Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Commerce Township grades A overall, 85th among Michigan's 697 graded towns. It has 87 miles of trail. It is healthier than 88% of U.S. towns and the median household earns $113K. What holds it back is price: homes are expensive, about $398K for a typical one and 5.2 times the Detroit metro’s $77K median household income. Commerce Township’s trail density is 2.9 miles per square mile, above both Michigan’s towns (0.3) and U.S. towns (0.4). The biggest place to walk is Proud Lake State Recreation Area, 1,927 acres with 18.8 miles of trail. Only 10 of the 666 Michigan towns we compare have a higher midpoint rent than Commerce Township.
Where Commerce Township beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Commerce Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.4% | 15.4% |
23.2% of the town is conserved land, across 33 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Commerce Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1896 and 7 maps from 1907 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Commerce Township, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Commerce Township.
Commerce Township is one of Michigan’s best towns for the outdoors, has less food insecurity than most of Michigan and pairs an A for schools with high home prices.
Its A+ for the outdoors ranks #15 of 701 in Michigan.
Commerce Township has 33 parks and preserves, 3,178 acres in all.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Proud Lake State Recreation Area | 18.8 mi | 1,927 |
| 2. Victory Park | 9.5 mi | 328 |
| 3. Wise Woods Park | 8.7 mi | 263 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A for schools comes with a C− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $398K.
Public schools: the Walled Lake Consolidated Schools. Three of the 12 schools are below, and why each made the list.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clifford H Smart Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 888 | A− |
| Walled Lake Northern High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,383 | A |
| Oakley Park Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 392 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
In Commerce Township, 40% of renter households spend 30% or more of their income on rent, against 45% in Michigan’s towns and 48% across U.S. towns. Zillow values the typical Commerce Township home at about $398,000, up 2.2% in a year, 51% above the Michigan typical home.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its widest gap with Michigan is food insecurity: 9.4% of its 18,618 adults worry about having enough food, against 15.4% statewide.
Commerce Township: 18% of adults get no exercise outside work. Among adults in the town, 30% sleep under 7 hours and 12% report frequent physical distress.
| Commerce Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 25% | 25% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 34% | 36% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 14% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 19% | 19% |
| What stands out | Commerce Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.4% | 15.4% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.3% | 10.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Violent crime is rare: 22 reported in 2025, 0.5 per 1,000 residents.
Its property crime rate is 5.3 per 1,000 residents. Commerce Township’s violent crime rate is 0.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Commerce Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.5 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.3 per 1,000 residents | 8 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
FEMA puts 44% of Commerce Township’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 32% to tornadoes. Storm and flood damage is expected to run lower than in 83% of U.S. communities. The national flood insurance program has paid 3 claims here since 2002.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Only 7% of working residents stay in Commerce Township for work; the rest commute out. Jobs based in the town fell to 11,600 in 2021, 2,468 fewer than in 2011. 17% of workers work from home here. Half the trips to work are shorter than 14 miles.
| Commerce Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $113,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 17% | 10% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 6% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
In July, afternoons reach 83°; in January, nights fall to 16°, and about 36 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Commerce Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw25 mi Stadium & arenaMichigan Stadium
Big draw28 mi Stadium & arenaFord Field
28 mi Stadium & arenaComerica Park
23 mi MuseumThe Henry Ford1.8M visitors a year
28 mi TheatreFox Theatre8 mi MuseumMarvin's Marvelous Mechanical MuseumMichigan Stadium: Lectrician2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ford Field: Unknown, CC BY 2.5 · Comerica Park: City of Detroit, Public domain · The Henry Ford: Alvintrusty, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fox Theatre: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0
7 within 15 miles of the center of Commerce Township
About 5 of every 100 Commerce Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Michigan.
Where Commerce Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
2 places in Commerce Township on the National Register of Historic Places.
7 notable people were born in Commerce Township.
Charter township in Michigan, United States
Commerce Township is a charter township in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northwestern suburb of Detroit, Commerce Township is located about 34 miles (54.7 km) northwest of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the township had a population of 43,058. As a western suburb of Metro Detroit, Commerce Township is bordered by the cities of Walled Lake and Wixom to the south, and the township contains the village of Wolverine Lake. Originally settled as a resort destination, the township has seen a large population increase of permanent residents due to the townships rural environment and recreation areas, including most of Proud Lake State Recreation Area. The Huron River run…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Commerce Township.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commerce Township | #85 | A | C− | A− | A | A |
| Walled Lake | #192 | A− | C | B+ | A | B+ |
| West Bloomfield Township | #135 | A− | D | A− | A | A |
| Wixom | #198 | B+ | C− | B | A | A |
| Wolverine Lake | #48 | A | D | A+ | A | A− |
| White Lake Township | #189 | A− | C− | A | A− | B+ |
| Milford Township | #211 | B+ | D | — | A− | A |
Milford Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Commerce Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Commerce Township grades A overall, better than 89% of U.S. towns and #85 of 697 in Michigan. It grades A for health, A− for safety and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
7 notable people were born here, including Connor Hellebuyck and William J. McConnell.
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