Although the actual city of Detroit, Michigan is located in Wayne County, Oakland County is part of the troubled Detroit metropolitan area; and although Oakland County has shared in the recent economic hardships brought on by troubles at General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, it has fared better than Detroit and Flint, as its economy is more diverse and less reliant on manufacturing jobs.
In fact Oakland County’s knowledge-based economic initiative, nicknamed “Automation Alley,” is one of the largest employment centers for engineering and engineering-related jobs in the United States. Although all three automotive companies are major employers within southeast Michigan and have a significant presence within Oakland County, the county’s white-collar cities of Troy, Southfield, Farmington Hills and Auburn Hills also enjoy a wide range of Fortune 500 companies.
The cities of Royal Oak – home of the Detroit Zoological Park – and Ferndale attract many young people to their older, bohemian-style downtowns, which offer trendy restaurants, shops and night clubs.
Oakland County is also home to Oakland University, or OU. Located in Rochester, OU is a research university with an enrollment of more than 18,000 students. Rated as one of the country’s 82 Doctoral/Research universities by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, OU is in the process of establishing a medical school on its campus in collaboration with William Beaumont Hospital. The medical school will be the fourth in the state of Michigan to offer the MD degree. The university has also partnered with The Thomas M. Cooley Law School to provide a legal curriculum for the school.
According to the 2010 census, the population was counted at 1,202,362. The county seat is Pontiac. The median income for a household in the county was $61,907.
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