Oakland County, Michigan
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Oakland County is a county located in the state of Michigan. As of 2000, the population is 1,194,156. Its county seat is Pontiac6. Most of the county is considered to be a part of the Metro Detroit area.
Oakland County is the third wealthiest county in the world with its technology center coined "Automation Alley" as a white-collar job center. For this reason it is now considered to be the new "OC" (the implicit meaning of the acronym OC), due to surpassing per capita wealth in counties. The old OC, Orange County, California, is now number five and dropping due to a lag in new employment opportunities. A large influx of German technology investment in scheduled to become a new addition to the OC's economy in 2005 and 2006.
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Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,352 km² (908 mi²). 2,260 km² (873 mi²) of it is land and 92 km² (35 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 3.91% water.
The city of Detroit borders Oakland County to the south. The southern boundary is the 8 Mile Road, which is widely known as a former boundary for racial segregation.
Adjacent counties
- Macomb County (east)
- Livingston County (west)
- Wayne County (southeast)
- Washtenaw County (southwest)
- Lapeer County (northeast)
- Genesee County (northwest)
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there are 1,194,156 people, 471,115 households, and 315,175 families residing in the county. The population density is 528/km² (1,369/mi²). There are 492,006 housing units at an average density of 218/km² (564/mi²). The racial makeup of the county is 82.75% White, 10.11% Black or African American, 0.27% Native American, 4.14% Asian American, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.84% from other races, and 1.86% from two or more races. 2.43% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 471,115 households out of which 32.40% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.20% are married couples living together, 9.50% have a female householder with no husband present, and 33.10% are non-families. 27.30% of all households are made up of individuals and 8.50% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.51 and the average family size is 3.09.
In the county the population is spread out with 25.20% under the age of 18, 7.20% from 18 to 24, 32.40% from 25 to 44, 23.90% from 45 to 64, and 11.30% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 37 years. For every 100 females there are 95.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 92.70 males.
The median income for a household in the county is $61,907, and the median income for a family is $75,540. Males have a median income of $55,833 versus $35,890 for females. The per capita income for the county is $32,534. 5.50% of the population and 3.80% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 6.50% of those under the age of 18 and 6.50% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Cities, villages, and townships
Cities
- Auburn Hills
- Berkley
- Birmingham
- Bloomfield Hills
- Clarkston
- Clawson
- Farmington Hills
- Farmington
- Ferndale
- Hazel Park
- Huntington Woods
- Keego Harbor
- Lake Angelus
- Lathrup Village
- Madison Heights
- Northville
- Novi
- Oak Park
- Orchard Lake Village
- Pleasant Ridge
- Pontiac
- Rochester Hills
- Rochester
- Royal Oak
- South Lyon
- Southfield
- Sylvan Lake
- Troy
- Walled Lake
- Wixom
Villages
- Beverly Hills
- Bingham Farms
- Franklin
- Holly
- Lake Orion
- Leonard
- Milford
- Ortonville
- Oxford
- Wolverine Lake
Townships
- Addison Township
- Bloomfield Charter Township
- Brandon Township
- Commerce Charter Township
- Groveland Township
- Highland Charter Township
- Holly Township
- Independence Charter Township
- Lyon Charter Township
- Milford Charter Township
- Novi Township
- Oakland Charter Township
- Orion Charter Township
- Oxford Charter Township
- Rose Township
- Royal Oak Charter Township
- Southfield Township
- Springfield Township
- Waterford Charter Township
- West Bloomfield Charter Township
- White Lake Township
External link
- Oakland County (http://www.co.oakland.mi.us/)
- An Account of Oakland County (http://www.hti.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=micounty;cc=micounty;sid=b92ef34ac7eae292063c88e0fdcc9d82;q1=Oakland;view=toc;idno=arx1007.0001.001) edited by Lillian Drake Avery. Dayton, Ohio: National Historical Association, Inc., [1925?]
