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Data on this report is based on areas within the legal city boundary, outlined in black on the map. Any additional neighborhoods shown on the map are associated with the city by name and are included for reference only.

Ferndale, MI
Real Estate & Demographic Data






Ferndale profile


Living in Ferndale



Ferndale is a medium-sized city located in the state of Michigan. With a population of 19,083 people and eight associated neighborhoods, Ferndale is the 70th largest community in Michigan. Ferndale has a large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic cities in the country.

Of important note, Ferndale is also a city of artists. Ferndale has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Ferndale’s character.

Also of interest is that Ferndale has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

A relatively large number of people in Ferndale telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 25.38% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

Ferndale, while not large, also appears to be attractive to some younger, educated professionals, who help shape the character of the city.

In addition to being popular with young singles, Ferndale is also home to many people who can be described as "urban sophisticates". While both of these categories describe educated professionals, urban sophisticates are quite a different demographic. Urban sophisticates are people who are both educated and wealthy, and thus tend to be older, richer, and more established than young professionals. "Urban sophisticates" is not just about being educated and well-off financially: it is a point of view and state of mind, one that you might call 'urbaneness'. But such people can and do regularly live in small towns, suburbs and rural areas, as well as in big cities. They read, support the arts and high-end shops, and love travel.

Ferndale is a small city, and as such doesn't have a public transit system that people use to get to and from their jobs every day.

If knowledge is power, Ferndale is a pretty powerful place. 56.52% of the adults in Ferndale have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns.

The per capita income in Ferndale in 2022 was $58,201, which is wealthy relative to Michigan and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $232,804 for a family of four. However, Ferndale contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Ferndale is a somewhat ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Ferndale home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Ferndale residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Ferndale include German, Irish, English, Polish, and Italian.

The most common language spoken in Ferndale is English. Other important languages spoken here include Polish and Spanish.