Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Waterford Township is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B overall, 346th of 697 graded towns in Michigan, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is health: it is healthier than 68% of U.S. towns. It also does better than most on incomes: the median household earns $77K. A typical home there costs about $275K, 3.6 years of the Detroit metro’s $77K median household income. Waterford Township’s trail density is 1.2 miles per square mile, above both Michigan’s towns (0.3) and U.S. towns (0.4). On civic life, just 40 of Michigan’s 1,265 towns do worse. Waterford Village Historic District is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Waterford Township beats most towns.
Where Waterford Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Waterford Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 15 old photos and papers going back to 1818 and 7 maps from 1907 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Waterford 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 Waterford Township.
42 miles of trail in 29 parks and preserves. Pontiac Lake State Recreation Area, at 495 acres with 6.9 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Pontiac Lake State Recreation Area | 6.9 mi | 495 |
| 2. Hess-Hathaway Park | 5.4 mi | 165 |
| 3. Drayton Plains Nature Center | 5.2 mi | 139 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Waterford School District. Two of its 24 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pierce Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 733 | B− |
| Oakside Prep AcademyLargest public high schoolGrades K–12 | Grades K–12 | 1,424 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 81% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 21 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Waterford Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most working residents leave Waterford Township for work: only 13% work in town. Since 2011, Waterford Township has added 1,641 jobs, to 20,250 in 2021. At 27 minutes, Waterford Township’s average trip to work is above both the Michigan town median (25 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes).
| Waterford Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 13% | 10% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Waterford Township beats the Michigan average on 7 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 33% of Waterford Township adults sleep under 7 hours.
| Waterford Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 34% | 36% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 25% | 25% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 27% | 23% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 37% | 35% |
| What stands out | Waterford Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 7.4% | 8.7% |
| Fewer adults without reliable transportation | 7.1% | 8.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Waterford 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
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Michigan average. 18% of residents are under 18 in Waterford Township. 30% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across Michigan.
| Waterford Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 18% | 21% | 22% |
| Median age | 42.9 years | 42.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 30% | 26% | 29% |
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.1 points). Across Michigan, 50.4% of residents are women. Median age: women 43.7, men 42.1.
| Waterford Township | MI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.6% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.6% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.5% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.9% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.9% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.4% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.9% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.7% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.5% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.4% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 28.1% | 28% | 26% |
| Some college | 24.9% | 21.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.9% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 20.2% | 19.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9.4% | 12.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The typical Waterford Township home is worth about $275,000, up 2.9% in a year, close to the Michigan typical home.
| Waterford Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 76% | 84% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,111 a month | $1,045 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Reported crimes fell from 749 to 596 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Waterford Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw33 mi Stadium & arenaMichigan Stadium
Big draw28 mi Stadium & arenaFord Field
28 mi Stadium & arenaComerica Park
26 mi MuseumThe Henry Ford1.8M visitors a year
28 mi TheatreFox Theatre
39 mi LakeLake Saint ClairMichigan 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 · Lake Saint Clair: Copernicus Sentinel-2, ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 igo
9 within 15 miles of the center of Waterford Township
About 4 of every 100 Waterford Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
7 notable people were born in Waterford Township.
Charter township in Michigan, United States
Waterford Township (commonly known simply as Waterford) is a charter township in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northern suburb of Detroit, Waterford is located roughly 30 miles (48.3 km) northwest of downtown Detroit. As of the 2024 census, the township had a population of 70,538.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
8 towns share a border with Waterford Township.
West Bloomfield Township next door grades higher for schools (A to Waterford Township’s B−) and lower for cost of living (D to C+).
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waterford Township | #346 | B | C+ | B− | B− | B+ |
| Lake Angelus | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| West Bloomfield Township | #135 | A− | D | A− | A | A |
| Independence Township | #51 | A | C− | A− | A | A |
| Pontiac | #682 | D | B+ | D | D | D |
| White Lake Township | #189 | A− | C− | A | A− | B+ |
| Auburn Hills | #603 | C− | C− | C− | D | A− |
| Orion Township | #24 | A+ | C− | A | A | A |
Lake Angelus isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Waterford Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Waterford Township grades B overall, better than 56% of U.S. towns and #346 of 697 in Michigan. It grades B+ for health, B− for safety and B− for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
7 notable people were born here, including Dylan Larkin and Mike York.
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