County file · Michigan · Seat: Beulah
Benzie County home appraisals
Benzie County's median owner occupied value was $285,700 for 2020 to 2024 (Census QuickFacts), below Grand Traverse and Leelanau. Water sets the upper end. Wikipedia counts 63% of the county's area as water, and Crystal Lake alone covers 9,854 acres. Frankfort's harbor, Crystal Lake at Beulah and the Platte River near Honor each trade as a market of their own. Zillow put Frankfort's average home value at $482,497 in January 2026.
$285,700Median owner occupied home value, 2020 to 2024 ACS (Census QuickFacts)
87.8%Owner occupied housing rate, 2020 to 2024 ACS (Census QuickFacts)
31.1%Residents 65 or older (Census QuickFacts, July 1, 2025 estimate)
$541,2872026 FHA one unit loan limit (LendingTree, 2026 Michigan limits)
Market files in Benzie County
FrankfortFrankfort is a Lake Michigan harbor city of 1,252 people (2020 census) at the mouth of the Betsie River.Open market file →Beulah and Crystal LakeBenzonia 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.Open market file →Lake AnnAlmira Township, home to the village of Lake Ann, had 3,873 people in 2020, the most of any Benzie County municipality, and sits about 8 miles west of Traverse City.Open market file →HonorHomestead Township had 2,329 people in 2020, including 337 in the village of Honor on US 31 and the Platte River.Open market file →
Common questions
Is Beulah or Frankfort the Benzie County seat?
Beulah is the county seat, and Frankfort is the largest community, per Wikipedia. Frankfort had 1,252 residents in the 2020 census and sits at the mouth of the Betsie River on Lake Michigan. Beulah, with 313 residents, sits on Crystal Lake inside Benzonia Township, which counted 2,734 people.
Why does Crystal Lake have such wide sandy beaches?
A failed 1873 channel project dropped the lake about 20 feet and exposed sandy shoreline, including the public beach at Beulah. Crystal Lake now covers 9,854 acres, Michigan's ninth largest inland lake (Wikipedia). Frontage, lake view lots and inland parcels around it trade as separate sets of sales.