Groundwork

Real estate · County · Michigan

Real estate businesses in Oakland County, MI

The real estate businesses in Oakland County, MI, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 30 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #2,080 of 2,229 scored counties
#66 of 75 scored counties in Michigan

Listings
2,927
138 chain locations (5%)
Official establishments
1,286
+2.5% since 2019
Household spending a year
$8.5B
On rent and homeowner costs · $15,935 a household
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
67
33% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
55.2
43% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
1,288,337
+1.2% since 2020

See the real estate businesses around any address in Oakland County

The site report maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of Oakland County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

The Groundwork market score for real estate businesses in Oakland County is 30 (lower middle), #2,080 of 2,229 scored counties and #66 of 75 scored counties in Michigan. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.

Households in Oakland County spend about $8.5B a year on rent and homeowner costs, or $15,935 per household, 4% below the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 33% below the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money real estate businesses take in.

Oakland County has 2,927 real estate businesses on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 5% of them, against 6% across the U.S. That comes to 55.2 for every 10,000 households, 43% above the U.S. rate of 38.5.

Official counts show 1,286 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in Oakland County in 2023, up 2.5% from 2019. That is one for every 412 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 31 SBA-backed loans worth $7.6M have gone to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in Oakland County. Population estimates show Oakland County grew 1.2% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How Oakland County compares

The same measures for Michigan and the whole U.S. Housing spending per listing divides all rent and homeowner costs by the listings counted: a measure of housing demand for each business, not money any of them take in, so it is shown against the U.S. (100) only. Households per establishment divides households by the official count.

Real estate in Oakland County, MI compared with Michigan and the U.S.
MeasureOakland CountyMichiganU.S.
Listings per 10k households55.231.238.5
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)67104100
Households per official establishment412728414
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+2.5%+11.2%+15.8%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.2%+0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs$15,935$13,996$16,661
Median household income$97,760$72,875$80,734
Groundwork market score3047

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
1,255 → 1,286+2.5% over the period
Employees, 2023
21,146
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.4B
One-person businesses, 2023
8,352Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
2,927138 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
1,951The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
31
Amount
$7.6M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in Oakland County, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.

Population and households in Oakland County

Population, 2025 estimate
1,288,337+1.2% since 2020
Households
530,460
Median age
42.5
Homes lived in by their owners
73%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
867 sq. mi.
People per square mile
1,475
Median household income
$97,760+22.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$134,121
Median home value
$343,600
Jobs located here
726,660
Daytime population
1,442,622Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Oakland County?

These figures cover the whole county. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the real estate businesses on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of Oakland County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Real estate across Michigan

Every Michigan market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Michigan for real estate businesses, numbered among those based in Michigan, with Oakland County marked.

Top counties in Michigan

Counties in Michigan ranked for real estate businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsHousing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)Population growthU.S. rank
1Barry County, MI683213.1249+2.2%#270 of 2,229
2Arenac County, MI6557.6379+0.5%#362 of 2,229
3Alcona County, MI65611.3254+3.7%#370 of 2,229
4Montcalm County, MI643514.3210+4.1%#411 of 2,229
5Newaygo County, MI632512.7236+3.1%#443 of 2,229
6Tuscola County, MI582712.6235−1.2%#649 of 2,229
7Presque Isle County, MI571015.0195+1.0%#712 of 2,229
8Ionia County, MI573816.3192−0.5%#714 of 2,229
9Osceola County, MI571617.1171+2.7%#720 of 2,229
10Allegan County, MI579220.2165+2.1%#726 of 2,229
66Oakland County, MI302,92755.267+1.2%#2,080 of 2,229

Other business types in Oakland County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many real estate businesses are in Oakland County, MI?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 2,927 real estate businesses in Oakland County. 138 of them (5%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 1,286 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023, up 2.5% from 2019. Another 8,352 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in Oakland County, MI spend on rent and homeowner costs?

About $8.5B a year, or $15,935 per household. That is 4% below the U.S. average (an index of 96, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 2,927 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 33% below the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money real estate businesses take in. It is estimated from the incomes of the 530,460 households in Oakland County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Oakland County, MI compare with the U.S. for real estate businesses?

Oakland County has 55.2 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 43% above the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 67, where 100 is the U.S. At the U.S. ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, Oakland County would have about 1,951, against 2,927 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 412 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. The official count rose 2.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +15.8% for the U.S.

How fast is Oakland County, MI growing?

Population estimates put Oakland County at 1,288,337 people in 2025, up 1.2% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 530,460 households. Median household income in Oakland County is $97,760, 21% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 22.7%, before inflation.

What is the Groundwork market score?

The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. Oakland County scores 30 for real estate businesses (lower middle), #2,080 of 2,229 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Oakland County. It maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.

How the score works · Top markets for real estate businesses · All 56 business types in Oakland County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Oakland County?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

The button opens the report at the center of Oakland County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.