Brighton Township, Michigan

Brighton Charter Township, Michigan
—  Charter township  —
Brighton Township Hall, Buno Rd.
Brighton Charter Township, Michigan Location within the state of Michigan
Coordinates: 42°33′50″N 83°44′11″W / 42.56389°N 83.73639°W / 42.56389; -83.73639Coordinates: 42°33′50″N 83°44′11″W / 42.56389°N 83.73639°W / 42.56389; -83.73639
Country	United States
State	Michigan
County	Livingston
Area
– Total	34.6 sq mi (89.5 km2)
– Land	33.1 sq mi (85.8 km2)
– Water	1.4 sq mi (3.7 km2)
Elevation	945 ft (288 m)
Population (2000)
– Total	17,673
– Density	533.7/sq mi (206.1/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
– Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes	48114, 48116
Area code(s)	810
FIPS code	26-10640[1]
GNIS feature ID	1625982[2]

Brighton Charter Township is a charter township of Livingston County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the township population was 17,673.

Communities

• The city of Brighton is located adjacent to the township, but is administratively autonomous.
• Pleasant Valley was a rural post office in the southeast of the township. Elijah Marsh was the first postmaster of the office, which operated from July 24, 1837, until July 29, 1852.^[3] Marsh was succeeded by Peter Delamater and then by Melzer Bird.^[4]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 34.6 square miles (90 km²).33.1 square miles (85.8 km²) of which is land and 1.5 square miles (3.9 km²) of which (4.20%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 17,673 people, 5,950 households, and 5,015 families residing in the township. The population density was 533.7 per square mile (206.1/km²). There were 6,177 housing units at an average density of 186.5 per square mile (72.0/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 97.29% White, 0.43% African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.83% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.31% from other races, and 0.81% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.22% of the population. More than 70% of the residents claim Polish, Irish, English or German ancestry. Another 15% claim a Portuguese ancestry.

There were 5,950 households out of which 42.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 76.0% were married couples living together, 5.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 15.7% were non-families. 12.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.96 and the average family size was 3.25. The median Brighton Township home was worth $255,100 and over 66% of the homes are assessed between $200,000 to $500,000. About 17.6% of the population have no mortgage nor rent payment^[5] and 60% of local residents spend less than 25% of household income on housing and housing-related expenses.

In the township, the population distribution was spaced with 30.0% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 27.7% from 45 to 64, and 6.7% who were 65 years of age or older with the median age at 38 years. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.2 males.

The median income for a household in the township for 2009 was $94,420, and the median income for a family was $99,080^[6]. Males had a median income of $64,775 versus $33,328 for females. The per capita income for the township was $38,151. About 1.8% of families and 2.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.9% of those under age 18 and 2.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Most students in Brighton Township attend the Brighton Area Schools. The district's elementary Schools are Hilton Elementary and Spencer Elementary, and students are separated between the two based on proximity to these schools. Spencer Elementary students move on to attend Scranton Middle School, while Hilton students are split up and attend either Maltby Middle School or Scranton Middle School. All of these students reunite to attend Brighton High School. Also, due to the high numbers of Catholics in Brighton Township, many students attend St. Patrick's Catholic school. "St. Pat's" is a traditional Catholic school that maintains religious elements in the curriculum. There is also Cornerstone Christian School^[7] and Land of the Lakes, which are general Christian based schools. The collection of Brighton Area Schools is consistently rated amongst the best in the state. Brighton Area Schools used to be tier one public schools in the nation, however, due to lack of funding from the state, they have been forced to lay off skilled teachers, a detrimental effect for the district. Local High Schools in the greater Brighton area have also experienced higher than normal drug activity.

The Brighton area also has one of highest rated charter school systems, including Cheryl Stockwell Acedemy, CSA (primary) and Cheryl Stockwell Prepatory Acedemy, CSPA (middle and high school) organized under the multischool Stockwell District run by Dr. Chuck Stockwell. Attendance in the Stockwell system has drawn many children away from the local public schools, due to it's record of acedemic achievement, openess toward students as individuals, and zero tolerance for drugs and violence.

In Brighton Township, 93% of the residents 25 and older have at least a high school diploma or equivalent. 38% of that population also have a bachelor's degree, while 15% have professional degrees. 7.4% of the population that hold a professional degree work in the field of Engineering.

Brighton High School is home to a Washtenaw Commumity College satellite school and there are also satellite schools of Lansing Community College and Eastern Michigan University

Business

Due to unique location of Brighton Township, and its size, it has no real business of its own. The businesses located there are generally local and small commercial office aside from gas stations. Some businesses include Michigan Land and Homes Realty, Professional Concepts Insurance Agency and Morrison. The Brighton Area, the Township especially, has residents that are well connected to the automotive industry. This is also helped by the additions of the Brighton Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep Dealership, Superior Cadillac-GMC, Brighton Honda, Brighton Ford-Mercury, Consumers Suzuki and Champion Chevrolet Brighton-Howell. These serve not only Brighton, but also the surrounding municiplaties as well. Most of the residents in Brighton Township, however, travel to Novi, Bloomfield or other larger areas for jobs and conveniences.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
2. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Brighton Township, Michigan
3. ^ Romig, Walter (1986) [1973]. Michigan Place Names. Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-1838-X. 
4. ^ Franklin, Ellis (2005) [1880]. "Brighton Township". History of Livingston County, Michigan. Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan Library. p. 220. http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=micounty;cc=micounty;rgn=full%20text;idno=BAD0972.0001.001;didno=BAD0972.0001.001;view=image;seq=00000246. Retrieved 2009-02-06. 
5. ^ http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACSSAFFFacts?_event=ChangeGeoContext&geo_id=16000US2610620&_geoContext=01000US%7C04000US26%7C05000US26093%7C06000US2609310640&_street=&_county=brighton&_cityTown=brighton&_state=04000US26&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=geoSelect&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=010&_submenuId=factsheet_1&ds_name=ACS_2009_5YR_SAFF&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null&reg=null:null&_keyword=&_industry=
6. ^ http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACSSAFFFacts?_event=Search&geo_id=&_geoContext=&_street=&_county=brighton+township&_cityTown=brighton+township&_state=04000US26&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&pctxt=fph&pgsl=010
7. ^ http://www.cornerstoneforlife.com/ccs

External links

• Charter Township of Brighton web site