Economic Development

Life Now Playing


Recently named one of the Top 10 Most Exciting Small Cities in America and one of Detroit's Top 5 Suburbs for Young Professionals, Royal Oak is a destination for people from all over Metropolitan Detroit. Nowhere else will you find a greater concentration of award winning boutiques, restaurants, salons, galleries and theatres.
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"The move started with needing room for expansion, but ended up being more of an exercise in looking at more of our demographics... [Royal Oak offers] the accessibility, the urban feel, the walkability that resonates with the younger generations."
 - Dan Cornwell, CEO of Cambridge Consulting Group, on why he moved his 60 employees from Troy to Downtown Royal Oak.
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An Energetic Downtown


Royal Oak is currently undergoing a metamorphosis of the city's central business district.  In the last five years, over 50 technology, creative, and professional service companies have chosen to call Royal Oak home.  They join over 2,500 other businesses in a city that boasts one of the region's lowest office and retail vacancy rates, and whose downtown is currently in the midst of adding over 300,000 square feet of Class A office space to meet market demand.
More than a meeting place.  More than a see and be seen place. 

Royal Oak.  Life Now Playing.   
"A big part of our business model is the night traffic - the late night music and desserts - and I think Royal Oak is a great market for that."
 - Dessert Oasis Coffee co-owner Nathan Hamood, pointing to the ample foot traffic and density of restaurants in downtown Royal Oak as the reason Dessert Oasis Coffee chose Royal Oak for its third location (set to open in Spring 2018).


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Useful Documents

  1. 2016 Royal Oak Demographics
  2. 2016 Royal Oak Retail Market Profile
  3. 2014 Royal Oak Workforce Study
  4. Oakland County Facts and Figures
  5. Oakland County_EconomicOutlook2017Summary
  6. Downtown Task Force Report - 4-14-2014 (PDF)