Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Few places in the country grade higher. Wolverine Lake earns an A, ranked 48th of 697 in Michigan. Crime is low: it reports less per resident than 96% of U.S. towns, the median household earns $92K, and its public schools beat 88% of Michigan towns on state tests and graduation. The exception is cost of living: homes are expensive, about $288K for a typical one and 3.8 times the Detroit metro’s $77K median household income. Wolverine Lake’s median rent is $2,051 a month, above both Michigan’s towns ($1,045 a month) and U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). On health, just 116 of Michigan’s 1,279 towns do better. The biggest park or preserve is Clara Miller Park, at 29 acres.
Where Wolverine Lake beats most towns.
Where Wolverine Lake’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 Wolverine Lake is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for safety (better than 96% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 13%), so the A overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,404 in 1960, 4,544 in 2020. The archive holds 3 old photos and papers going back to 2005 and 7 maps from 1907 on.
Explore the history →Who provides power, water and the rest in Wolverine Lake, 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 Wolverine Lake.
Wolverine Lake has less tooth loss than most of Michigan and sees little violent crime, but it has lost a quarter or more of its jobs in ten years.
Violent crime is rare: 1 reported in 2025, 0.2 per 1,000 residents.
The violent crime rate in Wolverine Lake is 0.2 per 1,000 residents.
| Wolverine Lake | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.2 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.7 per 1,000 residents | 8 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
1.4 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. Wolverine Lake’s trail density is 0.8 miles per square mile.
| Wolverine Lake | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.9% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Clara Miller Park | 0.6 mi | 29 |
| 2. Wolverine Lake Access Site | — | 3 |
| 3. Promenade Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its widest gap with Michigan is tooth loss: 5.3% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 10.2% statewide.
Wolverine Lake beats the Michigan average on 14 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 30% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Wolverine Lake.
| Wolverine Lake | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 34% | 36% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 25% | 25% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 37% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Wolverine Lake | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.3% | 10.2% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.3% | 15.4% |
| Fewer women getting mammograms | 71.1% | 76.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 79% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Jobs based here fell from 1,694 in 2011 to 648.
Most working residents leave Wolverine Lake for work: only 1% work in town. Since 2011, Wolverine Lake has lost 1,046 jobs, to 648 in 2021. 5.8% of Wolverine Lake residents live below the poverty line.
| Wolverine Lake | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 15% | 10% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.2% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 5.8% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $92,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Wolverine Lake has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 16° and about 36 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Adults 35 to 64 are 42% of residents (38% statewide). 37% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across Michigan.
| Wolverine Lake | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 37% | 26% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 20% | 21% | 22% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.6 points. Across Michigan, 50.4% of residents are women. Median age: women 41.5, men 42.4.
| Wolverine Lake | MI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.9% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.8% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.8% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.2% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 16.4% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 7.6% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 18.4% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.6% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.3% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.4% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 22.3% | 28% | 26% |
| Some college | 26.4% | 21.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.4% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 26% | 19.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.4% | 12.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,500, single groups can be off by several points
62.9% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 50.4% across Michigan.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Wolverine Lake. Close and well known come first.
Big draw24 mi Stadium & arenaMichigan Stadium
Big draw27 mi Stadium & arenaFord Field
27 mi Stadium & arenaComerica Park
22 mi MuseumThe Henry Ford1.8M visitors a year
27 mi TheatreFox Theatre7 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 Wolverine Lake
About 6 of every 100 Wolverine Lake residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Michigan.
Village in Michigan, United States
Wolverine Lake is a village in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, Wolverine Lake had a population of 4,544. The village is located within Commerce Township.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Wolverine Lake.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wolverine Lake | #48 | A | D | A+ | A | A− |
| Walled Lake | #192 | A− | C | B+ | A | B+ |
| Commerce Township | #85 | A | C− | A− | A | A |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Wolverine Lake grades A overall, better than 93% of U.S. towns and #48 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. The typical home is worth about $288,000, 9% above the Michigan typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
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