Bloomfield Hills is a city in Oakland County, Michigan. It is a northern suburb of Detroit, located along the Woodward Corridor. The city is about twenty miles (32 km) northwest of downtown Detroit and is mostly surrounded by Bloomfield Township. According to the 2020 United States census, the city had a population of 4,470.

History

On June 28, 1820, Oakland County was split into two townships: Pontiac Township and Bloomfield Township. Bloomfield Township covered the southern part of the county, which included areas such as West Bloomfield Township, Royal Oak, and Southfield. What is now Bloomfield Hills was farmland until the start of the 1900s, when wealthy residents from Detroit purchased land there. The area became a village in 1927, and in 1929, residents voted to become a city to remain independent from the growing city of Birmingham.

Culture

Bloomfield Hills is home to the National Historic Landmark Cranbrook Educational Community and other historic sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In popular culture, Bloomfield Hills was the setting for the 2005 film The Upside of Anger. In the 2002 film 8 Mile, Eminem teases "Doc" for attending Cranbrook Kingswood, which is not seen as cool or impressive in the movie's setting. Bloomfield Hills is the hometown of the comic book character Trance. Some scenes in Out of Sight with Jennifer Lopez and George Clooney were filmed at a private home in Bloomfield Hills. (In the novel by Elmore Leonard, which the film is based on, the most important street in Bloomfield Hills is described as "Vaughan Road, lined with gold.") Jimmy Hoffa was last seen at the former Machus Red Fox restaurant in nearby Bloomfield Township. The novel Gilda Joyce: The Ladies of the Lake is set in a private school in Bloomfield.

The area includes landmark churches, such as Kirk in the Hills Presbyterian Church on Long Lake Road (Bloomfield Township) and Christ Church Cranbrook Episcopal, which was dedicated in 1928 as part of George Booth’s plan for the Cranbrook Educational Community. The Congregational Church of Birmingham United Church of Christ was founded in Birmingham but moved to its current location at 1000 Cranbrook Road (near Woodward Avenue) in Bloomfield Hills in 1966. St. Hugo of the Hills Roman Catholic Church was built by Theodore F. MacManus and his wife to honor their children who passed away. Construction of the church took place from 1931 to 1936, with approval from Bishop Michael J. Gallagher, and it was designed by Arthur DesRossiers. Other churches in the area include St. George Greek Orthodox, Bloomfield Hills Baptist, Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church (ELCA) on Adams Road (Bloomfield Township), the Detroit Michigan Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the Birmingham Unitarian Church on Woodward Avenue.

Economy

Many companies are based in Bloomfield Hills, MI. These include O2 Investment Partners, Straightaway Tire and Auto, Acme Group, which includes Acme Mills, Great Lakes Filters, and Fairway Products. Other companies headquartered in Bloomfield Hills, MI are Taubman Centers, TriMas Corp., Larson Realty Group, Princeton Enterprises, TIP Capital, Bloomfield Hills Bancorp, Reverie, BlackEagle Partners, Gregory J. Schwartz & Co., Inc., Alidade Capital, and Penske Automotive Group.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city covers a total area of 5.04 square miles (13.05 square kilometers). Out of this area, 4.96 square miles (12.85 square kilometers) is land, and 0.08 square miles (0.21 square kilometers) is water.

Demographics

As of the 2005–2009 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, the city had 3,774 people, 1,570 households, and about 1,382 families. The population density was 796.4 people per square mile (307.5 per square kilometer). There were 1,628 housing units at an average density of 329.1 per square mile (127.1 per square kilometer). The racial makeup of the city was 89.1% White, 5.4% Asian, 4.3% Black, 0.8% from other races, and 0.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race made up 2.2% of the population.

As of the 2010 census, the city had 3,869 people, 1,489 households, and 1,116 families. The population density was 780.0 people per square mile (301.2 per square kilometer). There were 1,659 housing units at an average density of 334.5 per square mile (129.2 per square kilometer). The racial makeup of the city was 87.3% White, 6.7% Asian, 4.1% African American, 0.1% Native American, 0.3% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race made up 1.5% of the population.

There were 1,489 households, of which 25.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.7% were married couples living together, 4.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 25.1% were non-families. 21.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44, and the average family size was 2.84.

The median age in the city was 54.1 years. 19.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 4.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 11.8% were from 25 to 44; 33.5% were from 45 to 64; and 29.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.0% male and 51.0% female.

As of the 2000 census, there were 1,520 households, out of which 26.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 71.9% were married couples living together, 3.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.2% were non-families. 21.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45, and the average family size was 2.84.

In the city, 19.7% of the population was under the age of 18, 3.8% was between 18 and 24, 13.8% between 25 and 44, 39.0% between 45 and 64, and 23.8% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 52 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $170,790, and the median income for a family was over $200,000. Males had a median income of $100,000 versus $52,273 for females. The per capita income for the city was $104,920. About 1.8% of families and 3.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.3% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 and over.

Bloomfield Hills is one of the wealthiest cities with over 1,000 people in the United States and is one of the wealthiest places in Michigan. 39% of owner-occupied homes had a value of over $1,000,000, and 32.1% had a value between $500,000 and $999,999.

Education

Most of the city is served by the Bloomfield Hills School District (BHSD), a public school district located in nearby Bloomfield Township. The district includes the City of Bloomfield Hills, most of Bloomfield Township, and small parts of nearby areas such as Auburn Hills, Troy, and West Bloomfield Township. The only high school in the district is Bloomfield Hills High School, which was created in 2013 when Andover High School and Lahser High School merged.

The Bloomfield Hills district manages the International Academy, a free public high school in Bloomfield Township. This school serves students from ten different school districts, including some from the Bloomfield Hills School District.

A small part of Bloomfield Hills is in the Birmingham City School District.

The area also has many private schools. Within the city limits are Cranbrook Schools, a nonsectarian school; Cranbrook Academy of Art; St. Hugo of the Hills Catholic School, which opened in 1940; and the Roeper School.

Nearby, in Bloomfield Township and Beverly Hills, there are two single-sex Catholic schools: Brother Rice High School for boys and Marian High School for girls. These areas also include Detroit Country Day School and Academy of the Sacred Heart. Bloomfield Township is home to Bloomfield Christian School, Michigan’s only ACCS accredited Classical Christian school.

The Japanese School of Detroit was started in 1973 and first held classes at Cranbrook School Brookside.

Bloomfield Hills is home to the Cranbrook Academy of Art, a top graduate school for architecture, art, and design. It was founded by the Booths in 1932. By 1984, the New York Times noted that "the effect of Cranbrook and its graduates and faculty on the physical environment of this country has been profound… Cranbrook, surely more than any other institution, has a right to think of itself as synonymous with contemporary American design."

The main offices of Oakland Community College are located in Bloomfield Hills.