Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Ferndale’s strongest is health (A): residents are healthier than 91% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. It is strong on incomes as well: the median household earns $95K. Homes run about $246K for a typical one, 3.2 times the Detroit metro’s $77K median household income. Schools are its weak spot (C−): its schools rank behind just over four fifths of the state's. Overall, that makes a B−, better than 51% of U.S. towns. In the ranking it comes 396th of 697 in Michigan. The biggest park or preserve is Martin Road Park, at 34 acres. One in ten residents are under 18 in the town, where Michigan’s towns sit at 21% and U.S. towns at 22%.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · schools, state test and graduation results · home values, Zillow · OpenStreetMap.
Where Ferndale beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Ferndale is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,640 in 1920, a peak of 31,347 in 1960, 19,190 in 2020. The archive holds 17 old photos and papers going back to 1976 and 8 maps from 1905 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Ferndale. Close and well known come first.
Big draw9 mi Stadium & arenaFord Field
Big draw34 mi Stadium & arenaMichigan Stadium
9 mi Stadium & arenaComerica Park
9 mi TheatreFox Theatre
12 mi MuseumThe Henry Ford1.8M visitors a year
8 mi MuseumDetroit Institute of ArtsFord Field: Unknown, CC BY 2.5 · Michigan Stadium: Lectrician2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Comerica Park: City of Detroit, Public domain · Fox Theatre: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0 · The Henry Ford: Alvintrusty, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Detroit Institute of Arts: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ferndale, 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 Ferndale.
Ferndale has less stroke than most of Michigan, has seen reported crime fall beyond ordinary swings and has an unusually large share working from home.
Its widest gap with Michigan is stroke: 2% of its 16,870 adults have had a stroke, against 3.7% statewide.
Only 6 of the 701 Michigan towns we compare have a lower share of adults who have high blood pressure than Ferndale. 31% of Ferndale adults have obesity. Also worth knowing: the town does better than the Michigan average on 21 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 3.
| Ferndale | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 36% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.8% | 14% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 6.7% | 12% | 12% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 17% | 16% |
| What stands out | Ferndale | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had a stroke | 2% | 3.7% |
| Fewer adults with COPD | 4.5% | 8.1% |
| More binge drinkers | 20.1% | 15.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The largest public high school is Ferndale High School, with 739 students. Of its 7 schools, two are listed below, each with the reason. Its public schools are run by the Ferndale Public Schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ferndale Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 528 | C− |
| Ferndale High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 739 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
Federal disaster aid has reached households in Ferndale after 6 declared disasters, most recently in 2023. FEMA expects less storm and flood damage in the town than in 85% of U.S. communities. 3 flood insurance claims have been paid here since 2014. Expected losses in Ferndale break down as 43% from inland flooding and 29% from tornadoes.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Reported crimes fell from 469 to 415 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
For Ferndale, the property offense rate is 19.3 per 1,000 residents. The town’s violent offense rate comes in at 2 per 1,000 residents.
| Ferndale | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 19.3 per 1,000 residents | 7.8 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expect July afternoons of 84° and January nights of 18°, with about 31 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
28.1% of workers work from home, against 13.5% across Michigan.
Half commute less than 9 miles. Between 2011 and 2021, jobs in Ferndale rose by 584, to 7,311. For most workers, Ferndale is a place to come home to: only 5% work in town. The top destinations are Detroit (20%), Troy (8%) and Southfield (7%).
| Ferndale | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 28% | 10% | 11% |
| Median household income | $95,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 5.3% | 5.9% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
A typical home in the town is worth about $246,000, down 1.7% in a year, 7% below the Michigan typical home. For Ferndale, the median rent is $1,311 a month. In Ferndale, 67% of households own their home.
| Ferndale | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 67% | 84% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,311 a month | $1,045 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
There are 0.6 miles of trail across 11 parks and preserves. In Ferndale, the concentration of trails is 0.2 miles per square mile.
| Ferndale | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Garbutt Park | 0.3 mi | 7 |
| 2. Martin Road Park | 0.1 mi | 34 |
| 3. Harding Park | — | 18 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
19 within 15 miles of the center of Ferndale
About 6 of every 100 Ferndale residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Michigan.
9 notable people were born in Ferndale.
City in Michigan, United States
Ferndale is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring suburb of Detroit on the Woodward Corridor, Ferndale borders Detroit to the north, roughly 10 miles (16.1 km) northwest of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 19,190. Ferndale is well known for its downtown, as well as its position as the hub of the LGBTQ+ community in Metro Detroit, and a center of progressive politics.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Ferndale.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ferndale | #396 | B− | C+ | C | C− | A |
| Oak Park | #643 | D | C | C− | D | B− |
| Hazel Park | #539 | C | B | C | D | B− |
| Royal Oak Township | — | — | B | — | C− | A |
| Pleasant Ridge | #228 | B+ | C− | A− | C | A+ |
| Royal Oak | #74 | A | C− | B | A− | A+ |
| Detroit | #680 | D | B+ | D− | C− | D− |
Royal Oak Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Royal Oak Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Ferndale with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Ferndale grades B− overall, better than 51% of U.S. towns and #396 of 697 in Michigan. It grades A for health, C for safety and C− for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a C−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
9 notable people were born here, including Ron Carter and Dana Elcar.
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