Ferndale

Living in Ferndale

Ferndale occupies an unusual niche in the Oakland County market — a genuinely walkable urban small city compressed into roughly four square miles directly north of Detroit. The downtown, anchored at 9 Mile and Woodward, has the density and street life of a much larger town, with independent restaurants, bars, and shops within easy reach of nearly every neighborhood.

The food and beverage scene is a real draw: Public House, One-Eyed Betty’s, Pop’s for Italian, Imperial, and Axle Brewing Company are among the names that pull diners from across the region. The Rust Belt Market — a weekend indoor market in a converted big-box — and a growing collection of public murals give the city a distinct creative identity that newer suburbs simply do not have.

Housing in Ferndale is dominated by tidy post-war bungalows, Cape Cods, and brick single-families on compact lots — historically among the more affordable entry points for a walkable Oakland County address. Demand from buyers priced out of Birmingham and Royal Oak has driven steady appreciation, and well-renovated bungalows now trade quickly.

Ferndale has a long-standing reputation as one of Michigan’s most progressive and LGBTQ+-welcoming communities — in 2007 it elected Craig Covey, one of the state’s first openly gay mayors. The city sits on the Woodward Dream Cruise route and shares a border with the Detroit Zoo in Royal Oak, two anchors that shape the rhythm of the year here.