Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 20,631, settled in 1820.
Few places in the country grade higher. Oakland Township earns an A+, 16th among Michigan's 697 graded towns. Residents are healthier than 97% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates, the median household earns $167K, and its public schools beat 96% of Michigan towns on state tests and graduation. The exception is cost of living: homes are expensive, about $648K for a typical one and 8.5 times the Detroit metro’s $77K median household income. 67% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Oakland Township, against 26% in Michigan’s towns and 29% across U.S. towns. Only 5 of Michigan’s 320 towns score higher on safety. The biggest place to walk is Bald Mountain State Recreation Area, 1,693 acres with 12.2 miles of trail.
Where Oakland Township beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Delta Kelly Elementary School | PK–5 | 643 |
| Baldwin Elementary School | PK–5 | 534 |
| Hugger Elementary School | PK–5 | 512 |
16,779 counted in 2010 and 20,067 in 2020; an estimated 20,631 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Oakland Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Its founding year, 1820, comes before those of 96% of the Michigan towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 330 in 1820, 1,274,395 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1912 and 4 maps from 1943 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Oakland 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 Oakland Township.
Oakland Township has schools in the top 5% of Michigan and has less food insecurity than most of Michigan, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Michigan.
At 8.5 years of the Detroit metro’s $77K median household income, the typical home (about $648K) costs more against local pay than in 99% of Michigan towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living. Its typical home is the priciest on its borders; Washington Township is next at $478K.
Oakland Township’s median rent is $2,189 a month. The typical Oakland Township home is worth about $648,000, up 2.9% in a year, more than twice the Michigan typical home. 94% of Oakland Township households own their home.
| Oakland Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,189 a month | $1,045 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 94% | 84% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its A+ ranks #14 of the 699 Michigan towns we grade for schools. Its A+ for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $648K.
Its public schools are run by the Rochester Community School District. Two of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Kelly Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 643 | A |
| Musson Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 505 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
72 miles of trail in 23 parks and preserves. The trail density in Oakland Township is 2.0 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Stony Creek Metropark | 22.4 mi | 1,199 |
| 2. Bald Mountain State Recreation Area | 12.2 mi | 1,693 |
| 3. Bear Creek Nature Park | 3.9 mi | 116 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its widest gap with Michigan is food insecurity: 6.9% of its 11,959 adults worry about having enough food, against 15.4% statewide. Against the 1,822 U.S. towns with household incomes like Oakland Township’s, it is healthier than 80%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
13% of adults report frequent mental distress in Oakland Township. Oakland Township beats the Michigan average on 26 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 10% of adults report frequent physical distress in Oakland Township.
| Oakland Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 14% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 18% | 17% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 25% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 8.9% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Oakland Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.9% | 15.4% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 4.2% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Reported crimes fell from 65 to 34 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Violent crime is rare: 9 reported in 2025, 0.4 per 1,000 residents.
Among 272 Michigan towns, just 4 have a lower property crime rate than Oakland Township.
| Oakland Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.2 per 1,000 residents | 8 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.4 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 87% of U.S. communities. Since 1989, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Oakland Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Oakland Township has 2,023 jobs for its 8,649 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. 27.3% of workers work from home, against 13.5% across Michigan.
Most working residents leave Oakland Township for work: only 3% work in town. Jobs based in Oakland Township grew to 2,023 in 2021, 259 more than in 2011. Only 9 of the 701 Michigan towns we compare have a higher median household income than Oakland Township.
| Oakland Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 27% | 10% | 11% |
| Median household income | $167,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 2.7% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Oakland Township has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop 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 Oakland Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw29 mi Stadium & arenaFord Field
29 mi Stadium & arenaComerica Park
32 mi LakeLake Saint Clair
31 mi MuseumThe Henry Ford1.8M visitors a year
29 mi TheatreFox Theatre
28 mi MuseumDetroit Institute of ArtsFord Field: Unknown, CC BY 2.5 · Comerica Park: City of Detroit, Public domain · Lake Saint Clair: Copernicus Sentinel-2, ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 igo · The Henry Ford: Alvintrusty, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fox Theatre: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Detroit Institute of Arts: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0
6 within 15 miles of the center of Oakland Township
About 6 of every 100 Oakland Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Michigan.
15.2% of the town is conserved land, across 23 parks and preserves.
3 places in Oakland Township on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 notable people were born in Oakland Township.
County in Michigan, United States
Oakland County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a principal county of the Detroit metropolitan area, containing the bulk of Detroit's northern suburbs. Its county seat is Pontiac, and its largest city is Troy. As of the 2020 census, its population was 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 that had over one million residents. It is al…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Oakland Township.
At #16 in MI, it grades higher overall than all 4 graded towns on its borders; Orion Township (A+) comes closest.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oakland Township | #16 | A+ | D | A+ | A+ | A+ |
| Orion Township | #24 | A+ | C− | A | A | A |
| Rochester Hills | #29 | A+ | C− | A− | A+ | A+ |
| Washington Township | #225 | B+ | C− | — | A | B+ |
| Addison Township | #68 | A | C | A+ | A− | A− |
Washington Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Oakland Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Oakland Township grades A+ overall, better than 98% of U.S. towns and #16 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 D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
3 notable people were born here, including William Wallace Phelps and Fran Amos.
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