| Oakland County, Michigan | |
| Official Name: | County of Oakland |
| Image Blank Emblem: | Logo_of_Oakland_County,_Michigan.svg |
| Blank Emblem Type: | Logo |
| Mapsize: | 200px |
| Image Map1: | Oakland County, MI census map2.png |
| Mapsize1: | 200px |
| Map Caption1: | Cities and Townships in the county |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Established Date: | 1819 (created) 1820 (organized)[1] [2] |
| Leader Title: | Executive |
| Leader Name: | David Coulter (D) |
| Seat: | Pontiac (Legislative and Judicial) Waterford (Executive) |
| Seat1 Type: | Largest city |
| Unit Pref: | US |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 907 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 868 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 40 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 1,274,395 |
| Pop Est As Of: | 2023 |
| Population Est: | 1,270,426 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 1486 |
| Demographics Type2: | GDP |
| Demographics2 Footnotes: | [3] |
| Demographics2 Title1: | Total |
| Demographics2 Info1: | $124.285 billion (2022) |
| Utc Offset: | −5 |
| Utc Offset Dst: | −4 |
Oakland County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a principal county of the Detroit metropolitan area, containing the bulk of Detroit's northern suburbs. Its seat of government is Pontiac, and its largest city is Troy.[4] As of the 2020 Census, its population was 1,274,395,[5] making it the second-most populous county in Michigan (behind neighboring Wayne County), and the most populous county in the United States without a city of 100,000 residents.
Founded in 1819 and organized the following year,[6] Oakland County is composed of 62 cities, villages, and townships. In 2010, Oakland County was among the ten wealthiest counties in the United States to have over one million residents.[7] It is also home to Oakland University, a large public institution that straddles the border between the cities of Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills.
See also: List of National Historic Landmarks in Michigan and National Register of Historic Places listings in Oakland County, Michigan.
Founded by Territorial Governor Lewis Cass in 1819, sparsely settled Oakland was originally twice its current size. As was customary at the time, as populations increased, other counties were organized from its land area. Woodward Avenue and the Detroit and Pontiac Railroad helped draw settlers in the 1840s. By 1840, Oakland had more than fifty lumber mills, processing wood harvested from the region and the Upper Peninsula. Pontiac, located on the Clinton River, was Oakland's first town and became the county seat. After the Civil War, Oakland was still primarily a rural, agricultural county with numerous isolated villages. By the end of the 19th century, three rail lines served Pontiac, and the city attracted carriage and wagon factories. In the late 1890s streetcars were constructed here and to Detroit.
At that time, developers made southern Oakland County a suburb of Detroit; a Cincinnati firm platted a section of Royal Oak called "Urbanrest." Migration worked both ways. Several thousand people moved from Oakland County farms to Detroit as the city attracted factories. By 1910, a number of rich Detroiters had summer homes and some year-round residences in what became Bloomfield Hills. The auto age enveloped Pontiac in the early 1900s. The Oakland Motor Car Company was founded in 1907 and became a part of General Motors Corp., which was soon Pontiac's dominant firm.[8]
In the 1950s, Oakland County's population boomed as the Detroiters began migrating to the suburbs. While the neighboring Macomb County was more inhabited by auto workers and other blue-collar workers, Oakland County's residents tended to be more affluent and generally white-collar (e.g. doctors, lawyers).[9] Oakland County was for a time the fourth-wealthiest county in the United States, though its position has declined somewhat since the Great Recession.[10] The median price of a home in Oakland County increased to $164,697, more than $30,000 above the national median. Oakland County is home to several super-regional shopping malls such as Oakland Mall, Somerset Collection, Twelve Oaks Mall, and Great Lakes Crossing Outlets.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and (4.4%) is water.[11]
Oakland County was originally divided into 25 separate townships, which are listed below. Each township is roughly equal in size at 6miles by six miles, for a total township area of 36sqmi. The roots of this design were born out of the Land Ordinance of 1785 and the subsequent Northwest Ordinance of 1787. Oakland County itself is a prime example of the land policy that was established, as all townships are equal in size (save for slight variations due to waterways). Section 16 in each township was reserved for financing and maintaining public education, and even today many schools in Oakland County townships are located within that section.
Wayne County, where the city of Detroit is located, borders Oakland County to the south. 8 Mile Road, also known as "Baseline Road" in some areas, is the boundary between these counties. The baseline was used during the original surveying for Michigan, and it serves as the northern/southern boundaries for counties from Lake St. Clair to Lake Michigan. As more working and middle-class populations moved to the suburbs from the 1950s on, this divide (8 Mile Road) became historically known as an unofficial racial dividing line between what became the predominantly black city and almost exclusively white suburbs.
Since the late 20th century, the patterns of de facto segregation have faded as the suburbs have become more diverse. Middle-class African Americans have left Detroit, settling in inner-ring suburbs, notably Southfield (where the population is 75% Black), west of Woodward Avenue. Based on the 2010 Census, the following cities also have significant non-white populations: Farmington (25.3%), Farmington Hills (31.7%), Novi (30.12%), Oak Park (62.61%), Lathrup Village (72.97%), Orchard Lake Village (16.08%), Rochester Hills (20.94%), Troy (29.4%), Wixom (26.28%), West Bloomfield (24.0%), Bloomfield (18.28%), Bloomfield Hills (14.2%), Ferndale (17.2%), and Madison Heights (17.7%). Ferndale has a concentration of Arab Americans, who also live in nearby areas, and numerous Asian Americans, particularly Indians, have also settled in these areas.
As of the 2010 Census, there were 1,202,362 people and 315,175 families residing in the county. 77.3% were White, 13.6% Black or African American, 5.6% Asian, 0.3% Native American, 1.0% of some other race and 2.2% of two or more races. 3.5% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race). There were 527,255 housing units at an average density of 564/mi2.[12]
Regarding ancestry, in 2000 14.4% of the population were ethnically German, 9.0% Irish, 8.5% English, 8.5% Polish, 5.7% Italian and 5.5% American, 87.4% spoke only English at home; 2.0% spoke Spanish, 1.3% Syriac (Neo Aramaic) and 1.0% Arabic. The population density as of the 2000 census was 1369/mi2. There were 492,006 housing units at an average density of 564/mi2.
The 2000 census showed two Native American tribes with more than 1,000 members in Oakland County. There were 2,095 Cherokee and 1,458 Chippewa.
The Jewish community of metropolitan Detroit, with a population of 72,000, is the 21st largest Jewish community in the nation. This community is concentrated in Oakland County, especially in Southfield, Oak Park, West Bloomfield, Bloomfield Hills, Farmington Hills, Troy and Huntington Woods.[13]
There were 471,115 households, of which 32.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them. 54.20% were married couples living together, 9.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.10% were non-families. 27.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.09.
Among Asian Americans, eight ethnic groups had more than 1,000 members in the county in 2000. The most numerous were those of Asian Indian descent, with 20,705. Next were those of Chinese heritage, numbering 10,018. Next were those of Japanese (5,589), Filipino (5,450) Korean (5,351), Vietnamese (1,687), Pakistani (1,458) and Hmong (1,210) ancestry.[14]
In 2001, Oakland County had the 36th largest Asian population of any county in the country.[15] In 2002, of the Oakland-Wayne-Macomb tricounty area, Oakland County had 49% of the tri-county area's Asian population.[16]
In terms of age, 25.20% of the county's population was under the age of 18, 7.20% from 18 to 24, 32.40% from 25 to 44, 23.90% from 45 to 64, and 11.30% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.70 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $86,567, making Oakland County the 71st wealthiest county in the United States.[17] Males had a median income of $55,833 versus $35,890 for females. The per capita income for the county was $65,759. About 3.80% of families and 5.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.50% of those under age 18 and 6.50% of those age 65 or over.
The county government operates the major local courts, keeps files of deeds and mortgages, maintains vital records, administers public health regulations, and participates with the state in the provision of welfare and other social services. The county board of commissioners controls the budget but has limited authority to make laws or ordinances.[18] In Michigan, most local government functions—police and fire, building and zoning, tax assessment, street maintenance, etc.—are the responsibility of individual cities and townships.
Most county operations are based at the Oakland County Service Center, which straddles Telegraph Road, split between Pontiac and neighboring Waterford Township.[19] The east campus (in Pontiac) consists mostly of the courthouse, jail, and Sheriff's Office, while the west campus (in Waterford) contains the county executive's office, Children's Village (the county's juvenile detention center), and the headquarters of Oakland Schools, the Road Commission, and a number of other departments.[20] [21]
In May 2023, the county government announced a plan to relocate select offices from the Service Center back to downtown Pontiac.[22] [23]
The Oakland County Sheriff's Office is the largest sheriff's department in the state of Michigan. In 2017 it had 859 uniformed officers,[25] although in 2022 it had nearly 100 unfilled vacancies.[26] Republican Michael Bouchard has served as the Oakland County Sheriff since 1999.
Ten townships, 3 cities, and 2 villages in the county do not have municipal police forces,[27] but rather contract with the sheriff for police services specific to the municipalities. Those municipalities are Addison Township (including the village of Leonard), Brandon Township (including the village of Ortonville), Clarkston, Commerce Township, Highland Township, Independence Township, Lyon Township, Oakland Township, Orion Township, Oxford Township, Springfield Township, Pontiac, and Rochester Hills.[28] The Oakland County Sheriff's Office also operates the county jail, a civil division, marine division, alcohol and traffic enforcement units, and an aviation division. The marine patrol and rescue unit patrols 450 lakes across the county.[29]
Roads that are not maintained by a local community (city/village) are maintained by the independent Road Commission for Oakland County, which is governed by three board members appointed by the Oakland County Board of Commissioners.[30]
Oakland County was historically a bastion of suburban conservatism, and was hence a longstanding stronghold of the Republican Party. In the 1990s it became highly competitive, and since 2008 it has increasingly shifted Democratic, giving over 50% of its votes to the Democratic candidate for president in each election. Republican strength is concentrated in the many exurban townships of the county, while Democratic strength is concentrated in suburbs such as Royal Oak, Farmington Hills, West Bloomfield, and Southfield. Some suburbs, such as Novi, Troy, Birmingham, and Rochester, were historically strongly Republican but are now relatively split between the two parties, with younger adults tending to support Democrats and older residents tending to support Republicans.
In 1996, Bill Clinton became the first Democrat to carry Oakland County since Lyndon Johnson in 1964, and only the fourth to do so since 1892. Al Gore and John Kerry also carried the county, by narrow margins of less than 7,000 and 3,000 votes respectively, against George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004, respectively. In 2008, the county swung significantly to Barack Obama, who became the first Democrat to win a majority in the county since LBJ, and only the third to do so since 1884. (See table at right.) He again carried the county in 2012, though by a smaller margin. Hillary Clinton won a narrow majority in 2016. In 2020, Joe Biden won 56 percent of the vote. He received over 400,000 votes, and became the first Democrat to carry the county by a margin of over 100,000 votes.
While the Democratic Party has found increasing success in presidential elections in Oakland County, the state Republican Party has remained strong in some recent gubernatorial and state elections. The county favored Republican Rick Snyder by a 22-point margin in the 2010 Michigan gubernatorial election and again by a 12-point margin in the 2014 election; conversely, the county favored Democratic candidate Gretchen Whitmer by a 17-point margin in the 2018 election and again by a 23-point margin in the 2022 election. Republicans held a majority on the County Commission for most of its history, but following the 2018 elections, Democrats won a narrow 11-10 majority on the commission.[31]
In the 118th Congress, Oakland County is represented by four Democrats: Debbie Dingell (6th), Elissa Slotkin (7th), Haley Stevens (11th), and Rashida Tlaib (12th) and two Republicans: John James (10th) and Lisa McClain (9th).
The following airports are located in neighboring counties:
Amtrak's thrice-daily Wolverine serves Oakland County, with stations in Pontiac, Troy, and Royal Oak, before continuing on to Detroit and west to Chicago.
See main article: Mile Road System (Detroit). Surface-street navigation in metro Detroit is commonly anchored by "mile roads," major east–west surface streets that are spaced at one-mile (1.6 km) intervals and increment as one travels north and away from the city center. Mile roads sometimes have two names, the numeric name (e.g., 15 Mile Road), used in Macomb County, and a local name (e.g., Maple Road), used in Oakland County (for the most part).
The conditions on most non-residential roads in Oakland County are not favorable to bicycling. Exceptions to this are primarily in the inner-ring suburbs within the southeast corner of the county. This is due to their street grid.
A primary reason for these unfavorable cycling conditions is the Road Commission for Oakland County has a policy of not accommodating bicycles on the road. As a result, some communities have designated sidepaths (locally called "safety paths") as bike routes which do not meet the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) guidelines for bicycling facilities and have been found to be less safe than on-road bike facilities.[32]
As a result, there are no designated Bicycle Friendly Communities within Oakland County.
Only the city of Ferndale has a built comprehensive bicycle network of bike lanes and signed shared roadways.
The County of Oakland counterpart in public education (K–12) is the Oakland Schools, an Intermediate school district. The county is also home to multiple renowned private elementary and high schools, including The Roeper School and Cranbrook.
School districts:[33]
From 1988 to 2017, prior to the move to Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, the Detroit Pistons played their home games at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills. The Palace of Auburn Hills was demolished in 2020.[34]
Oakland County contains 387 lakes, and four major rivers run through the county:[35]
The headwaters of each of these rivers lie in Oakland County.