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Oakland County is a
county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
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 so ...
of
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
. It is a principal county of the
Detroit metropolitan area Metro Detroit is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and over 200 municipalities in the surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the area, including the official statistical areas ...
, containing the bulk of Detroit's northern suburbs. Its
seat of government The seat of government is (as defined by ''Brewer's Politics'') "the building, complex of buildings or the city from which a government exercises its authority". In most countries, the nation's Capital city, capital is also seat of its governmen ...
is Pontiac, and its largest city is
Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...
. As of the 2020 census, its population 1,274,395, 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, 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. It is also home to
Oakland University Oakland University (OU or Oakland) is a public university, public research university in Auburn Hills, Michigan, Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1957 through a donation of Matilda Dodge Wilson and husband ...
, a large public institution that straddles the border between the cities of Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills.


History

Founded by Territorial Governor
Lewis Cass Lewis Cass (October 9, 1782June 17, 1866) was a United States Army officer and politician. He represented Michigan in the United States Senate and served in the Cabinets of two U.S. Presidents, Andrew Jackson and James Buchanan. He was also the 1 ...
in 1819, sparsely populated Oakland County was formed from Macomb County on 28 March 1820.Terr. Papers U.S., 10:842, 11:40 cited in "Oakland County"
Library of Michigan. Accessed 24 August 2024.
As was customary at the time, as populations increased, other counties were organized from its land area. Over the next 16 years, Oakland lost territory to the creation of the counties of Lapeer (10 Sep 1822),
Saginaw Saginaw () is a city in Saginaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 44,202 at the 2020 census. Located along the Saginaw River, Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of ...
(10 Sep 1822), Sanilac (10 Sep 1822), Shiawassee (10 Sep 1822), Washtenaw (10 Sep 1822), Barry (29 Oct 1829), Calhoun (29 Oct 1829), Eaton (29 Oct 1829), Ingham (29 Oct 1829), Jackson (29 Oct 1829),
Kalamazoo Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 73,598. It is the principal city of the Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan are ...
(29 Oct 1829), Arenac (2 Mar 1831), Gladwin (2 Mar 1831), Midland (2 Mar 1831), Livingston (21 Mar 1833), and Genesee (28 Mar 1835). Woodward Avenue and the
Detroit and Pontiac Railroad The Detroit and Pontiac Railroad is a defunct railroad which operated in the Michigan, state of Michigan during the mid-nineteenth century. It was the sixth railroad to receive a charter from Michigan, then a U.S. territory, territory, and the sec ...
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 operated between 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
Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
ers 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. In the 1950s, Oakland County's population boomed as 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). Oakland County was for a time the fourth-wealthiest county in the United States, though its position has declined somewhat since the Great Recession. 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.


Geography

According to the
U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, 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 U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...
, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (4.4%) is water. Oakland County was originally divided into 25 separate townships, which are listed below. Each township is roughly equal in size at by six miles, for a total township area of . The roots of this design were born out of the
Land Ordinance of 1785 The Land Ordinance of 1785 was adopted by the United States Congress of the Confederation on May 20, 1785. It set up a standardized system whereby settlers could purchase title to farmland in the undeveloped west. Congress at the time did not hav ...
and the subsequent
Northwest Ordinance The Northwest Ordinance (formally An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States, North-West of the River Ohio and also known as the Ordinance of 1787), enacted July 13, 1787, was an organic act of the Congress of the Co ...
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 Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
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 Lake St. Clair () is a freshwater lake that lies between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Michigan. It was named in 1679 by French Catholic explorers after Saint Clare of Assisi, on whose feast day they first saw the lake. ...
to
Lake Michigan Lake Michigan ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...
. 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 Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
city and almost exclusively
white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
suburbs. Since the late 20th century, the patterns of ''de facto''
segregation Segregation may refer to: Separation of people * Geographical segregation, rates of two or more populations which are not homogenous throughout a defined space * School segregation * Housing segregation * Racial segregation, separation of human ...
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 A woodward is a Game warden, warden of a wood. Woodward may also refer to: Places ;United States * Woodward, Iowa * Woodward, Oklahoma * Woodward, Pennsylvania, a census-designated place * Woodward Avenue, a street in Tallahassee, Florida, which b ...
. 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 Arab Americans ( or ) are Americans who trace ancestry to any of the Arab immigration to the United States, various waves of immigrants from the Arabic-speaking countries. In the United States census, Arabs are racially classified as White Amer ...
, who also live in nearby areas, and numerous
Asian Americans Asian Americans are Americans with Asian diaspora, ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are Immigration to the United States, immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants). A ...
, particularly
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
ns, have also settled in these areas.


Adjacent counties

* Lapeer County (northeast) * Genesee County (northwest) * Macomb County (east) * Wayne County (southeast) * Washtenaw County (southwest) * Livingston County (west)


Demographics

As of the 2020 census there were 1,274,402 people and 524,762 households in the county with an average of 2.4 persons per household. 70.0% were Non-Hispanic White alone, 13.9% Black or African American alone, 8.8% Asian, 0.3% American Indian or Alaskan Native, and 2.5% of two or more races. 5% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race). Roughly 13.1% of county residents were foreign-born. Of households in the county, 20.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them, and 19.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. About 50.6% of county residents were female. Roughly half (49.5%) of county residents ages 25+ had at least a bachelor's degree. 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 Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean **Korean dialects **See also: North–South differences in t ...
(5,351), Vietnamese (1,687),
Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...
(1,458) and Hmong (1,210) ancestry.Se
search results
from
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
. Retrieved July 2, 2007.
In 2001, Oakland County had the 36th largest Asian population of any county in the country. In 2002, of the Oakland- Wayne- Macomb tricounty area, Oakland County had 49% of the tri-county area's Asian population. The median income for a household in the county in 2020 was $92,620, making Oakland County the 71st wealthiest county in the United States and the wealthiest county in Michigan. Of housing units in the county, 71.9% were owner occupied. About 8.72% 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 ...
.


Government

The county government operates the major local courts, keeps files of deeds and mortgages, maintains
vital records Vital records are records of life events kept under governmental authority, including birth certificates, marriage licenses (or marriage certificates), separation agreements, divorce certificates or divorce party and death certificates. In some j ...
, administers
public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...
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. 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.


Service Center

Most county operations are based at the Oakland County Service Center, which straddles Telegraph Road, split between Pontiac and neighboring Waterford Township.Complex Map
(). Oakland County Government. Retrieved on July 9, 2015.
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 In criminal justice systems, a youth detention center, known as a juvenile detention center (JDC),Stahl, Dean, Karen Kerchelich, and Ralph De Sola. ''Abbreviations Dictionary''. CRC Press, 20011202. Retrieved 23 August 2010. , . juvenile det ...
), and the headquarters of Oakland Schools, the Road Commission, and a number of other departments. In May 2023, the county government announced a plan to relocate select offices from the Service Center back to downtown Pontiac.


Elected officials

* County Executive: Dave Coulter (D-Ferndale) *
Prosecuting Attorney A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in civil law. The prosecution is the legal party responsible ...
: Karen McDonald (D-Birmingham) *
Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...
: Mike Bouchard (R-Bloomfield Hills) *
County Clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keepin ...
/ Register of Deeds: Lisa Brown (D-West Bloomfield) * County Treasurer: Robert Wittenberg (D-Huntington Woods) * Water Resources Commissioner: Jim Nash (D-Farmington Hills) *
Board of Commissioners A county commission (or a board of county commissioners) is a group of elected officials (county commissioners) collectively charged with administering the county government in some states of the United States. A county usually has three to five ...
: 19 members, elected from districts (13 Democrats, 6 Republicans)


Law enforcement

The Oakland County Sheriff's Office is the largest sheriff's department in the state of
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
. In 2017 it had 859 uniformed officers, although in 2022 it had nearly 100 unfilled vacancies. 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, but rather contract with the sheriff for police services specific to the municipalities. Those municipalities are Addison Township (including the village of
Leonard Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English language, English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate from the Old High German ''Leonhard'' containing the prefix ''levon'' ("lion") from the Greek wikt:Λέων#Greek, Λ ...
), 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. The Oakland County Sheriff's Office also operates the
county jail A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where people are imprisoned under the authority of the state, usually as punishment for various cr ...
, 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.


Road Commission

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.


Politics

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 Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
, 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 Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
won a narrow majority in 2016. In 2020,
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
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 Richard Dale Snyder (born August 19, 1958) is an American business executive, venture capitalist, attorney, accountant, and politician who served as the 48th governor of Michigan from 2011 to 2019. Snyder, who was born in Battle Creek, Michigan, ...
by a 22-point margin in the
2010 Michigan gubernatorial election The 2010 Michigan gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 2010. Incumbent Democratic governor Jennifer Granholm and lieutenant governor John D. Cherry were prohibited by the state's Constitution from seeking a third term. This result ...
and again by a 12-point margin in the 2014 election; conversely, the county favored Democratic candidate
Gretchen Whitmer Gretchen Esther Whitmer (; born August 23, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 49th governor of Michigan since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she served in the Michigan House of R ...
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. In the 119th Congress, Oakland County is represented by three Democrats:
Debbie Dingell Deborah Ann Dingell ( ; ; November 23, 1953) is an American politician serving as a United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative from Michigan since 2015, representing the state's Michigan's 6th congressional district, 6th congres ...
( 6th),
Haley Stevens Haley Maria Stevens (born June 24, 1983) is an American politician serving her fourth term as the U.S. representative from since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, Stevens represents most of urbanized Oakland County, including many of ...
( 11th), and
Rashida Tlaib Rashida Harbi Tlaib ( ; born July 24, 1976) is an American lawyer and politician serving as a U.S. representative from Michigan since 2019, representing the state's 12th congressional district since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, sh ...
( 12th) and three Republicans: Tom Barrett ( 7th), John James ( 10th) and
Lisa McClain Lisa Carmella McClain ( Iovannisci; born April 7, 1966) is an American politician who has served as a U.S. representative from Michigan since 2021. She represented Michigan's 10th congressional district from 2021 to 2023 and has represented Mi ...
( 9th).


Transportation


Air

* Oakland County International Airport (PTK) ( Waterford Township) – General aviation and charter passenger flights. * Oakland/Troy Airport (VLL) (
Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...
) – General aviation and charter passenger flights. The following airports are located in neighboring counties: * Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) – Major commercial airport and hub for
Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, operating nine hubs, with Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport being its ...
and
Spirit Airlines Spirit Airlines, Inc. is an American ultra-low cost airline headquartered in Dania Beach, Florida, in the Miami metropolitan area. Spirit operates scheduled flights throughout the United States, the Caribbean, and Latin America. Spirit was the ...
located in Wayne County. * Bishop International Airport (FNT) – Commercial airport located in Genesee County. * Coleman A. Young International Airport (DET) – General aviation airport in Detroit.


Major highways

* is the main north–south highway in the region, serving Flint, Pontiac, Troy, and Detroit, before continuing south (as the Fisher and Detroit-Toledo Freeways) to serve many of the communities along the shore of
Lake Erie Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...
. * runs northwest–southeast through Oakland County and (as the Jeffries Freeway) has its eastern terminus in downtown Detroit. * runs north–south from I-75 in the south to the junction of I-96 and I-696 in the north, providing a bypass through the western suburbs of Detroit. * runs east–west from the junction of I-96 and I-275, providing a route through the northern suburbs of Detroit. Taken together, I-275 and I-696 form a semicircle around Detroit. * ends just outside of Clarkston at I-75. To the south, US 24 serves suburban Detroit and
Monroe Monroe or Monroes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Monroe (surname) * Monroe (given name) * James Monroe, 5th President of the United States * Marilyn Monroe, actress and model Places United States * Monroe, Arkansas, an unincorp ...
before entering
Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
. Much of US 24 in Oakland County is named Telegraph Road, and it is a major north–south road extending from
Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...
, through Monroe, Wayne, and Oakland Counties to Pontiac. It gained notoriety in a song (''Telegraph Road'') by the group
Dire Straits Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals, lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums, percussion). Th ...
. * has a northern terminus in Pontiac. The route continues southerly from Oakland County into the City of Detroit, ending downtown. The Detroit Zoo is located along M-1 in Oakland County. M-1 is also home to the Woodward Dream Cruise, a classic-car cruise from Pontiac to Ferndale that is held in August. It is the largest single-day classic-car cruise in America. * (Haggerty Connector) provides expressway access from Commerce and West Bloomfield Townships at Pontiac Trail to the I-96/I-275/I-696 interchange, then follows the Farmington bypass to Grand River Avenue west of Middlebelt Road, continuing along Grand River into downtown Detroit. * runs largely parallel to I-75 from Southfield to downtown Detroit. The service drives are named Northwestern Highway. * (Ortonville Road, Main Street in Clarkston) * has a southern terminus at I-75 northeast of Pontiac. To the north, the route continues to Lapeer and beyond. Note: M-24 and US 24 do not intersect at present, although this was the case until the 1950s. * runs north–south from I-94 in Allen Park to Southfield. North of Nine Mile Road, the freeway ends and continues as Southfield Road into Birmingham. * (Highland Road rom Pontiac westerly Huron Street ithin Pontiacand Veterans Memorial Freeway Utica">Utica,_Michigan.html" ;"title="ontiac to Utica, continues east in Macomb County as Hall Road to Clinton Township and west to I-96 near Howell, Michigan">Howell * Perhaps better known as 8 Mile Road, M-102 follows the Oakland–Wayne county line for most of its length. 8 Mile Road, known by many due to the film '' 8 Mile'', forms the dividing line between Detroit on the south and the suburbs of Macomb and Oakland counties on the north. It is also known as Baseline Road outside of Detroit, because it coincides with the Baseline (surveying)">baseline used in surveying Michigan; that baseline is also the boundary for a number of Michigan counties. It is designated M-102 for much of its length in Wayne County. * serves as a spur highway from M-59 into the city of Rochester. * Grand River Avenue connects the suburbs of Brighton, Novi, and Farmington to downtown Detroit. The avenue follows the route of old U.S. Route 16 in Michigan, US 16 before I-96 replaced it in 1962. It is one of the five roads planned by Judge August Woodward to radiate out from Detroit and connect the city to other parts of the state.


Intercity rail

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
's thrice-daily ''Wolverine'' serves Oakland County, with stations in Pontiac,
Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...
, and Royal Oak, before continuing on to Detroit and west to
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
.


Mile roads

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).


Bicycling

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 In urban planning, the grid plan, grid street plan, or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at Angle#Types of angles, right angles to each other, forming a wikt:grid, grid. Two inherent characteristics of the grid plan, fr ...
. 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 The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is a standards setting body which publishes specifications, test protocols, and guidelines that are used in highway A highway is any public or private road ...
(AASHTO) guidelines for bicycling facilities and have been found to be less safe than on-road bike facilities. 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.


Education

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.


Higher education

*
Oakland University Oakland University (OU or Oakland) is a public university, public research university in Auburn Hills, Michigan, Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1957 through a donation of Matilda Dodge Wilson and husband ...
*
Oakland Community College Oakland Community College (OCC) is a Public college, public community college with five campuses in Oakland County, Michigan. Established in 1964, OCC is the largest community college in Michigan, with the state's third-largest undergraduate enr ...
*
Lawrence Technological University Lawrence Technological University (Lawrence Tech, LTU) is a private university in Southfield, Michigan. It was founded in 1932 in Highland Park, Michigan, as the Lawrence Institute of Technology (LIT) by Russell E. Lawrence. The university moved ...
*
Baker College Baker College is a private university with its main campus in Owosso, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1911 and (as of 2023) has four additional campuses throughout the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. The institution has been accused o ...
of Royal Oak * Rochester Christian University * Walsh College * Saint Mary's College of Madonna University * Cranbrook College of Art


K-12 education

School districts: * Almont Community Schools * Avondale School District * Berkley School District * Birmingham City School District * Bloomfield Hills School District * Brandon School District * Clarenceville School District * Clarkston Community School District * Clawson Public Schools * Farmington Public Schools * Fenton Area Public Schools * Ferndale Public Schools * Goodrich Area Schools * Grand Blanc Community Schools * Hazel Park City School District * Holly Area School District * Huron Valley Schools * Lake Orion Community Schools * Lamphere Public Schools * Madison Public Schools * Northville Public Schools * Novi Community School District * Oak Park City School District * Oxford Area Community Schools * Pontiac City School District * Rochester Community Schools * Romeo Community Schools * Royal Oak City School District * South Lyon Community Schools * Southfield Public School District * Troy School District * Walled Lake Consolidated Schools * Warren Consolidated Schools * Waterford School District * West Bloomfield School District


Sports

The NFL's
Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...
played their home games at the
Pontiac Silverdome The Pontiac Silverdome (also known as the Silverdome) was a stadium in Pontiac, Michigan. It opened in 1975 and sat on 199 acres (51 ha) of land. When the stadium opened, it featured a fiberglass fabric roof held up by air pressure, the fi ...
in Pontiac from 1975 through 2001, when they moved to
Ford Field Ford Field is a domed American football stadium located in Downtown Detroit. It primarily serves as the home of the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL), the Michigan Panthers of the United Football League (UFL), the Mid-Americ ...
in Downtown Detroit. The
Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...
played at the Silverdome from 1978 to 1988. The Silverdome was also the site of
Super Bowl XVI Super Bowl XVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Cincinnati Bengals to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...
, where the
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...
defeated the
Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...
, the first of 5 Super Bowl titles for the 49ers. The Pontiac Silverdome also hosted various other sporting events, prior to being demolished in 2017. From 1988 to 2017, prior to the move to
Little Caesars Arena Little Caesars Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Midtown Detroit. Opening on September 5, 2017, the arena, which cost $862.9 million to construct, replaced Joe Louis Arena and The Palace of Auburn Hills as the home of the Detroit Red Wings of t ...
in Detroit, the
Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...
played their home games at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills. The Palace of Auburn Hills was demolished in 2020.


Communities


Cities

* Auburn Hills * Berkley *
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
*
Bloomfield Hills Bloomfield Hills is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northern suburb of Detroit on the Woodward Corridor, Bloomfield Hills is located roughly northwest of downtown Detroit, and is surrounded on most sides by Bloomfi ...
* Clarkston * Clawson * Farmington * Farmington Hills * Fenton (mostly in Genesee County) * Ferndale * Hazel Park * Huntington Woods * Keego Harbor * Lake Angelus * Lathrup Village * Madison Heights * Northville (partially in Wayne County) * Novi * Oak Park * Orchard Lake Village * Pleasant Ridge * Pontiac (county seat) * Rochester * Rochester Hills * Royal Oak * South Lyon * Southfield * Sylvan Lake *
Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...
* Walled Lake * Wixom


Villages

*
Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...
* Bingham Farms * Franklin *
Holly ''Ilex'' () or holly is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...
*
Lake Orion Lake Orion ( ) is a village in the northern outskirts of Metro Detroit in Oakland County, Michigan, United States. The population was 2,973 at the 2010 census. "Lake Orion" can refer to either the village or the much larger Orion Township, of ...
*
Leonard Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English language, English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate from the Old High German ''Leonhard'' containing the prefix ''levon'' ("lion") from the Greek wikt:Λέων#Greek, Λ ...
* Milford * Ortonville *
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
* Wolverine Lake


Charter townships

* Bloomfield Charter Township * Brandon Charter Township * Commerce Charter Township * Highland Charter Township * Independence Charter Township * Lyon Charter Township * Milford Charter Township * Oakland Charter Township * Orion Charter Township * Oxford Charter Township * Royal Oak Charter Township * Springfield Charter Township * Waterford Charter Township * West Bloomfield Charter Township * White Lake Charter Township


Civil townships

* Addison Township * Groveland Township * Holly Township * Novi Township * Rose Township * Southfield Township


Unincorporated communities

* Andersonville * Austin Corners * Brandon Gardens * Campbells Corner *
Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Since the early 19th century, Charing Cross has been the notional "centre of London" and became the point from which distances from London are measured. ...
* Clintonville * Clyde *
Commerce Commerce is the organized Complex system, system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions that directly or indirectly contribute to the smooth, unhindered large-scale exchange (distribution through Financial transaction, transactiona ...
* Davisburg * Drayton Plains * East Highland * Elizabeth Lake * Five Points * Four Towns * Gingellville * Glengary *
Goodison Goodison is a metronymic surname, from the old English personal name Godgifu (God's gift), later simply "Goody". Goodisson is a similar surname. Notable holders of this surname include: * Sir Alan Goodison (1926–2006), British diplomat, succeeded ...
* Groveland Corners * Hickory Ridge *
Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...
* Huron Heights * Jossman Acres * Kensington (former) * Lake Orion Heights * Lakeville * New Hudson * Newark * Oak Grove * Oakley Park * Oakwood *
Oxbow __NOTOC__ An oxbow is a U-shaped metal pole (or larger wooden frame) that fits the underside and the sides of the neck of an ox or wikt:bullock, bullock. A bow pin holds it in place. The term "oxbow" is widely used to refer to a U-shaped meand ...
* Perry Lake Heights * Rose Center * Rose Corners * Rudds Mill * Seven Harbors * Springfield *
Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...
* Union Lake * Walters * Waterford Village * Waterstone *
West Highland The Highlands (; , ) is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlan ...
* Westacres * White Lake


Rivers and lakes

Oakland County contains 387 lakes, and four major rivers run through the county: * Clinton River *
Huron River The Huron River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed November 7, 2011 river in southeast Michigan, southeastern Michigan, rising out of the Huron Swamp in Springfie ...
* Rouge River *
Shiawassee River The Shiawassee River ( ) in the U.S. state of Michigan drains an area of within Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland, Genesee County, Michigan, Genesee, Livingston County, Michigan, Livingston, Shiawassee County, Michigan, Shiawassee, Midland Coun ...
The headwaters of each of these rivers lie in Oakland County.


See also

*
Woodward Corridor M-1, also known as Woodward Avenue, is a north–south Michigan State Trunkline Highway System, state trunkline highway in the Metro Detroit area of the US state of Michigan. The highway, called "Detroit's Main Street", runs from Detroit north- ...
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Oakland County, Michigan * List of Michigan State Historic Sites in Oakland County, Michigan * Oakland County Child Killer * Saginaw Trail


Notes


References


Further reading

* * *
Volume 1Volume 2


External links


Oakland County Government official website

Map of Oakland County

The Road Commission for Oakland County

''An Account of Oakland County''
edited by Lillian Drake Avery. Dayton, Ohio: National Historical Association, Inc., 925?*
Automation Alley
{{Coord, 42.66, -83.38, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MI_source:UScensus1990 Michigan counties Metro Detroit 1820 establishments in Michigan Territory Populated places established in 1820