Census Records
Only those censuses that are free and have free access are reported here. Additional notes regarding Michigan censuses follow the table.
Reminder: Territory 1805. Statehood 1837
| Census year | At that time Oakland was part of... | Notes |
| 1710 | The French compiled the first Michigan census but was basically of the Detroit area. This, plus numerous others through the year 1792, were also primarily of the Detroit area. | |
| 1763 - 1783 | Quebec Territory | |
1790 |
Northwest Territory | Northwest Territory organized from current-day areas of Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, majority of Ohio, and northeast Minnesota. Northwest Territory was also called Huron Territory. |
| 1800 | Indiana Territory | 1787 - 1800 Northwest Territory 1791 - Michigan incorporated into Upper Canada 1796 - Wayne County created. It contained all the present State of Michigan except the western part of the Upper Peninsula, with the addition of northern Ohio and Indiana, and a strip of eastern Illinois and Wisconsin bordering on Lake Michigan. Note: District-wide census losses include those for the Indiana Territory and Northwest Territory. These have no known substitutes except for some isolated tax lists. |
| 1802 | Indiana Territory | See the tax list for Wayne County. |
| 1810 | Michigan Territory |
1803 - Indiana Territory 1805 - Lower Michigan organized as Michigan Territory out of Indiana Territory. Territorial population: 4,762 Note: District-wide census losses include those for the Indiana Territory and Michigan Territory. Partial losses include those for Illinois Territory and Ohio. |
| 1819 | Michigan Territory | Oakland County created from Wayne County |
| 1820 | Oakland County | 1816 - Indiana Territory dissolved, all of the U.P. added to Illinois Territory. 1818 - Illinois Territory dissolved. All of Michigan, the U.P. and Wisconsin added to Michigan Territory. The first official census of Oakland County; final count was 330 persons. Territorial population: 8,896 1825 Oakland County population: 1,362 (estimated) |
| 1830 | Oakland County | Michigan population: 31,639 1832 map shows Oakland County covering multiple present-day counties |
| 1840 | Oakland County | 1837 - Michigan achieves Statehood State population: 212,267 |
| 1850 | Oakland County | State population: 397,654 1854 population total: 507,521 |
| 1860 | Oakland County | State population: 749,113 1864 population total: 803,661 |
| 1870 | Oakland County | State population: 1,184,282 1874 population total: 1,334,031 |
| 1880 | Oakland County | |
| 1884 | Oakland County | Mortality schedules included in the 1884 State census; 1884 census identifies those in each household that have married within the census year, giving the month of and the location of the marriage. |
| 1888 | Oakland County | Special Civil War Veteran Census taken by the State |
| 1890 | Oakland County | Note: Over 99 percent of the 1890 population schedules were destroyed in a fire, which took place in January 1921 at the Commerce Building in Washington, D.C. Of the 62,979,766 persons enumerated in 1890, a total of 6,160 names could be extracted from the surviving schedules. These names were all indexed and microfilmed as National Archives Series M496 on two rolls of film. Oakland County was not part of the surviving schedules, nor was any part of Michigan. However, a replacement for the 1890 census may be able to help you. If your male ancestor was a veteran, you might want to have a look at this page. |
| 1894 | Oakland County | Mortality schedules included in the 1894 State census. You'll find just a veterans index listed here, though. |
| 1900 | Oakland County | |
| 1910 | Oakland County | |
| 1920 | Oakland County | |
| 1930 | Oakland County |
Wayne County had a census taken in 1796, which was printed in National Genealogical Society Quarterly 64 (1981).
Sources discussing the state censuses more comprehensively include: Donna Valley Russell's Michigan Censuses 1710-1830 Under the French, British, and Americans (Detroit, Mich.: Detroit Society for Genealogical Research, 1982) and State Censuses of Michigan: A Tragedy of Lost Treasures, Family Trails 6 (Summer⁄Fall, 1978).
Microfilm copies of the state census schedules for 1845, 1854, 1864, 1874, 1884, and 1894 are held by the State Archives of Michigan. Some of these are partial and⁄or incomplete. The Library of Michigan in Lansing and the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana, also hold Michigan state census records.
Carol McGinnis' Michigan Genealogy Sources and Resources (Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1987) has a county by county listing of the state and territorial censuses that do exist.