks Michigan towns on what matters to you.Find your place →

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.

Cheboygan vs Benton Township

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $250 more a month in Cheboygan

Cheboygan and Benton Township share a border

Benton Township places higher on 13 of 19 MI lists

What daily life feels like in each

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Cheboygan and Benton Township

Bordering Cheboygan

Towns like Cheboygan

Post to Cheboygan

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