The 10 Whitest Cities In Michigan For 2023


The whitest cities in Michigan are Marysville and Gladstone for 2023 based on Saturday Night Science.

Whitest cities in Michigan research summary. We analyzed Michigan’s most recent Census data to determine the whitest cities in Michigan based on the percentage of White residents. Here are the results of our analysis:

  • The whitest city in Michigan is Marysville based on the most recent Census data.

  • Marysville is 96.52% White.

  • The least White city in Michigan is Benton Harbor.

  • Benton Harbor is 8.66% White.

  • Michigan is 74.0% White.

  • Michigan is the 22nd Whitest state in the United States.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


Today, we are looking at the whitest places in Michigan. We won’t measure the number of Whole Foods or Pottery Barns per capita. Instead, we’ll focus on the Census data’s report of race by place in Michigan. In particular, we ranked each place in Michigan by the percentage of white people.

So where are the whitest cities you can live in Michigan?

After analyzing cities with populations greater than 5,000, we came up with this list as the whitest cities in Michigan for 2023.

Here are the 10 whites places in Michigan for 2023:

  1. Marysville
  2. Gladstone
  3. Marshall
  4. St. Clair
  5. Cadillac
  6. Alpena
  7. Menominee
  8. Iron Mountain
  9. East Grand Rapids
  10. Owosso

What is the whitest city in Michigan for 2023? According to the most recent census data Marysville ranks as the whitest. If you’re wondering, Benton Harbor is the least white city of all those we measured.

Read on below to see where your hometown ranked and why. Or check out the whitest states in America and the most diverse states in America.

For more Michigan reading, check out:

The 10 Whitest Cities In Michigan For 2023

1. Marysville

Marysville, MI

Source: Wikipedia User Mac1island | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 9,925
% White: 96.52%
More on Marysville: Data | Real Estate

2. Gladstone

Gladstone, MI

Source: Wikipedia User Bobak Ha’Eri | CC BY 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,210
% White: 94.7%
More on Gladstone: Data | Real Estate

3. Marshall

Marshall, MI

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 6,832
% White: 94.31%
More on Marshall: Data | Real Estate

4. St. Clair

St. Clair, MI

Source: Wikipedia User P199 | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 5,489
% White: 94.15%
More on St. Clair: Data | Real Estate

5. Cadillac

Cadillac, MI

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 10,317
% White: 93.86%
More on Cadillac: Data | Real Estate

6. Alpena

Alpena, MI

Source: Wikipedia User Ian Poellet | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 10,181
% White: 93.28%
More on Alpena: Data | Real Estate

7. Menominee

Menominee, MI

Source: Wikipedia User Bobak Ha’Eri | CC BY 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 8,449
% White: 93.09%
More on Menominee: Data | Real Estate

8. Iron Mountain

Iron Mountain, MI

Source: Wikipedia User Bobak Ha’Eri | CC BY 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 7,516
% White: 93.08%
More on Iron Mountain: Data | Real Estate

9. East Grand Rapids

East Grand Rapids, MI

Source: Wikipedia User WMrapids | CC BY-SA 4.0
Overall SnackAbility

10
/10

Population: 11,381
% White: 93.07%
More on East Grand Rapids: Data | Real Estate

10. Owosso

Owosso, MI

Source: Wikipedia User kennethaw88 | CC BY 4.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 14,708
% White: 93.01%
More on Owosso: Data | Real Estate

Methodology: How we determined the whitest places in Michigan for 2023

To rank the whitest places in Michigan, we had to determine what measurable criteria define whiteness.

We had to count how many white people living there per capita. In other words, the percentage of white people living in each city in Michigan.

We looked at table B03002: Hispanic OR LATINO ORIGIN BY RACE. Here are the category names as defined by the Census:

  • Hispanic or Latino
  • White alone*
  • Black or African American alone*
  • American Indian and Alaska Native alone*
  • Asian alone*
  • Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone*
  • Some other race alone*
  • Two or more races*
* Not Hispanic or latino

Our particular column of interest here was the number of people who identified as White alone.

We limited our analysis to non-CDPs with a population greater than 5,000 people. That left us with 148 cities.

We then calculated the percentage of residents that are White. The percentages ranked from 96.5% to 8.7%.

Finally, we ranked each city based on the percentage of White population, with a higher score being more White than a lower score. Marysville took the distinction of being the most White, while Benton Harbor was the least White city.

We updated this article for 2023. This report represents our tenth time ranking the whitest cities in Michigan.

Read on for more information on how the cities in Michigan ranked by population of White residents or, for a more general take on diversity in America, head over to our ranking of the most diverse cities in America.

Summary: White Populations Across Michigan

We measured the locations with the highest percentage of white people in Michigan. According to the most recent data, this list provides accurate information on the whitest places in Michigan.

If you’re curious enough, here are the least White places in Michigan:

  1. Benton Harbor
  2. Detroit
  3. Highland Park

For more Michigan reading, check out:

White Population By City In Michigan

Rank City % White Population
1 Marysville 96.52% 9,925
2 Gladstone 94.7% 5,210
3 Marshall 94.31% 6,832
4 St. Clair 94.15% 5,489
5 Cadillac 93.86% 10,317
6 Alpena 93.28% 10,181
7 Menominee 93.09% 8,449
8 Iron Mountain 93.08% 7,516
9 East Grand Rapids 93.07% 11,381
10 Owosso 93.01% 14,708
11 Swartz Creek 92.88% 5,839
12 Huntington Woods 92.78% 6,382
13 Ironwood 92.62% 5,147
14 Davison 92.48% 5,103
15 Ishpeming 92.35% 6,223
16 Plymouth 92.25% 9,308
17 Hastings 92.18% 7,480
18 Grand Ledge 92.15% 7,792
19 Greenville 92.12% 9,057
20 Northville 92.06% 6,106
21 Brighton 92.01% 7,462
22 Hudsonville 91.87% 7,598
23 Eaton Rapids 91.75% 5,211
24 Clawson 91.72% 11,482
25 St. Johns 91.68% 7,700
26 Rockford 91.58% 6,131
27 Grosse Pointe Farms 91.37% 10,018
28 Grand Haven 91.33% 10,935
29 New Baltimore 91.24% 12,147
30 Belding 91.24% 6,070
31 Petoskey 90.1% 5,856
32 Milford 90.05% 6,511
33 Holly 89.97% 6,031
34 South Lyon 89.89% 11,786
35 Fenton 89.52% 11,949
36 Flushing 89.47% 8,356
37 Charlotte 89.41% 9,224
38 Traverse City 89.29% 15,263
39 Grosse Pointe Woods 89.24% 16,353
40 Marquette 89.11% 20,561
41 Grosse Pointe 89.07% 5,597
42 Trenton 88.98% 18,489
43 Wyandotte 88.86% 24,992
44 Hillsdale 88.85% 8,196
45 Ludington 88.54% 7,728
46 Kingsford 88.35% 5,159
47 Howell 88.32% 10,025
48 Grandville 88.09% 16,043
49 St. Clair Shores 88.08% 59,046
50 Norton Shores 88.06% 25,040
51 Saline 87.91% 9,072
52 Zeeland 87.79% 5,701
53 Mason 87.76% 8,307
54 Midland 87.44% 42,425
55 Birmingham 87.23% 21,728
56 Monroe 86.96% 20,344
57 Milan 86.74% 6,156
58 Dearborn 86.74% 107,985
59 Escanaba 86.37% 12,439
60 Fraser 86.27% 14,703
61 Berkley 86.24% 15,234
62 Manistee 85.7% 6,230
63 Walker 85.68% 25,149
64 Garden City 85.63% 27,268
65 Richmond 85.06% 5,871
66 Alma 84.98% 9,426
67 Rochester 84.92% 13,048
68 Livonia 84.44% 95,294
69 Tecumseh 84.34% 8,645
70 St. Joseph 84.28% 7,868
71 Ferndale 83.8% 19,414
72 Bay City 83.57% 32,824
73 Royal Oak 83.26% 58,368
74 Grosse Pointe Park 82.76% 11,529
75 Riverview 82.49% 12,465
76 Portage 82.45% 48,767
77 Big Rapids 82.16% 9,105
78 Coldwater 82.16% 13,764
79 Walled Lake 82.07% 7,263
80 Woodhaven 81.56% 12,889
81 Dearborn Heights 81.52% 62,334
82 Houghton 81.33% 7,675
83 Grand Blanc 81.28% 8,055
84 Lapeer 81.26% 8,911
85 Beverly Hills 81.18% 10,593
86 Sterling Heights 81.0% 134,062
87 Burton 80.89% 29,532
88 Mount Pleasant 80.6% 21,880
89 Allen Park 80.29% 28,431
90 Madison Heights 79.32% 28,719
91 Southgate 78.67% 29,990
92 Hazel Park 77.93% 15,213
93 Flat Rock 77.65% 10,439
94 Port Huron 77.16% 29,009
95 Rochester Hills 75.95% 75,990
96 East Lansing 74.9% 47,427
97 Niles 74.72% 11,929
98 Wixom 74.65% 16,853
99 Three Rivers 74.48% 7,946
100 Dowagiac 73.27% 5,731
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.