Michigan Porch

County

Bay County, Michigan

Use this county page to find cities, townships, and villages in Bay County. Each local page gives you property-tax context, school-district rate ranges, official-source links, nearby places, and any Porch Notes tied to that community.

County snapshot

Cities

5

Townships

14

Villages

0

School districts

7

Primary home (PRE) rates, for homes with Michigan's Principal Residence Exemption, range from 29.9121 mills to 48.8749 mills.

Other property, often called non-homestead, usually means rentals, vacation homes, and second homes. Those rates range from 47.9121 mills to 66.8749 mills.

Rate rows come from the official Michigan Treasury millage-rate reports . Last reviewed June 8, 2026.

Local pages

Places in Bay County

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Porch Notes

Local notes from Bay County

Stories, practical notes, and local details tied to places in this county.

Bay County · History and culture

Essexville: where Michigan's sugar industry was born

Michigan's first successful beet-sugar factory opened in Essexville in 1898, launching an industry that still defines the Saginaw Valley — and the Pioneer Sugar name.

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Bay County · History and culture

Pinconning: Michigan's Cheese Capital

Pinconning cheese — Michigan's own Colby-style original — was born here in 1915, and the founder's family shops still anchor the town.

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Bay County · Outdoors

Saginaw Bay's walleye: a comeback for the record books

Saginaw Bay's once-collapsed walleye fishery recovered so completely that it's now ranked among the best in the country, with millions of fish and a busy charter fleet.

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Bay County · History and culture

There's a US Navy destroyer parked on the Saginaw River

The USS Edson, a 418-foot Navy destroyer, is moored on the Saginaw River in Bangor Township as the Saginaw Valley Naval Ship Museum.

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Bay County · Outdoors

Tobico Marsh: a national landmark wetland behind the beach

Bay City State Park in Bangor Township pairs a Saginaw Bay beach with Tobico Marsh, a National Natural Landmark and one of the largest Great Lakes coastal wetlands.

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Bay County · History and culture

"Franconian joy" — a sister colony to Frankenmuth

Frankenlust Township's name and history come from a Franconian Lutheran farming colony tied to Frankenmuth's founding story.

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Next steps

What to check next in Bay County

Start with a local page, then move into the Michigan rule or tool that matches the question in front of you.