West Bloomfield Township, officially the Charter Township of West Bloomfield, is a charter township 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 sove ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, within the

Detroit metropolitan area 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 Southeast Michigan, surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the a ...

. It is one of the most expensive places to live in Oakland County. As of the 2020 census, the township had a population of 65,888.

Communities

*Westacres is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in the township at Keith and Commerce Roads ( Elevation: 925 ft./282 m.).

Geography

West Bloomfield is sometimes referred to by its residents as the "lake township of Oakland County", due to it being heavily dotted with small and medium-sized lakes. Cass Lake, the largest lake in the county, is in part of West Bloomfield, and Pine Lake, which has a private country club on its shore, is only a few miles away from Cass and lies completely within West Bloomfield. In addition, directly west of Pine Lake is Orchard Lake, which also has a private country club on its shore. Orchard Lake is surrounded by the city of Orchard Lake Village. Several smaller lakes are scattered around these larger ones. Orchard Lake Road runs north–south through the middle of the township and is the main artery of West Bloomfield's economy along with West Maple Road (15 Mile Rd.), flanked on each side by long strip malls and shopping complexes. There are many high-end boutique stores and expensive restaurants to visit. Most of the township's population growth has occurred since the 1960s, as many residents moved there from the inner ring Detroit suburbs. West Bloomfield is located in south-central Oakland County about to the northwest from the

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 t ...

city limits and has borders with Bloomfield Township to its east, Farmington Hills to its south, Commerce Township to its west, and four communities to its north: Waterford Township, Orchard Lake Village, Keego Harbor, and Sylvan Lake. The communities of West Bloomfield, Orchard Lake Village, Keego Harbor, and Sylvan Lake make up what is known as Greater West Bloomfield. 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 t ...

, the township has a total area of , of which is land and , or 12.49%, is water.

Education

The school districts that serve the town include the

West Bloomfield School District West Bloomfield School District is located in the township of West Bloomfield, Michigan West Bloomfield Township, officially the Charter Township of West Bloomfield, is a charter township in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan, wit ...

Waterford School District Waterford School District is a school district headquartered in Waterford Township, Michigan. History Waterford Township lays claim to the first public school in Oakland County. That school was established in 1821 on the shores of Silver Lake ...

, Farmington Public Schools,

Birmingham City School District Birmingham Public Schools (BPS), formally the Birmingham City School District, is the public school district for Birmingham, Michigan. Beyond Birmingham, the district provides public school services for Southfield Township, Michigan, which encom ...

, Pontiac School District, Walled Lake School District, and the Bloomfield Hills School District.

West Bloomfield High School West Bloomfield High School is a public secondary school in West Bloomfield, Michigan. The school is the only public high school in the West Bloomfield School District. The School Enrollment for the 2010-2011 school year is about 1900. West Bloomfi ...

and the

Frankel Jewish Academy of Metropolitan Detroit Frankel Jewish Academy (FJA), named after its major benefactors Jean and Samuel Frankel, is a College-preparatory school, college-preparatory Independent school, independent Jewish day school in West Bloomfield, Michigan, West Bloomfield, a city ...

are in West Bloomfield proper, and

St. Mary's Preparatory St. Mary's Preparatory is a co-educational, Catholic, college preparatory high school with a Polish-American heritage in the Detroit suburb of Orchard Lake Village, Michigan. Its mission and message is "1. God; 2. Family; 3. St. Mary's." Overvie ...

is in Orchard Lake Village. Catholic schools are under the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit The Archdiocese of Detroit ( la, Archidiœcesis Detroitensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church covering the Michigan counties of Lapeer, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, and Wayne. It is ...

. St. William Catholic Church, which includes portions of West Bloomfield in its service area, operates St. William Catholic School, a

K-8 school K8 or K-8 may refer to: * K-8 (Kansas highway), two highways in Kansas, one in northern Kansas, one in southern Kansas * K-8 school, a type of school that includes kindergarten and grades one through eight * AMD K8, the internal designation for the ...

in Walled Lake. The

West Bloomfield Township Public Library The West Bloomfield Township Public Library is located in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan, West Bloomfield, Michigan, northwest of Detroit. The library system consists of the Main Branch and the Westacres Branch and serves the communities o ...

serves West Bloomfield. In 1999 this library and the Awaji City Library in Awaji, Hyogo, Japan were paired as sister institutions.

Religion

West Bloomfield is home to the largest Jewish population in Michigan. Catholic Churches are under the Archdiocese of Detroit. Prince of Peace Church is in West Bloomfield. St. William Church in Walled Lake includes portions of West Bloomfield in its service area.

Demographics

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 in ...

of 2010, there were 64,690 people, 24,411 households, and 18,040 families living in the township. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), 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 ...

was 2,374.3 per square mile (916.6/km²). There were 24,410 housing units at an average density of 893.6 per square mile (345.0/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 77.6%

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 o ...

, 11.4%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

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, 8.4%

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 ...

, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.4% 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 2.0% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties forme ...

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 1.60% of the population. As of the

of 2000, there were 64,860 people, 23,414 households, and 18,192 families living in the township. The

was 2,374.3 per square mile (916.6/km²). There were 24,410 housing units at an average density of 893.6 per square mile (345.0/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 84.25%

, 5.18%

, 0.12% Native American, 7.81%

, 0.02%

, 0.38% from

, and 2.25% from two or more races.

of any race were 1.40% of the population. There were 23,414 households, out of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.5% were married couples living together, 5.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.3% were non-families. 19.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.17. In the township, 26.4% of the population was under the age of 18, 5.2% was between 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 27.9% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.9 males. According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the township was $98,832, and the median income for a family was $113,191. Males had a median income of $74,557 versus $45,339 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 township was $44,885. About 1.6% of families and 2.7% 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 3.0% of those under age 18 and 2.6% of those age 65 and over.

Ethnic groups

West Bloomfield has a large Jewish population.Levin, Doron P.
WEST BLOOMFIELD JOURNAL; Jews and Ethnic Iraqis: A Neighborhood's Story
" ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''. December 17, 1990. Retrieved on September 11, 2013. It is home to the Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit, the Frankel Jewish Academy, a Jewish community high school, and the museum of the Jewish Historical Society of Michigan. West Bloomfield also has a large Chaldean population. In 2004 the Chaldean Cultural Center, the largest of its kind in the United States, was eatablished in the township.Arab, Chaldean, and Middle Eastern Children and Families in the Tri-County Area
"
Archive
''From a Child's Perspective: Detroit Metropolitan Census 2000 Fact Sheets Series''.

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

. Volume 4, Issue 2, February 2004. p. 2/32. Retrieved on November 8, 2013. As of April 2013, West Bloomfield had the third largest Japanese national population in the state of Michigan, at 1,047.Stone, Cal.
State's Japanese employees increasing
"
Archive
'' Observer & Eccentric''. Gannett Company. April 11, 2013. Retrieved on May 5, 2013.

Notable people

* Rucka Rucka Ali,

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

, radio personality, singer, comedian, and

satirist This is an incomplete list of writers, cartoonists and others known for involvement in satire – humorous social criticism. They are grouped by era and listed by year of birth. Included is a list of modern satires. Under Contemporary, 1930-196 ...

most noted for his song parodies on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

Justin Bartha Justin Lee Bartha (born July 21, 1978) is an American actor, known for his roles as Riley Poole in the ''National Treasure'' film series, Doug Billings in ''The Hangover'' trilogy, and David Sawyer in the NBC comedy series '' The New Normal''. ...

, actor, most notable for '' The Hangover Trilogy'' and the ''

National Treasure The idea of national treasure, like national epics and national anthems, is part of the language of romantic nationalism, which arose in the late 18th century and 19th centuries. Nationalism is an ideology that supports the nation as the funda ...

'' series * Jack Berry, sports journalist for ''

The Detroit News ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the ''Detroit Tribune'' on Februar ...

'' and the ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...

'' * Melrose Bickerstaff, model, appeared on ''

America's Next Top Model ''America's Next Top Model'' (abbreviated ''ANTM'' and ''Top Model'') is an American reality television series and interactive competition in which a number of aspiring models compete for the title of "America's Next Top Model" and a chance to b ...

'' *

Meryl Davis Meryl Davis (born January 1, 1987) is a former competitive American ice dancer. With partner Charlie White, she is the 2014 Olympic champion, the 2010 Olympic silver medalist, a two-time (2011, 2013) World champion, five-time Grand Prix Final ...

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

ice dancer Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, and became a Winter Olympic Games medal sport in 1976. Ac ...

who won the gold medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics in

Sochi, Russia Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents i ...

Pamela Eldred Pamela Anne Eldred (April 21, 1948 - July 12, 2022) was an American beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Michigan 1969 and later Miss America 1970. Early life and education Eldred is from West Bloomfield and graduated from Universit ...

Miss America 1970 Miss America 1970, the 43rd Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 6, 1969. First runner-up Kathy Baumann became an actress, guest-starring in several television series, including a featur ...

* Dan Gheesling, winner of '' Big Brother 10'' and runner-up of '' Big Brother 14'' *

Joe Ginsberg Myron Nathan "Joe" Ginsberg (October 11, 1926 – November 2, 2012) was an American professional baseball player. A catcher, he played for seven Major League Baseball teams: the Detroit Tigers (1948 and 1950–53), Cleveland Indians (1953–54), K ...

, former baseball catcher for the Detroit Tigers *

Adam Grant Adam M. Grant (born August 13, 1981) is an American popular science author, and professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania specializing in organizational psychology. Early life and education Grant was born in the townshi ...

, psychologist * Brandon T. Jackson, actor, appears in ''

Tropic Thunder ''Tropic Thunder'' is a 2008 satirical action comedy film directed by Ben Stiller, who wrote the screenplay with Justin Theroux and Etan Cohen. The film stars Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., Jay Baruchel, and Brandon T. Jackson as a ...

'', and ''

Percy Jackson Perseus "Percy" Jackson is a fictional character, the title character and narrator of Rick Riordan's ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' series. He is also one of seven main protagonists of the sequel series '' The Heroes of Olympus'', appear ...

'' *

Kyle Mack Kyle Alan Mack (born July 6, 1997) is an American snowboarder from West Bloomfield, Michigan, who specializes both Slopestyle and Big Air. On March 4, 2016, he won the US Open Men's Slopestyle final. At the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, he ...

, Olympic snowboarder, who won silver medal in Men's Big Air at Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics * Dana Nessel, Michigan Attorney General *

Adetokunbo Ogundeji Adetokunbo Ogundeji (born October 9, 1998) is an American football outside linebacker for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Notre Dame. Early life and high school Ogundeji grew up in West ...

, outside linebacker for the Atlanta Falcons * Jesse Palter, modern jazz singer *

Karen Clark Sheard Karen Valencia Clark Sheard (née Clark; born November 15, 1960) is an American Grammy Award–winning Gospel singer, musician, songwriter, and businesswoman. Clark-Sheard is the wife of the current Church of God in Christ Presiding Bishop J. Dre ...

, gospel singer * Bruce Ableson, social media pioneer

References

External links

Charter Township of West Bloomfield

West Bloomfield Township Public Library
{{Coord, 42, 34, 16, N, 83, 22, 29, W, display=title Townships in Oakland County, Michigan Charter townships in Michigan Metro Detroit Populated places established in 1833 1833 establishments in Michigan Territory Former census-designated places in Michigan Assyrian-American culture in Michigan Jews and Judaism in Michigan