Michigan’s Quiet Corners: 25 Tiny Towns to Discover

For most of my formative years, I have lived in and around Downtown Grand Rapids. I love it here, and I love having pretty much everything I could need within a short drive. But my childhood is a different story. I grew up in a very small town called Hopkins, with a population of 615. It's a town where everyone knows everyone, and I think fondly of my time there.

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Whenever I bring up this fun fact about my upbringing and mention where I live, it's always met with a "huh?" because no one knows it. But small towns like these are the backbone of our state, with ~319 towns of fewer than 1,000 residents accounting for 21% of Michigan's population.

Google Maps

So today, we're going to highlight a number of those small towns that many of us most likely have never heard of, let alone been to. Towns that are well off the beaten path, not on the lakeshore, and really, there isn't any reason you'd find yourself there unless you were lost.

Pulled from recent census data, Michigan has 82 counties, 1,573 county subdivisions, 1,123 townships, and 117 charter townships. On the bigger scale, the Census Bureau gives Michigan 692 "places", meaning there are 275 cities and 258 villages. 533 of those are incorporated places and 159 CDPs.

Omer claims to be the smallest city in the state, though there is debate about if this truly holds that title. / Google Maps

Here are 25 towns, cities, or townships around Michigan you may have never heard of, from smallest to biggest.

Pointe Aux Barques - 12 (the smallest town in Michigan)
Omer - 274 (smallest city in Michigan)
Butterfield Township — 491
Colfax Township — 455
Aetna Township — 440
Whitney Township — 911
Evergreen Township — 954
Meyer Township — 977
Newaygo — 2,000 (city)
Schoolcraft Township — 2,020
Chester Township — 1,351
Hamilton Township — 1,364
Novesta Township — 1,431
Goodland Township — 1,738
Greendale Township — 1,744
Vicksburg — 3,607 (city)
Richmond Township — 3,613
Hanover Township — 3,714
Plainwell — 3,718 (city)
Williamston — 3,953 (city)
Dexter — 4,528 (city)
Cheboygan — 4,631 (city)
Allegan — 5,052 (city)
Petoskey — 5,877 (city)
Manistee — 6,203 (city)

11 Lessons Learned Growing Up in 'Small-Town,' Michigan

Growing up in a small Michigan town as a Gen Xer was basically “Survivor: Great Lakes Edition.” Your playgrounds were fields, lakes, and questionable rope swings. You didn’t need gadgets — just a bike, a curfew, and parents whose only rule was “be home when it’s dark.” Here are 11 things you only learn growing up that way.

Gallery Credit: Scott Clow