Is being in an area of Michigan that’s growing quickly a good thing or a bad thing?
Depends on who you ask.
Some want bigger, more exciting cities like Detroit and Grand Rapids, while others want peace and quiet like in Davison and Kingsford, thank you very much.
But today, we’re going to put opinions aside and look at the cold, hard facts — since 2010, which cities in Michigan have grown the fastest.
After getting knee-deep in the Census’s American Community Survey using Saturday Night Science, we emerged with this set of cities in the Wolverine State that have people climbing over each other to get in.
Michigan gained a net 1,796 people from other states in the year ending July 2025 — 29th in the nation for domestic migration; the full moving statistics breakdown shows who’s coming and going.
48.5% growth since 2010 · 2,114 net new residents
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
46.0% growth since 2010 · 1,809 net new residents
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
28.5% growth since 2010 · 3,839 net new residents
Located in
Oakland County, Michigan
Wixom is a city that lies in the borders of northwest Novi and southwest Commerce Township in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 13,498 at the 2010 census. The city was home to the former Wixom Assembly Plant, which produced the Lincoln LS, the Ford Thunderbird, the Ford GT, and the Lincoln Town Car. The plant closed its doors on May 31, 2007.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
24.5% growth since 2010 · 2,692 net new residents
Located in
Branch County, Michigan
Coldwater is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 10,945. It is the county seat of Branch County, located in the center of the southern border of Michigan.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
24.0% growth since 2010 · 12,894 net new residents
Located in
Oakland County, Michigan
Novi is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the population was 55,224, an increase over the 2000 census count of 47,386. The city is located approximately 25 miles northwest of the center of Detroit, and about 8 miles west of the western border of Detroit. It is about 25 miles northeast of the center of Ann Arbor. The city is located within the boundaries of the survey township of Novi Township. The remaining unincorporated township is only a tiny fraction surrounded by the city.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
22.8% growth since 2010 · 5,149 net new residents
Located in
Wayne County, Michigan
Hamtramck is a city in Wayne County of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 22,423. Hamtramck is surrounded by the city of Detroit except for a small portion of the western border that touches the similarly surrounded city of Highland Park.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
18.6% growth since 2010 · 3,943 net new residents
Located in
Oakland County, Michigan
Auburn Hills is a city in Oakland County, in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 21,412 at the 2010 census. It is home to the world headquarters of Chrysler, The Palace of Auburn Hills, and Oakland University.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
16.7% growth since 2010 · 1,795 net new residents
Located in
Wayne County, Michigan
Melvindale is a city in Wayne County of the U.S. state of Michigan and a Downriver suburb of Detroit. At the 2010 census, the city population was 10,715. Melvindale’s slogan is “The Little City with a Big Heart.”
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
12.5% growth since 2010 · 6,054 net new residents
Located in
Kent County, Michigan
Kentwood is a city in Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 48,707 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
12.3% growth since 2010 · 680 net new residents
Located in
Kent County, Michigan
Rockford is a city in Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 5,719. It is on the Rogue River and is only 14 miles north of Grand Rapids.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Michigan’s statewide median.
On the map
Where Michigan’s growth is happening
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How We Measured The Fastest Growing Cities In the Wolverine State for 2026
To figure out which cities are growing the most, we used Saturday Night Science to look at the growth rates for cities since the beginning of the decade, according to the American Community Survey put out by the census every year. Specifically:
- Current Population
- Population in 2010
- Growth rate from 2010 to Current (the latest available data, which came out in Dec 2024)
We ranked all 153 Michigan cities with a population over 5,000 people from highest growth rate to lowest.
The city with the highest growth rate during this time was crowned the fastest-growing city in the Wolverine State.
And for those of you who are a little rusty with their statistics, you can calculate the growth rate by the following formula: [Current Population – Population 2010] / [Population 2010].
The data has been updated for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the fastest growing cities in Michigan.
The full plate
Fastest Growing Places In Michigan For 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Population 2010 | Growth | Absolute Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Haven | 6,475 | 4,361 | 48.5% | 2,114 |
| 2 | Dundee | 5,744 | 3,935 | 46.0% | 1,809 |
| 3 | Wixom | 17,295 | 13,456 | 28.5% | 3,839 |
| 4 | Coldwater | 13,671 | 10,979 | 24.5% | 2,692 |
| 5 | Novi | 66,717 | 53,823 | 24.0% | 12,894 |
| 6 | Hamtramck | 27,743 | 22,594 | 22.8% | 5,149 |
| 7 | Auburn Hills | 25,105 | 21,162 | 18.6% | 3,943 |
| 8 | Melvindale | 12,554 | 10,759 | 16.7% | 1,795 |
| 9 | Kentwood | 54,296 | 48,242 | 12.5% | 6,054 |
| 10 | Rockford | 6,218 | 5,538 | 12.3% | 680 |
| 11 | Houghton | 8,474 | 7,573 | 11.9% | 901 |
| 12 | Chelsea | 5,426 | 4,875 | 11.3% | 551 |
| 13 | Farmington | 11,504 | 10,380 | 10.8% | 1,124 |
| 14 | Rochester Hills | 77,089 | 70,606 | 9.2% | 6,483 |
| 15 | Dearborn | 107,423 | 98,392 | 9.2% | 9,031 |
| 16 | Birmingham | 21,763 | 19,962 | 9.0% | 1,801 |
| 17 | Walker | 25,386 | 23,290 | 9.0% | 2,096 |
| 18 | Utica | 5,180 | 4,757 | 8.9% | 423 |
| 19 | Troy | 87,898 | 80,987 | 8.5% | 6,911 |
| 20 | Hudsonville | 7,769 | 7,181 | 8.2% | 588 |
| 21 | South Lyon | 11,950 | 11,072 | 7.9% | 878 |
| 22 | Wyoming | 77,353 | 71,816 | 7.7% | 5,537 |
| 23 | Portage | 49,259 | 45,916 | 7.3% | 3,343 |
| 24 | Flat Rock | 10,340 | 9,666 | 7.0% | 674 |
| 25 | East Grand Rapids | 11,445 | 10,734 | 6.6% | 711 |
| 26 | New Baltimore | 12,072 | 11,327 | 6.6% | 745 |
| 27 | Dearborn Heights | 61,771 | 58,066 | 6.4% | 3,705 |
| 28 | Greenville | 8,995 | 8,470 | 6.2% | 525 |
| 29 | Ionia | 12,753 | 12,030 | 6.0% | 723 |
| 30 | Ann Arbor | 122,036 | 115,204 | 5.9% | 6,832 |
| 31 | Harper Woods | 15,116 | 14,296 | 5.7% | 820 |
| 32 | Milan | 5,987 | 5,668 | 5.6% | 319 |
| 33 | Traverse City | 15,593 | 14,772 | 5.6% | 821 |
| 34 | Walled Lake | 7,299 | 6,941 | 5.2% | 358 |
| 35 | Gladstone | 5,253 | 5,000 | 5.1% | 253 |
| 36 | Rochester | 12,934 | 12,312 | 5.1% | 622 |
| 37 | Grandville | 16,356 | 15,598 | 4.9% | 758 |
| 38 | Milford | 6,487 | 6,193 | 4.7% | 294 |
| 39 | Norton Shores | 25,041 | 23,916 | 4.7% | 1,125 |
| 40 | Southfield | 76,236 | 72,949 | 4.5% | 3,287 |
| 41 | Frankenmuth | 5,157 | 4,945 | 4.3% | 212 |
| 42 | Grand Rapids | 198,535 | 190,441 | 4.3% | 8,094 |
| 43 | Farmington Hills | 83,515 | 80,191 | 4.1% | 3,324 |
| 44 | Romulus | 24,831 | 23,874 | 4.0% | 957 |
| 45 | Richmond | 5,855 | 5,630 | 4.0% | 225 |
| 46 | Allegan | 5,172 | 4,986 | 3.7% | 186 |
| 47 | Grosse Pointe Farms | 9,904 | 9,561 | 3.6% | 343 |
| 48 | Howell | 10,021 | 9,685 | 3.5% | 336 |
| 49 | Grand Haven | 10,996 | 10,640 | 3.3% | 356 |
| 50 | Eastpointe | 33,982 | 32,944 | 3.2% | 1,038 |
| 51 | Sterling Heights | 133,573 | 129,687 | 3.0% | 3,886 |
| 52 | Saline | 9,006 | 8,744 | 3.0% | 262 |
| 53 | Brighton | 7,688 | 7,500 | 2.5% | 188 |
| 54 | Swartz Creek | 5,853 | 5,712 | 2.5% | 141 |
| 55 | Beverly Hills | 10,524 | 10,284 | 2.3% | 240 |
| 56 | Mason | 8,249 | 8,074 | 2.2% | 175 |
| 57 | Holland | 34,423 | 33,708 | 2.1% | 715 |
| 58 | Fenton | 11,906 | 11,675 | 2.0% | 231 |
| 59 | Huntington Woods | 6,328 | 6,209 | 1.9% | 119 |
| 60 | Pontiac | 62,104 | 60,982 | 1.8% | 1,122 |
| 61 | Midland | 42,724 | 41,961 | 1.8% | 763 |
| 62 | Three Rivers | 7,943 | 7,802 | 1.8% | 141 |
| 63 | Lincoln Park | 39,257 | 38,595 | 1.7% | 662 |
| 64 | Hastings | 7,520 | 7,395 | 1.7% | 125 |
| 65 | Charlotte | 9,277 | 9,126 | 1.7% | 151 |
| 66 | Belding | 5,960 | 5,864 | 1.6% | 96 |
| 67 | Warren | 137,928 | 135,791 | 1.6% | 2,137 |
| 68 | Niles | 11,803 | 11,655 | 1.3% | 148 |
| 69 | Grosse Pointe | 5,541 | 5,478 | 1.2% | 63 |
| 70 | Center Line | 8,463 | 8,374 | 1.1% | 89 |
| 71 | Petoskey | 5,856 | 5,795 | 1.1% | 61 |
| 72 | Zeeland | 5,665 | 5,610 | 1.0% | 55 |
| 73 | Plymouth | 9,214 | 9,136 | 0.9% | 78 |
| 74 | Cadillac | 10,445 | 10,384 | 0.6% | 61 |
| 75 | Berkley | 15,149 | 15,063 | 0.6% | 86 |
| 76 | Marquette | 21,325 | 21,247 | 0.4% | 78 |
| 77 | Royal Oak | 57,950 | 57,741 | 0.4% | 209 |
| 78 | Alma | 9,396 | 9,384 | 0.1% | 12 |
| 79 | Northville | 6,069 | 6,063 | 0.1% | 6 |
| 80 | Lapeer | 9,082 | 9,077 | 0.1% | 5 |
| 81 | Springfield | 5,269 | 5,267 | 0.0% | 2 |
| 82 | Tecumseh | 8,646 | 8,652 | -0.1% | -6 |
| 83 | St. Louis | 7,367 | 7,382 | -0.2% | -15 |
| 84 | Sturgis | 11,054 | 11,104 | -0.5% | -50 |
| 85 | Grand Ledge | 7,804 | 7,852 | -0.6% | -48 |
| 86 | Battle Creek | 52,374 | 52,762 | -0.7% | -388 |
| 87 | St. Clair | 5,585 | 5,634 | -0.9% | -49 |
| 88 | Fraser | 14,583 | 14,739 | -1.1% | -156 |
| 89 | Marysville | 9,925 | 10,057 | -1.3% | -132 |
| 90 | Woodhaven | 12,690 | 12,862 | -1.3% | -172 |
| 91 | Manistee | 6,275 | 6,362 | -1.4% | -87 |
| 92 | Westland | 83,633 | 84,832 | -1.4% | -1,199 |
| 93 | Roseville | 47,123 | 47,830 | -1.5% | -707 |
| 94 | Grosse Pointe Woods | 16,094 | 16,357 | -1.6% | -263 |
| 95 | Ypsilanti | 19,857 | 20,191 | -1.7% | -334 |
| 96 | Kalamazoo | 73,076 | 74,318 | -1.7% | -1,242 |
| 97 | Eaton Rapids | 5,183 | 5,275 | -1.7% | -92 |
| 98 | Oak Park | 29,318 | 29,892 | -1.9% | -574 |
| 99 | Allen Park | 27,925 | 28,542 | -2.2% | -617 |
| 100 | Kingsford | 5,124 | 5,238 | -2.2% | -114 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS, 2010-current. 153 Michigan cities with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: These Places Grew Up So Fast In Michigan, You Know?
So there you have it, the fastest growing cities in Michigan are led by New Haven which has been growing at a blistering pace this decade relative to other cities and towns around the state.
The fastest-growing cities in Michigan are New Haven, Dundee, Wixom, Coldwater, Novi, Hamtramck, Auburn Hills, Melvindale, Kentwood, and Rockford.
It’ll be interesting to see if these places can keep growing at the same rate over the next couple of years. We’ll be here to let you know! Not sold on Michigan? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Fastest Growing Cities In Michigan FAQs
What is the fastest-growing city in Michigan?
New Haven is the fastest-growing city in Michigan for 2026, based on population change since 2010. Dundee and Wixom are growing nearly as fast.
What are the top 10 fastest-growing cities in Michigan?
The fastest-growing cities in Michigan are New Haven, Dundee, Wixom, Coldwater, Novi, Hamtramck, Auburn Hills, Melvindale, Kentwood, and Rockford. We ranked all 153 cities with more than 5,000 residents.
How do you measure growth?
Growth is the percent change in population from the 2010 Census to the latest American Community Survey estimates. No projections, no vibes — just how many more people actually live there now.
What is the slowest-growing city on the list?
Highland Park posts the smallest population change of the 153 Michigan cities we ranked. Slow growth is not automatically bad news, but the momentum is clearly elsewhere.
Do small towns count in this ranking?
Only places with more than 5,000 residents qualify, which keeps one new subdivision from turning a tiny town into a statistical rocket. 153 Michigan cities cleared that bar this year.
