These Are The 10 Most Successful Cities In Michigan

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What is success? Is it the amount of money you have in your bank account, at any given point? Is it that feeling you get after delivering a killer presentation, or even a pretty decent bar joke?

Or is it something biggerâsomething wholly unnamable, undefinable, immeasurable, and totally subjective?

Probably so.

But here at Zippia, we like things that we can neatly measure and then expound upon. So yes, with the Power of Math, we have determined the unarguable, totally objective 10 most successful cities in Michigan. And here they are:

If you are trying to argue already with our unarguable list, keep reading. Thereâs a method to this madness.

For more MI reading, check out:

How We Determined The Most Successful Cities In Michigan

The first thing that comes to most capitalist minds in terms of success isâmoney. After all, rich people must be successful, right?

Meh. Maybe. But we think thereâs a bit more that goes into it than that. So we looked at this set of criteria from the 2010-2014 American Community Survey:

1. Huntington Woods

Source: Wikipedia

Population: 6,310Median Income: $113,750
Poverty Level: 2.4%
Unemployment Rate: 3.3%

2. Birmingham

Population: 20,382Median Income: $107,161
Poverty Level: 3.0%
Unemployment Rate: 4.3%

3. East Grand Rapids

Population: 10,999Median Income: $107,824
Poverty Level: 2.3%
Unemployment Rate: 5.2%

4. Beverly Hills

Population: 10,368Median Income: $103,011
Poverty Level: 3.3%
Unemployment Rate: 6.1%

5. Grosse Pointe Park

Population: 11,412Median Income: $97,083
Poverty Level: 5.2%
Unemployment Rate: 5.7%

6. Saline

Population: 9,000Median Income: $67,180
Poverty Level: 2.9%
Unemployment Rate: 5.3%

7. Novi

Population: 56,887Median Income: $80,299
Poverty Level: 6.1%
Unemployment Rate: 6.0%

8. Rochester

Population: 12,872Median Income: $76,133
Poverty Level: 6.3%
Unemployment Rate: 6.0%

9. New Baltimore

Population: 12,144Median Income: $80,762
Poverty Level: 7.6%
Unemployment Rate: 5.5%

10. Grosse Pointe Farms

Population: 9,371Median Income: $113,969
Poverty Level: 4.5%
Unemployment Rate: 8.0%

Measuring Success

If youâre still looking at this post thinking, âSurely, such superficial methods canât possibly measure a city, or rather, the individuals that make up that cityâs success!â well, youâre probably right.

But we like to measure things, and when it comes to success, we feel pretty successful in our approach. Congrats to Huntington Woods and our winners. And for those who didnât make the cut, well, better luck next year.

Detailed List Of The Most Successful Cities In Michigan

Rank	City	Median Income	Poverty Rate	Unemployment Rate
1	Huntington Woods	$113,750	2.4%	3.3%
2	Birmingham	$107,161	3.0%	4.3%
3	East Grand Rapids	$107,824	2.3%	5.2%
4	Beverly Hills	$103,011	3.3%	6.1%
5	Grosse Pointe Park	$97,083	5.2%	5.7%
6	Saline	$67,180	2.9%	5.3%
7	Novi	$80,299	6.1%	6.0%
8	Rochester	$76,133	6.3%	6.0%
9	New Baltimore	$80,762	7.6%	5.5%
10	Grosse Pointe Farms	$113,969	4.5%	8.0%
11	Grosse Pointe Woods	$89,513	4.1%	7.8%
12	Brighton	$60,346	7.3%	4.9%
13	Rochester Hills	$80,806	6.2%	7.2%
14	Plymouth	$67,350	6.4%	6.2%
15	Farmington Hills	$71,061	7.6%	5.9%
16	Troy	$84,325	6.5%	7.4%
17	Royal Oak	$64,873	7.7%	5.8%
18	Livonia	$69,386	5.6%	7.6%
19	Northville	$91,270	5.1%	9.1%
20	Farmington	$58,908	6.1%	7.3%
21	Berkley	$70,625	7.3%	7.3%
22	Chelsea	$57,163	8.7%	5.7%
23	Grosse Pointe	$100,688	3.9%	10.3%
24	Milan	$64,000	6.9%	7.9%
25	Mason	$52,365	8.3%	5.2%
26	South Lyon	$55,889	7.4%	7.0%
27	Grand Ledge	$53,654	6.7%	7.0%
28	Woodhaven	$58,609	8.9%	7.5%
29	Grandville	$53,490	9.2%	6.3%
30	St. Joseph	$52,772	9.2%	6.9%
31	Allen Park	$60,655	6.5%	10.0%
32	Rockford	$48,641	11.0%	4.9%
33	Milford	$69,472	7.9%	10.6%
34	Hudsonville	$53,899	9.6%	8.5%
35	Portage	$55,050	10.9%	8.2%
36	Clawson	$54,021	8.4%	9.6%
37	Tecumseh	$48,381	8.9%	7.6%
38	Walker	$49,587	11.8%	6.9%
39	Trenton	$53,257	8.9%	9.6%
40	Marysville	$53,786	10.4%	9.1%
41	Sterling Heights	$58,800	12.1%	10.2%
42	Wixom	$47,353	13.8%	6.9%
43	Kentwood	$49,201	11.8%	8.4%
44	St. Clair Shores	$53,252	10.2%	10.2%
45	Fraser	$51,230	8.2%	10.7%
46	Marshall	$43,809	10.5%	7.7%
47	Riverview	$49,583	10.4%	9.5%
48	Iron Mountain	$39,415	13.3%	5.2%
49	Auburn Hills	$52,949	12.7%	9.9%
50	Midland	$50,433	15.6%	7.7%
51	Garden City	$51,461	9.6%	11.4%
52	Southgate	$48,924	10.5%	9.9%
53	Norton Shores	$50,266	10.4%	10.7%
54	Howell	$43,482	16.4%	6.9%
55	Ann Arbor	$56,835	26.9%	7.1%
56	Holly	$56,899	11.2%	12.7%
57	Wyandotte	$51,074	11.4%	10.9%
58	Traverse City	$47,836	16.4%	8.0%
59	Richmond	$47,331	13.4%	9.4%
60	Flat Rock	$55,038	12.3%	12.5%
61	St. Clair	$50,980	14.0%	10.5%
62	Ferndale	$50,590	14.6%	10.5%
63	Wyoming	$46,672	14.9%	9.4%
64	Grand Haven	$44,235	8.4%	12.0%
65	Petoskey	$40,161	13.2%	8.4%
66	Kingsford	$40,000	12.8%	8.6%
67	Allegan	$41,368	15.5%	8.4%
68	Walled Lake	$46,098	13.3%	10.5%
69	Holland	$44,619	18.7%	8.6%
70	Zeeland	$40,561	12.6%	10.2%
71	Swartz Creek	$49,181	12.9%	12.6%
72	Harper Woods	$48,111	12.1%	12.8%
73	Fenton	$42,153	14.5%	10.1%
74	St. Johns	$40,331	15.1%	9.0%
75	Flushing	$51,118	15.1%	12.8%
76	Monroe	$45,037	18.8%	9.8%
77	Ishpeming	$33,864	22.2%	5.4%
78	Charlotte	$43,163	14.3%	11.5%
79	Westland	$43,903	15.1%	11.5%
80	Southfield	$49,548	15.2%	13.5%
81	Grand Blanc	$47,373	18.3%	12.5%
82	Oak Park	$47,292	15.6%	14.2%
83	Dearborn Heights	$44,440	17.2%	13.2%
84	Hastings	$43,403	19.4%	12.5%
85	Dearborn	$46,776	26.5%	11.7%
86	Warren	$43,500	18.5%	13.2%
87	Roseville	$40,646	15.9%	13.3%
88	Madison Heights	$40,820	19.2%	12.2%
89	Coldwater	$34,260	19.2%	10.3%
90	Menominee	$34,836	17.6%	11.4%
91	Romulus	$44,525	17.0%	16.5%
92	Marquette	$35,719	31.7%	8.7%
93	Davison	$33,393	16.7%	12.3%
94	Springfield	$37,038	22.4%	11.8%
95	Lincoln Park	$39,871	17.5%	13.8%
96	Grand Rapids	$39,913	25.2%	12.0%
97	Manistee	$35,587	19.0%	12.7%
98	Taylor	$41,742	18.4%	16.4%
99	Alpena	$32,377	24.0%	10.1%
100	Cadillac	$34,106	21.8%	11.9%

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Author

Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.

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