Farmington Hills is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northwestern suburb of Detroit, Farmington Hills is located roughly from downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 83,986, making it the second-largest community in Oakland County.
Although the two cities have separate services and addresses, Farmington and Farmington Hills are often thought of as the same community. These two cities combined were part of Farmington Township in the time of the Northwest Territory. The community has several historical sites, including the Governor Warner Mansion. Both cities are served by Farmington Public Schools and the Farmington Community Library.
Farmington Hills is the home of the Zekelman Holocaust Center, the only Holocaust memorial in the State of Michigan. The Zekelman Holocaust Center was originally located in neighboring West Bloomfield Township, but has since expanded and moved to its current facility.Farmington Hills Holocaust Memorial Center website, holocaustcenter.org; accessed June 26, 2015.
Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Farmington Hills is bordered by West Bloomfield to the north, Franklin and Southfield to the east, Livonia to the south, and Novi to the west.
History The first white settler in what became Farmington Township was a Quaker from Farmington, New York, named Arthur Power. He purchased land in 1823 and returned in 1824 with a group of families and associates to clear the land. The settlement became known as Quakertown. A post office was established in February 1826 with the name of Farmington. The original post office is still standing today and is a designated historic site. The township of Farmington was organized in 1827, and the settlement was incorporated as the village of Farmington in the winter of 1866–67. A fire on October 9, 1872, destroyed many buildings in the village center. Farmington was incorporated as a city in 1926.
A small settlement was also developed in Clarenceville, in the extreme southeast corner of the township on the boundary with Livonia in Wayne County. Stephen Jennings built a tavern and a general store (now the Botsford Inn) to accommodate travelers on the plank road between Detroit and Howell. The name remains in the Clarenceville School District. Even though the school buildings for Clarenceville are in Livonia in Wayne County, the school district serves a portion of Farmington Hills.
In 1839, a post office named East Farmington was opened, but it closed in 1842.Romig, Michigan Place Names, p. 169
In 1847, a post office named North Farmington was established a mile south of the township line as Wolcott's Corners. After the death of postmaster Chauncey D. Walcott in 1865, the office moved to the township line in the northeast quarter of section 4 (near the intersection of 14 Mile Road and Farmington Road). The post office functioned until September 1902.
Before the remainder of Farmington Township was incorporated as the city of Farmington Hills, there were two other incorporated entities within its boundaries. The first began as a subdivision named Quaker Valley Farms that was incorporated as the village of Quakertown in 1959. The other was Wood Creek Farms, developed in 1937 as a subdivision by George Wellington of Franklin, who named it after a New England estate. It was incorporated as a village in 1957. The villages, together with the remainder of Farmington Township, were incorporated into the City of Farmington Hills in 1973. The City grew rapidly throughout the mid-20th century.
A community called Quakertown North was recognized in the 1970 United States census,1970 Census of Population: United States, Alabama-Mississippi. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2013-09-13 with a population of 7,101 recorded. It was located north of the former municipality of Quakertown. The land area was 1.6 square miles and a housing unit count of 1,803.County and City Data Book. Google Books. Retrieved 2013-09-13. The area, along with neighboring communities merged, to the newly created city of Farmington Hills in 1973.FAQs, City of Farmington Hills, Michigan . Retrieved 2013-09-13. The ZIP code serving the area was 48331.
Economy Farmington Hills is home to the headquarters of numerous major companies, including Gale, Mango Languages, 5-Hour Energy, and The Sharper Image, as well as the United States headquarters of Bosch, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services, and TD Auto Finance. The city was also previously home to the headquarters of Compuware, White Motor Company, A&W Restaurants, and Michigan National Bank.
Nissan's North American technical center is located in Farmington Hills."Nissan in North America ." Nissan. Retrieved on November 6, 2012. "Nissan Technical Center North America 39001 Sunrise Drive P.O. Box 9200 Farmington Hills, MI 48333-9200" and "Nissan Trading Corp., U.S.A. 38505 Country Club Drive, Suite 200 Farmington Hills, MI 48331" The Nissan technical center handled project engineering of vehicle bodies used in North America and Latin America. It also has a small laboratory, where as of 2012, research is being conducted with hydrogen fuel cells. The company planned to add electrical battery and recharging of electrical vehicle research to the laboratory. As of January 2012 the technical center had 800 full-time employees. At that time Nissan planned to hire 150 more engineers to work in the technical center.Szczesny, Joseph. "." The Oakland Press. Tuesday January 10, 2012. Retrieved on November 20, 2012. The technical center opened in November 1991 at a cost of $80 million.Cohen, Sharon. "Metamorphosis in Motown." Associated Press at The Ledger. Thursday December 26, 1991. p. 7C. Retrieved from Google News (95 of 121) on November 19, 2013. In 2005, Nissan added a $14 million design studio at their Farmington Hills campus, and the Nissan AZEAL was the first car to be designed there."Michigan studio to drive new Nissan look." The Detroit News. March 18, 2005. Retrieved on November 6, 2013. ID: det21098142. "The Azeal was the first model designed at Nissan's Farmington Hills studio,[...]"
Hitachi Automotive Systems Americas, Inc. maintains an office in Farmington Hills,"Contact Us." Hitachi Automotive Systems Americas, Inc. Retrieved on September 30, 2013. "Farmington Hills Office 34500 Grand River Avenue Farmington Hills, MI 48335" as does Panasonic Automotive Systems. Lordstown Motors operates a research and development center in Farmington Hills.
According to the city's 2019 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top local employers are:
# Employer # of Employees1Beaumont Hospital2,5002Robert Bosch Corporation1,4003Nissan Technical Center North America1,2004Hitachi1,2005Farmington Public Schools1,1006TRW Automotive Electronics6507Mercedes-Benz Financial Services6508Concentrix5509Gale50010Mahle500
Government and politics Farmington Hills operates under the council-manager form of government. It is governed by a 7-member city council, consisting of a mayor elected to two-year terms, and six councilmembers elected to staggered four-year terms. Councilmembers serve at-large, and are elected in a nonpartisan capacity in odd-numbered years. Mayors are limited to two consecutive terms, while other councilmembers are not subject to term limits. The council elects one of its members to serve as mayor pro tempore. +Current councilmembersCouncilmemberSinceTerm expiresTheresa Rich (mayor)20232025Jon Aldred20232027Jackie Boleware20192027Michael Bridges20082025Randy Bruce20212025Bill Dwyer20232027Valerie Knol20152025 The city council appoints a city manager, who manages the day-to-day operations of the city; a clerk who oversees elections and maintains city codes, ordinances, resolutions and other legal documents; and a city attorney who acts as a legal advisor and representative for all City matters.
Federal, state, and county legislators +United States House of RepresentativesDistrictRepresentativePartySince11thHaley StevensDemocratic2023 +Michigan SenateDistrictSenatorPartySince6thMary CavanaghDemocratic202313thRosemary BayerDemocratic2023 +Michigan House of RepresentativesDistrictRepresentativePartySince18thJason HoskinsDemocratic202319thSamantha SteckloffDemocratic202121st Kelly BreenDemocratic2023 +Oakland County Board of CommissionersDistrictCommissionerPartySince15Gwen MarkhamDemocratic201916William MillerDemocratic2019
Councils and commissions The Mayor's Youth Council is an active teen committee/council who work under the city to help address teen problems and issues. This council helped to build the Riley Skate Park (the largest skate park in the Midwest), and sends delegates to the National League of Cities (NLC) conferences, has articles published in the local newspaper, helps run citywide events, organizes battle of the bands, and hosts their own talk show.
The Commission for Children, Youth and Families, operated in partnership with neighboring Farmington, is dedicated to creating a welcoming community for individuals of all ages and backgrounds. With a special emphasis on volunteerism, community service, and education, the Commission partners with the Multi-Racial Multi-Cultural Commission (MRMC), the Commission on Aging, Farmington Public School District, and the Farmington Public Library to inform residents on a variety of quality-of-life issues designed to promote wellness, access, and knowledge.
Proposed merger with Farmington In 2006, a public meeting was held in Farmington Hills to discuss the possible merger with Farmington as a money-saving venture and also as a way to keep the two communities vibrant. Farmington and Farmington Hills already share several services, such as a school district, a library system, and a district court. However, both cities utilize their own fire departments, and Farmington has a public safety department rather than a police department.
Demographics
According to a 2015 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was $93,274, and the median income for a family was $198,136. Males had a median income of $61,757 versus $39,540 for females. The per capita income for the city was $36,134. Farmington Hills is well known for its luxury estates, its rolling hills, and is also listed on Forbes as one of the most prosperous suburbs in the US, with a household net worth of $725,120. About 2.4% of families and 4.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.2% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.
Racial and ethnic composition +Farmington Hills, Michigan – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 2000Pop 2010Pop 2020% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)67,25054,46649,60381.90%68.30%59.06%Black or African American alone (NH)5,68113,76815,2686.92%17.27%18.18%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)1321391100.16%0.17%0.13%Asian alone (NH)6,1848,06312,8677.53%10.11%15.32%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)1412200.02%0.02%0.02%Other race alone (NH)1451443740.18%0.18%0.45%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)1,4941,6043,1041.82%2.01%3.70%Hispanic or Latino (any race)1,2111,5442,6401.47%1.94%3.14%Total82,11179,74083,986100.00%100.00%100.00%
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Farmington Hills had a population of 83,986 and a population density of . The median age was 41.6 years. 18.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 93.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 91.9 males age 18 and over.