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Frankfort, Michigan

Frankfort is a tourist town of about 1,300 people in Benzie County, Michigan. It has grown about 2% since 2020. A typical home costs about 6.4 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Grand Rapids, is about 119 miles away as the crow flies.

Tourist town

Population
1,280
up 2.2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$350,000
Benzie County prices up 32% since 2022
Household income
$54,327
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Traverse City area
93.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Paul Oliver Memorial Hospital
To Grand Rapids
119 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 6.6% below the U.S. average in the Traverse City metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 6.4 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood3 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 2.3 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 3.9 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byPaul Oliver Memorial Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityGrand Rapids is about 119 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Frankfort meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

Tourist town. About 1 in 3 homes is a vacation or seasonal home, a sign of a visitor economy. More restaurants, shops and weekend events than locals alone could support, with the small-town basics intact.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$350,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 32%Benzie County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$876 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$54,327U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
64%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,995 a yearMichigan: $2,904
Homes built before 1940
29%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
4%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
33%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
93.4U.S. average = 100 (the Traverse City metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 32% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Traverse City metro area, not Frankfort alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
1,2802020: 1,253
Median age
62.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
44%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
14%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
40%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
7%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (28%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (22%); retail (11%)
Unemployment rate
7%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
19 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
11%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
12%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Paul Oliver Memorial Hospital, Frankfort, MI, in town. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Munson Healthcare Manistee Hospital, Manistee, MI, about 25 miles away. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

2 public schools in Frankfort, run by Frankfort-Elberta Area Schools.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Michigan's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
75%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
93%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
18°F
July average high
77°F
Days 90°F or hotter
1 a year
Nights at or below freezing
138 a year
Rain and melted snow
34.3 inches a year
Snow
93 inches a year
Elevation
608 feet

Weather station: Frankfort 2NE (1 mile away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Green Bay, Grand Rapids.

Benzie County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore4 miles

Read about Frankfort's history on Wikipedia.

Know Frankfort?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Elberta, MI317 people, 1 mile
  • Beulah, MI312 people, 7 miles
  • Benzonia, MI566 people, 7 miles
  • Arcadia, MI (unincorporated)120 people, 10 miles
  • Honor, MI335 people, 11 miles
  • Crystal Mountain, MI (unincorporated)166 people, 14 miles
  • Empire, MI355 people, 15 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.