Pleasant Ridge is a city in

Oakland County Oakland County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the metropolitan Detroit area, located northwest of the city. As of the 2020 Census, its population was 1,274,395, making it the second-most populous county in Michigan, b ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. The population was 2,526 at the 2010 census. Located along the

Woodward Corridor The Woodward Corridor is the stretch of neighborhoods and suburban communities located along Woodward Avenue within metropolitan Detroit, Michigan. Woodward Avenue is often called Detroit's Main Street. Woodward starts in the center of Downtown Det ...

and

Interstate 696 Interstate 696 (I-696) is an east–west auxiliary Interstate Highway in the Metro Detroit region of the US state of Michigan. The state trunkline highway is also known as the Walter P. Reuther Freeway, named for the prominent auto industr ...

, Pleasant Ridge is a northern suburb of

Metro Detroit The Detroit metropolitan area, often referred to as Metro Detroit, is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. State of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and its surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the area, including the ...

and is about north of the city of

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

. With a land area of , Pleasant Ridge is the fifth-smallest city by land area in the state of Michigan after the cities of Sylvan Lake, Keego Harbor, Petersburg, and Clarkston.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the city has a total area of , all land. The portion of the city located west of Woodward Avenue ( M-1) includes the Pleasant Ridge Historic District and its spacious residential homes, while an area of more modest homes is located east of Woodward.

History

Pleasant Ridge began with the subdivision of the Mayday farm by Burt Taylor in 1913. It incorporated as a village in 1921 and as a city in 1927. On December 1, 2009, the Pleasant Ridge City Council approved plans for the city's first bar. Pleasant Ridge had previously been a dry community. The city is named after the slight ridge that ran through the city. One of Pleasant Ridge's most popular landmarks was

Hedge's Wigwam Hedge's Wigwam was a Native American-themed restaurant in Pleasant Ridge, Michigan, operating from 1927 until 1967. It was located at 24362 Woodward Avenue, one block from the original Saginaw Trail. History Roy Hedge opened an orange juice stand ...

, a Native American-themed cafeteria-style restaurant which was located at 10 Mile and Woodward from 1927 until 1967. Pleasant Ridge was actively involved in resisting the construction of the middle segment of

Same-sex households

Pleasant Ridge is bordered on the south by the city of Ferndale, which is considered the center of the

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

community in the Metro Detroit region. The city of Pleasant Ridge is among the top cities in the nation with same-sex couple households, with at least 60 per 1,000 according to figures from the

. A study by the

Williams Institute The Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Law and Public Policy, usually shortened to Williams Institute, is a public policy research institute based at the UCLA School of Law focused on sexual orientation and gender ident ...

from the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

recorded 59.55 same-sex couples for every 1,000 households in the city of Pleasant Ridge, while the state as a whole ranked low with only 5.6 for every 1,000 households. However, the study did not record the number of gay people, only the number of same-sex households. The study listed Pleasant Ridge as having the highest same-sex household ratio in the state, ahead of Ferndale with 35.0 same-sex couples for every 1,000 households. These numbers rank Pleasant Ridge as having the seventh-highest same-sex household ratio in the nation. Cities in the nation with a higher ratio include

Provincetown, Massachusetts Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States Census, Provincet ...

;

Wilton Manors, Florida Wilton Manors is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 11,426. Wilton Manors is part of the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to 6,166,488 people at the 2020 census. Histor ...

;

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land a ...

;

Rehoboth Beach, Delaware Rehoboth Beach ( ) is a city on the Atlantic Ocean along the Delaware Beaches in eastern Sussex County, Delaware. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the population was 1,327, reflecting a decline of 161 (11.2%) from the 1,488 counted in the 2000 ce ...

;

Guerneville, California Guerneville ( , ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in the Russian River Valley of Sonoma County, California, United States. The town is historically known for the logging community, formed in the late 1800s. Guerneville ...

; and

West Hollywood, California West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most ...

Government

Pleasant Ridge is governed by a city commission consisting of a mayor and four city commissioners. The current mayor of Pleasant Ridge is Bret Scott. Current city commissioners are Katy Schmier, Alex Lenko, Chris Budnik and Ann Perry.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2010, there were 2,526 people, 1,115 households, and 674 families living in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was . There were 1,153 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 94.7%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 1.9%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.1% Native American, 1.1%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.3% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.9% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 1.7% of the population. There were 1,115 households, of which 26.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 5.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 39.6% were non-families. 28.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.87. The median age in the city was 43.4 years. 20.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 3.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 29.4% were from 25 to 44; 32.6% were from 45 to 64; and 14.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 50.8% male and 49.2% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 2,594 people, 1,110 households, and 712 families living in the city. The

was 4,563.7 per square mile (1,757.1/km²). There were 1,129 housing units at an average density of 1,986.3 per square mile (764.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.57%

, 0.85%

, 0.42% Native American, 0.89%

, 0.04%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 0.39% from

, and 0.85% from two or more races.

of any race were 1.77% of the population. There were 1,110 households, out of which 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.5% were

living together, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.8% were non-families. 26.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.87. In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.0% under the age of 18, 3.9% from 18 to 24, 33.4% from 25 to 44, 29.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $80,682, and the median income for a family was $92,134. Males had a median income of $66,071 versus $44,231 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $40,846. About 1.2% of families and 2.0% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 2.3% of those under age 18 and 2.0% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

City of Pleasant Ridge official website
{{Metro Detroit Cities in Oakland County, Michigan Metro Detroit Populated places established in 1913 1913 establishments in Michigan