| Fort Gratiot Township, Michigan | |
| Official Name: | Charter Township of Fort Gratiot |
| Settlement Type: | Charter township |
| Pushpin Map: | Michigan |
| Pushpin Label Position: | left |
| Pushpin Label: | Fort Gratiot Township |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location within the state of Michigan |
| Mapsize: | 250 |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Michigan |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | St. Clair |
| Leader Title: | Supervisor |
| Leader Name: | Robert Crawford |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Established Date: | 1866 |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Total Km2: | 41.7 |
| Area Land Km2: | 41.7 |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.1 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 16.1 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 16.1 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.0 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 11242 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | auto |
| Timezone: | Eastern (EST) |
| Utc Offset: | -5 |
| Timezone Dst: | EDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -4 |
| Elevation M: | 185 |
| Elevation Ft: | 607 |
| Coordinates: | 43.0386°N -82.4769°W |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code(s) |
| Postal Code: | 48059 |
| Area Code: | 810 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 26-29760[1] |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 1626300 |
Fort Gratiot Township [2] is a charter township of St. Clair County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 11,242 at the 2020 Census.[3] It is named for Fort Gratiot, an American fort located there off and on between 1814 and 1879.
Fort Gratiot Township was established in 1867.[4] It is named for General Charles Gratiot, the engineer who laid out the fort.[5]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 16.1sqmi, of which 16.1sqmi is land and 0.04sqmi (0.19%) is water.
Fort Gratiot is on the southwestern shore of Lake Huron and is considered to be part of the Thumb of Michigan, which in turn is a subregion of the Flint/Tri-Cities. Fort Gratiot is a major center of trade for the Blue Water Area, a subregion of the Thumb. The Birchwood Mall and many big box stores are located in Fort Gratiot.
As of the census of 2000, there were 10,691 people, 4,076 households, and 2,946 families residing in the township. The population density was 664.7sp=usNaNsp=us. There were 4,334 housing units at an average density of 269.5sp=usNaNsp=us. The racial makeup of the township was 95.43% White, 1.46% Black, 0.26% Native American, 1.34% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.52% from other races, and 0.98% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.75% of the population.
There were 4,076 households, out of which 32.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.0% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.7% were non-families. 22.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.02.
In the township the population was spread out, with 24.7% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 24.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.8 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $50,736, and the median income for a family was $55,726. Males had a median income of $43,268 versus $25,667 for females. The per capita income for the township was $25,485. About 4.2% of families and 5.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.2% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.