Market file · Benzie County, Michigan

Beulah and Crystal Lake home appraisals

Benzonia Township

Benzonia Township holds 2,734 people (2020 census), the villages of Beulah and Benzonia, and part of Crystal Lake, Michigan's ninth largest inland lake at 9,854 acres. Zillow's average home value for Beulah was $428,018 in September 2026. Lake frontage and village lots sell as different products.

2,734Benzonia Township population, 2020 census (Wikipedia)

$428,018Zillow average home value, Beulah, September 2026, up 6.1% year over year

9,854 acresCrystal Lake surface area (Wikipedia)

$285,700Benzie County median owner occupied value, 2020 to 2024 ACS (Census QuickFacts)

Beulah against the Benzie County median

Zillow's average home value for Beulah stood at $428,018 on September 30, 2026, up 6.1% year over year. The Census Bureau's 2020 to 2024 ACS median owner occupied value for all of Benzie County was $285,700, and 87.8% of occupied homes there are owner occupied. Beulah, the county seat, had 313 residents in 2020 and Benzonia had 551, so village sales are thin and comps often reach across the township.

On Crystal Lake, frontage, lake view and inland parcels are three separate comp sets.

The lake that dropped 20 feet in 1873

Crystal Lake fills the central and western part of the township, and the southern half of Platte Lake reaches into its north end. Water covers about 17.9% of the township's 33.9 square miles. A failed 1873 channel project dropped Crystal Lake about 20 feet and exposed sandy beaches, including the public beach at Beulah. The Betsie and Platte rivers cross toward Lake Michigan. Zoning falls under the West Benzie joint ordinance shared with Platte Township, with a watershed overlay, water setbacks and steep slope protections.

Areas, lakes and neighborhoods in this file

Beulah (village)
Benzonia (village)
Crystal Lake shore at Beulah
Platte Lake south half
Betsie River corridor
Platte River corridor
US 31 and M-115 corridor
Averytown
Oberlin
Weldon
Crystal Mountain resort area

Landmarks around Beulah and Crystal Lake

Crystal LakeInland lake
Betsie Valley TrailRail trail
Cherry HutRestaurant in Beulah
Benzie County CourthouseNational Register of Historic Places
Gwen Frostic StudioNational Register of Historic Places
Platte LakeInland lake

Common questions

How does zoning work near Crystal Lake in Benzonia Township?

Benzonia Township zones under the West Benzie Joint Zoning Ordinance with Platte Township, adopted in 2012, per the Betsie River and Crystal Lake watershed plan. It includes a watershed overlay, water setbacks, surface water buffers and steep slope protections. Those rules can limit what a buyer may build, so an appraiser checks them when valuing a lakeside lot.

Are there enough village sales in Beulah to compare?

Rarely on their own. Beulah had 313 residents in 2020 and Benzonia 551, so village sales are thin. Comparable sales often reach across Benzonia Township, and lakefront on Crystal Lake forms its own separate set.