Commerce Township, Michigan

Commerce Charter Township
Charter township
Charter Township of Commerce

Location of Commerce Township within Oakland County, Michigan.
Commerce Charter Township

Location within the state of Michigan

Coordinates: 42°34′46″N 83°29′16″W / 42.57944°N 83.48778°W / 42.57944; -83.48778Coordinates: 42°34′46″N 83°29′16″W / 42.57944°N 83.48778°W / 42.57944; -83.48778
Country United States
State Michigan
County Oakland
Area
  Total 29.8 sq mi (77.3 km2)
  Land 27.6 sq mi (71.4 km2)
  Water 2.3 sq mi (5.9 km2)
Elevation 909 ft (277 m)
Population (2010)
  Total 40,186
  Density 1,300/sq mi (520/km2)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
  Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes 48382, 48390
Area code(s) 248
FIPS code 26-17640[1]
GNIS feature ID 1626125[2]
Website commercetwp.com

Commerce Charter Township is a charter township of Oakland County, and suburb of Detroit, located in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 40,186 at the 2010 census.[3] The terrain is rolling hills with large expanses of flat farmland and suburban development. The Huron River runs mostly north-south through the township. Commerce was formerly a weekend and summer resort for Detroiters because of the area's small inland lakes and peaceful seclusion, but due to recent development the cottages are now all permanent homes. There has been a sharp increase in population in the last few years, mostly on or near the several lakes and golf courses. Much of Proud Lake State Recreation Area is within the township. The northern terminus of M-5 is in Commerce. The busy highway would have continued north to Interstate 75, but because of the area's high property value and the many lakes that dot the landscape such a project would have been far too costly.

In 1994, David Hahn, a 17-year-old Eagle Scout, constructed a makeshift nuclear reactor in his backyard in Commerce Township, exposing himself and his neighbors—and maybe even as many as 40,000 people in the area—to radioactive materials, and drawing the attention of the EPA. The event became a short-lived media sensation, and a book by Ken Silverstein called The Radioactive Boy Scout was written about the incident and published in 2004.

Communities

Most of the Township's southern areas are covered by the following cities.

Additionally, there are 4 unincorporated communities in the Township:

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 29.8 square miles (77 km2), of which 27.6 square miles (71 km2) is land and 2.3 square miles (6.0 km2), or 7.61%, is water.[8]

Demographics

As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 34,764 people, 12,379 households, and 9,754 families residing in the township. The population density was 1,261.1 per square mile (486.9/km²). There were 12,924 housing units at an average density of 468.8 per square mile (181.0/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 96.73% White, 0.50% African American, 0.19% Native American, 1.31% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.32% from other races, and 0.95% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.16% of the population.

There were 12,379 households out of which 42.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.4% were married couples living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.2% were non-families. 17.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.19.

In the township the population was spread out with 29.5% under the age of 18, 5.6% from 18 to 24, 34.1% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 7.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 101.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.0 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $72,702, and the median income for a family was $79,976. Males had a median income of $61,087 versus $36,125 for females. The per capita income for the township was $33,104. About 2.4% of families and 3.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.8% of those under age 18 and 4.4% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The two school districts within the boundaries of Commerce Township are Walled Lake Consolidated Schools and Huron Valley Schools.[9] [10] Walled Lake Northern, Walled Lake Central and Walled Lake Western High Schools are all located within the township.

References

Notes

Sources

External links

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