Royal Oak is a city of 57,950 people in Michigan. 64% of adults hold a bachelor's degree, against 36% nationally. That puts it in the top 7% of US cities for household income. That is roughly 39% ahead of the Michigan median. Density works out to 4,914 people per square mile. The foreign-born share is 7%.
At a glance
Wealthier
median household income $101,109, above the US median
US median: $82,259
Younger
median age 36.9
US median: 38.9
More educated
64% hold a bachelor's degree
US average: 36%
Stable housing
home values roughly flat, inflation adjusted
US median home: $376,019
Unique to this place
What stands out about Royal Oak
What changed most since 1990
Adults with a bachelor's degree28.4% → 64.1%(+35.7 pts)US over the same years: +15.3 pts
Population65,410 → 57,950(−11%)US over the same years: +35%
Hispanic share1.1% → 4.6%(+3.5 pts)US over the same years: +9.9 pts
Royal Oak's population equals 4.5% of Oakland County's. Its number of foreign-born residents equals 2.2% of the county's. Its number of people who work from home equals 7.4% of the county's.
Shares are "alone or in combination": a person with both Medicare and Medicaid counts in each, so categories overlap and do not sum to 100%.
Section 09 · Service history
Veterans
Veterans by period of service, 2024
Gulf War (2001 or later)19.2%(317)
US avg: 26.4%
Gulf War (1990s)20%(331)
US avg: 24.3%
Vietnam era39.2%(648)
US avg: 33.1%
Korean War3.5%(58)
US avg: 4.5%
World War II0%(0)
US avg: 1%
Share of the 1,655 veterans here. A veteran who served across eras counts in each, so shares can total more than 100%. Peacetime-only service is included in the total but not shown as an era.
BAR + DOT: THIS PLACE · TICK: US AVERAGE
Over time
Royal Oak, decade by decade
Royal Oak population, inflation-adjusted income and home value, education, and diversity by year
Year
Population
Median household income
Median home value
Bachelor's degree+
Diversity score
1990
65,410
$88,407
$179,765
28.4%
7.0
2000
60,062
$95,185
$272,155
39.9%
14.6
2010
57,236
$86,579
$255,059
47.7%
25.5
2020
58,211
$100,834
$286,768
59.5%
34.7
2024
57,950
$101,109
$328,700
64.1%
43.1
Census years come from the decennial census and the latest year from the American Community Survey, so part of any change between those two rows can reflect the different surveys. Dollar figures are adjusted for inflation to 2024 dollars; a figure ending in "+" was at the Census Bureau's reporting cap that year. The diversity score runs from 0 to 100; see how it's calculated.
