Largest Cities in Michigan: Ranked by Population

The largest city in Michigan in our data is Detroit, MI, with an estimated 3,506,126 people, followed by Grand Rapids, MI (609,314) and Flint, MI (332,190). This list ranks the top 50 places among the 186 Michigan communities with at least 5,000 residents.

What are the top 50 in Michigan?

How big are the largest cities in Michigan?

Of the 186 places with pages, 12 have more than 100,000 residents, 39 have between 25,000 and 100,000, and 135 have fewer than 25,000. The median place has about 12,408 people. The ten largest places account for about 60% of the combined population of all pages, which shows how concentrated the state's population is across communities. Wayne County contributes 10 of the top 50.

Which counties do the top 50 belong to?

The 50 places on this list are spread across 22 counties of Michigan. Wayne County has 10 (Detroit, Dearborn, Livonia, Westland, Taylor, Dearborn Heights, Lincoln Park, Southgate, A); Oakland County has 10 (South Lyon, Troy, Farmington Hills, Rochester Hills, Southfield, Novi, Pontiac, Royal Oak,); Macomb County has 5 (Warren, Sterling Heights, St. Clair Shores, Roseville, Eastpointe). Counties with several entries are usually centers of a metropolitan area, where one large city is surrounded by many suburbs that each pass the 5,000-resident threshold.

How does Michigan compare with the rest of the country?

The median Michigan place with a page has about 12,408 residents, compared with about 13,459 nationwide, so the state's typical community is about the same size as the national typical place. Detroit, MI ranks 14th among all US places by estimated population in our data. The state has 689 communities in total, of which 186 reach 5,000 residents. See the national ranking of the largest cities for comparison.

Quick answers about Michigan cities

• Which is the largest city in Michigan? Detroit (3,506,126 people).
• How many Michigan cities have more than 100,000 people? 12 in our data.
• How many have 25,000 to 100,000? 39.
• What is the typical size? About 12,408 residents for a place with a page.

How is this ranking made?

The data comes from the SimpleMaps US Cities Database, which gives each place an estimated population and a density in people per square kilometer. We convert density to people per square mile and rank the places with at least 5,000 residents. Boundaries matter: a city that includes large parks or farmland scores lower on density than a compact city of the same size, and population estimates can include areas that share a city's ZIP codes. Read why population figures differ and how density is calculated before you quote a number.

Where to go next

Rankings use dataset estimates, not official counts.