Fruitland Township, Michigan

Fruitland Township is a civil township of Muskegon County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 5,793 at the 2020 census.

Geography
The township is in northwestern Muskegon County, bordered to the west by Lake Michigan and to the north by its inlet White Lake and the city of Whitehall. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 38.2 sqmi, of which 36.3 sqmi are land and 2.0 sqmi, or 5.17%, are water. The center of the township is drained by Duck Creek, which forms Duck Lake, an inlet of Lake Michigan. The northern part of the township drains to White Lake, while the southern part drains toward Muskegon Lake, another inlet of Lake Michigan.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 5,235 people, 1,859 households, and 1,492 families residing in the township. The population density was 143.4 PD/sqmi. There were 2,247 housing units at an average density of 61.5 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the township was 96.96% White, 0.63% African American, 0.65% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 0.25% from other races, and 1.26% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.03% of the population.

There were 1,859 households, out of which 39.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.6% were married couples living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.7% were non-families. 16.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.15.

In the township the population was spread out, with 29.0% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 27.4% from 45 to 64, and 9.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.1 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $53,977, and the median income for a family was $60,021. Males had a median income of $40,647 versus $28,615 for females. The per capita income for the township was $23,216. About 2.0% of families and 3.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.1% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over.