Are you thinking about living in White lake or Waterford Michigan, but you’re torn on which one is better? I highly suggest you stick around, because what I am about to say will help with your decision.
When we compare these two areas side by side, or even take a gander at Google Maps, it may seem like they are one in the same with a different name (that rhymes), but the truth is, they are very different from one another, and that comes from someone who lived in the White Lake area.
If you’re new here, my name is Andrew McManamon, I am a Michigan realtor that helps people relocate from all over the place to the fine state of Michigan and I’m happy to be your go-to resource.
So Waterford or White lake, White lake or Waterford? What area is better for you? All this information I’m about to shove in your face for both of these areas will answer that question and then some from overall feel, my personal experiences having lived in the area, city rankings, schools, cost of living, property taxes, things to do, as well as attractions, but before I jump into the nitty gritty I want to go over the locations themselves to help give you a better feel of the areas.
White Lake Michigan Location
White lake Michigan for those of you that don’t know is a charter township that is located in Oakland county. It’s 37.20 square miles in size, 3.5 square miles of that is water with a population of about 32,000 people, which is about 860 people per square mile.
Waterford Michigan Location
Waterford is also a charter township located in Oakland county, that is 35.30 square miles in size, 4 square miles of that being water, with a population of around 73,000 people, which is around 2,067 people per square mile.
I know data and statistics are boring, but good lord that is a huge difference between the 2 areas already. Niche.com says White lake is more of that suburban rural mix feeling, while Waterford is sparse suburban. I don’t know if I'd say Waterford is sparse, but based on a lot of the areas in Metro Detroit, i’d say that holds pretty true. When looking at a map, these two townships have sections within them that will help you decide where you’d want to be situated. White lake for example is actually a little more consistent throughout opposed to Waterford, you have M59 sorta kinda cutting right through it going east and west, on the south side it’s more lake heavy, a little busier, whereas north of M59 in White lake, it’s a little more rural and residential. Waterford on the other hand is a part of the four towns community, which I made an interesting video about. I'll link HERE. On the west side, it feels like an extension of White Lake, on the most northern part near Lake Oakland you’re on the border of Independence charter township which is home to Clarkston. Then southeast of Dixie highway you start tip-toeing into Pontiac a little bit, so the area wears quite a few hats, and with many hats comes a ridiculous range in home prices which I’ll touch on later.
Going off location a little more, and into the overall feel, these two areas are pretty similar to one another in that aspect, as they both don’t have a designated downtown area, they just have the M-59 corridor that extends through and all the offerings are slapped on either side of it, giving you a variety without that small town feel, which may or may not be a deal breaker to some of you. What’s cool about these two areas is you can really cater to what you want in a location sense.
Do you want to live on a lake and get that waterfront community feeling, these check that box, do you want to have a little more space in a sparse suburban area without you sneezing and your neighbor saying bless you because you practically share the same wall, these areas have that too, and if you’re situated closer to the M-59 corridor, you get to have that busier feeling, you may even hear a honk or two that reminds you of the metro area you lived in once, nostalgic. These areas aren’t overly community based aside from the events the schools, parks or local businesses come together to create.
City Rankings
Another aspect I want to throw in here is city and area rankings. Not only is this data pulled together from REAL residents who live and have lived in the area, it gives you a well rounded idea about the area, and after the fact i’ll share my personal experiences as someone who was a resident.
Waterford Michigan Rankings
Waterford was ranked an overall grade of a B+ by niche.com which accounted for public schools, houses, good for families, jobs, cost of living, outdoor activities, crime and safety, nightlife, diversity, weather, health and fitness, as well as the commute.
Waterford also ranks #78 of 338 most diverse suburbs in Michigan, #89 of 338 best suburbs for young professionals in Michigan and #148 of 804 best places for young professionals in Michigan and i’ll tell you exactly why that is in a future point.
White Lake Michigan Rankings
White lake on the other hand also ranks a B+ overall based on all the factors I listed earlier. Based on this niche.com data, White lake schools are better, white lake is better for families, it has a higher cost of living compared to Waterford, the crime is less, the nightlife is worse, the diversity is worse, the weather is the same, the health and fitness is worse, and the commute is also worse.
White lake also ranks #133 of 336 suburbs with the best public schools in Michigan, #156 of 337 best suburbs to raise a family in Michigan, and #168 of 338 best suburbs to live in Michigan. So again, this gives you some more insight on how these two areas that seem so similar, are actually different.
Comparing both White Lake Michigan and Waterford Michigan:
Schools
White Lake Michigan Schools
When talking about the schools in each township, White lake township has 5 school districts within it: Clarkston, Holly, Huron Valley, Walled lake, and Waterford, and Huron valley covers the majority of it, which has Milford high school which is ranked #52 in Michigan.
Waterford Michigan Schools
Waterford on the other hand has 3 separate public school districts: Waterford, Clarkston and Pontiac with Waterford Kettering high school. And as you can see, there is some overlap to these school districts from White lake to Waterford, which is something to keep in mind when looking at the property tax aspect that I will touch on later. I’ll be sure to link for White Lake schools HERE and Waterford schools HERE to help you make the best decision possible.
My Personal Experiences With Both...
As far as my personal experiences go in each of these communities, as someone who lived in White lake for about a year and a half. Full disclaimer, I didn’t move due to any issues with white lake, it was just where life took me at the time. I was within the section of White lake that I called the lake community, where neighbors around the lake were pretty close knit and willing to always help. Being located on the south side of the township it had more of a commerce township feeling, which I made a video for i’ll link HERE, as well as a video about buying the house in white lake and my experience, and a white lake tour video I made as well for further insight. I can’t say I had any complaints aside from the area not being as walkable as I wanted, and the lake I was on having its own issues.
White lake as whole had enough offerings for me, everything was very close form restaurants, grocery stores, the banks and everything you’d need. I did find myself at times heading into Waterford for additional options. While living there it was clear the infrastructure wasn’t all that suited to be able to cater to all the residents that were piling in there and I remember when I left, is when a lot more roundabouts were being made, because what was once a small rural town is now having an influx of traffic to where the stop lights require a little more patience. Waterford on the other hand, has a lot more people of course, but I feel like the layout of the area has more breathing room for more residents, and I’ll touch more on my experiences when it comes to things to do and attractions, but I will mention, I liked the cost of living.
Home Prices
Switching gears to home prices, can you guess which area is more expensive? I’ll give you a hint, it starts with a “W”.....Taking a look at this chart provided by the multiple listing service, it shows the average sale price over the last 3 years with white lake in green and Waterford in blue. As you can see, Waterford clocks in at almost $279,000, while White lake is at $397,000.
White lake has had a few new construction communities pop up in the area like Trailside meadow off of Elizabeth lake road, as well as Preserve at hidden lake which has helped increase that average price a little bit, while Waterford has had the Lake Pointe community off of Cass lake road too.
White Lake Michigan Home Prices
White lake has been booming and it’s been interesting to see, the home that I was in on a lake that was just under 1,000 square feet with 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom and a garage sold for $270,000 back in 2021 and it’s well over $300,000 now, and that’s one of the cool things with these areas is there’s still a lot of those small cottages situated on lakes throughout these areas that you can still get your hands on for less than half a million dollars, then throw money into them with renovations and get instant equity, as several cottages have made that transition that’s resulted in them being worth anywhere from $600,000 to well over a million dollars.
Waterford Michigan Home Prices
Referring back to when I read off the rankings for Waterford and it being about young professionals, that's accurate because this is one of the few communities in metro Detroit where first time homebuyers can actually get a home that is livable, move in ready and actually has space. You can get 2-3 bedroom homes with 2 bathrooms, a basement and a garage for under $300,000, whereas most communities have 2-3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, and either a garage OR a basement and chances are, the layouts or rooms in the houses are too small for your queen or king bed, and I say that from experience as someone who has searched in that price range for clients every single day. It’s come down to, yeah you can get in a overly desirable area, and squeeze everything you own in the Tupperware container they call a home, or you can come to places like White Lake and Waterford, where they aren’t the most top of mind communities, but you can actually feel like you can grow into the home for years and years instead of growing out in a year in a smaller one.
Property Taxes
Speaking of cost, let’s chat about property taxes. Whip out a pen and paper because I'm going to be throwing a lot of numbers your way.
White Lake Michigan Property Taxes
Starting with white lake township, we have:
Clarkston community schools at a millage rate of 33.6448
Holly schools with 35.1448
Huron valley at 34.5352
Walled lake at 31.2417
Waterford schools at 33.3948
Waterford Michigan Property Taxes
In Waterford township, we have:
Clarkston schools have a millage rate of 36.3741
Pontiac schools are 32.1721
Waterford schools are 36.1241
Property Tax Calculation
So with the school districts that overlapped, Clarkston school in White lake instead of Waterford saves you 2.7 mills, and Waterford schools in white lake save about 2.7 mills as well over being in Waterford. It may not seem like too much but do the equation to see your savings, I typically take 50% of the list price, which would be more accurate to what you’ll pay over using their taxable value or old state equalized value. So if the home is $300,000, take 50% which is 150,000 and multiply it by one of the millage rates, and divide it by 1,000 and that will be your yearly property tax estimate for when your property taxes uncap a year after ownership and the home's value is reassessed. There are some savings to be had to say the least.
Things To Do And Attractions
Now onto things to do and attractions, I saved this one for last as there’s a lot of overlap since the commute time to each community is minimal and you properly won’t know half the time if you’re in white lake versus Waterford when strolling down the M-59 corridor and that’s okay, sharing is caring. There’s also around 55 lakes combined throughout these two areas, so there’s no shortage of water fun such as fishing, kayaking, as well as everything that comes with being near or on an all sports lake too. There’s alpine valley a ski hill in White lake, Highland state recreation which is on the border of white lake and highland for camping, Brentwood golf club and white oaks golf course for all you happy Gilmore folks out there, as well as the restaurant and entertainment options along dixie highway in Waterford. For me White lake was always more for parks and recreation, and overall nature, whereas Waterford was the palace where I’d go to the movies, try different restaurants, go bowling, etc. and when you look at a google map you can see just how much more green space there is in White lake versus Waterford.
With all that in mind, who wins, Waterford or White lake Michigan? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.
Thanks as always for reading, If you’re looking to buy, sell or invest in the wonderful state of Michigan, don’t hesitate to reach out, I’m happy to be your go to resource, Until next time.
Cheers,
Andrew
Andrew McManamon is a Michigan REALTOR® with Signature Sotheby’s International Realty and provides real estate services to Buyers, Sellers and Investors throughout SE Michigan including Livingston County, Oakland County, Washtenaw County, Genesee County & beyond. Andrew has become one of the pillars of Michigan real estate. Prior to his real estate career Andrew was responsible for managing a senior living facility in Brighton, Michigan as a dining supervisor and an activities assistant. Andrew’s passion to help people is unlike any other, and he continues to strive to be the best resource he can be. Andrew graduated from Cleary University in Howell, Michigan with a double major in business and marketing, and currently resides in Brighton, Michigan.
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