The city ofClare is to the north of, mostly within, Clare County, although the city has incorporated some land within Vernon Township. The Clarepost office, with ZIP code 48617, also serves a large portion of Vernon Township.
Ellaville was the name of a post office in this township from 1878 to 1879.
Vernon City is a mostly historical locale within the township at on the Little Tobacco Creek on the county line overlooking the city of Clare. Vernon City was platted in 1870 by John L. Markey.
Vernon Center is an unincorporated locale in the township and the location of the township hall at
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,342 people, 488 households, and 380 families residing in the township. The population density was 37.9 per square mile. There were 573 housing units at an average density of 16.2 per square mile. The racial makeup of the township was 97.47% White, 0.37% African American, 0.60% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.15% from other races, and 1.27% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.35% of the population. There were 488 households out of which 35.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.2% were married couplesliving together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.1% were non-families. 17.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.04. In the township the population was spread out with 26.0% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 27.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.5 males. The median income for a household in the township was $43,594, and the median income for a family was $46,793. Males had a median income of $31,205 versus $24,013 for females. The per capita income for the township was $18,291. About 6.6% of families and 8.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.2% of those under age 18 and 3.7% of those age 65 or over.
