Utica is a city in Macomb County 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 ...

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, ...

. Its population was 5,245 at the 2020 census, up from 4,757 in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

History

The city now known as Utica was platted by Joseph Stead in 1829, who named it "Harlow". Others referred to the community as "Hog's Hollow" or "McDougalville", until a few years later it was named "Utica" by settlers from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, in honor of the city of the same name in that state. This was common of settlers in this region, and is reflected in the names of nearby cities such as Rochester,

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

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that are also named for Upstate New York cities and villages. By the 1940s, Utica was the center of a region of

dairy farm Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for the long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for the eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a h ...

s and truck gardens. It had a flour mill and shipped

rhubarb Rhubarb is the fleshy, edible stalks ( petioles) of species and hybrids (culinary rhubarb) of ''Rheum'' in the family Polygonaceae, which are cooked and used for food. The plant is a herbaceous perennial that grows from short, thick rhizomes. ...

. Dodge Park a few miles south on the Clinton River was a state park.Columbia-Lippincott Gazetteer, p. 1993] As the 1950s progressed, Detroit auto companies began to build factories in neighboring Sterling Heights, Michigan, Sterling and Shelby Townships, and the surrounding area began a transformation to an industrial economy. Utica boasts a small

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...

centered on

Cass Cass may refer to: People and fictional characters * Cass (surname), a list of people * Cass (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Big Cass, ring name of wrestler William Morrissey * Cass, in British band Skunk Anansie * Cass, ...

Avenue and Auburn Road, but few of the buildings antedate 1906, due to destructive fires in 1905 and 1906.

Geography

Utica is in western Macomb County, bordered to the south by the city of Sterling Heights and to the north by Shelby Charter Township. Highways M-53 and M-59 serve the city. M-53 crosses the east side of the city, leading north to

Romeo Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Characters in Romeo and Juliet#Lord Montague, Lord Montague and his wife, Characters in Romeo and Juliet#Lady Montague, Lady Montague, he ...

and south to Warren, while M-59 runs along the southern border of the city, leading east to

Interstate 94 Interstate 94 (I-94) is an east–west Interstate Highway connecting the Great Lakes and northern Great Plains regions of the United States. Its western terminus is just east of Billings, Montana, at a junction with I-90; its eastern ter ...

and west to Pontiac. Downtown

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 to the south. 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 ...

, Utica has a total area of , of which is covered by water. The Clinton River passes through the center of the city, flowing southeast and then east to

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. ...

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, 4,757 people, 2,218 households, and 1,245 families were living in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

was . The 2,463 housing units had an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 90.4% White, 1.9% African American, 0.5% Native American, 3.5% Asian, 1.9% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 3.8% of the population. Of the 2,218 households, 23.6% had children under 18 living with them, 37.8% were married couples living together, 14.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 43.9% were not families. About 38.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.9% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.80. The median age in the city was 41.7 years; The age distribution was 17.9% under 18; 8.8% from 18 to 24; 27.4% from 25 to 44; 28.3% from 45 to 64; and 17.4% were 65 or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.4% male and 52.6% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, 4,577 people, 1,952 households, and 1,184 families resided in the city. The population density was . The 2,005 housing units had an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 93.77% White, 0.92% African American, 0.37% Native American, 2.56% Asian, 0.74% from other races, and 1.64% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 2.10% of the population. Of the 1,952 households, 27.2% had children under 18 living with them, 43.8% were married couples living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.3% were not families. About 34.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.96. In the city, the age distribution was 21.0% under 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 31.7% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.9 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 91.8 males. The median

income Income is the consumption and saving opportunity gained by an entity within a specified timeframe, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. Income is difficult to define conceptually and the definition may be different across fields. F ...

for a household in the city was $38,683, and for a family was $57,156. Males had a median income of $36,912 versus $26,353 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $21,615. About 4.8% of families and 7.0% 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 ...

, including 6.7% of those under 18 and 17.3% of those 65 or over.

Education

Utica Community Schools operates public schools, including Utica High School, Eppler Junior High School, Flickinger Elementary School, and Wiley Elementary School. They serve the communities of Sterling Heights, Utica, and Shelby Township.

Notable people

* Charles Ronald Aldrich, architect * Brian Barczyk, YouTube content creator * Duke Maas, Major League Baseball pitcher * Roda Selleck, painter and art instructor in Indianapolis schools

References

External links

*
Utica Public Library
{{Authority control Cities in Macomb County, Michigan Metro Detroit Populated places established in 1829 1829 establishments in Michigan Territory