2025

Cities in Grand Traverse County, MI ranked by White Population

This list ranks the 17 cities in Grand Traverse County based on their White population, as estimated by the United States Census Bureau. It also highlights population changes in these cities over the past five years.
Updated Jan 24, 2025

Top 5 cities with the largest White population in Grand Traverse County

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  • 1
    Garfield charter township
    White population in Garfield charter township is 19,147
    92.52% of Garfield charter township population is White
  • 2
    Traverse City
    White population in Traverse City is 14,878
    45.48% of Traverse City population is White
  • 3
    Traverse City
    White population in Traverse City is 14,878
    45.48% of Traverse City population is White
  • 4
    East Bay township
    White population in East Bay township is 11,384
    93.67% of East Bay township population is White
  • 5
    Long Lake township
    White population in Long Lake township is 9,649
    92.77% of Long Lake township population is White

List of 17 cities in Grand Traverse County, MI by White Population

View Methodology
Rank by White Population
City
White Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total Grand Traverse County White Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Garfield charter township 19,147 92.52% 20.11%
2 Traverse City 14,878 45.48% 15.63%
2 Traverse City 14,878 45.48% 15.63%
3 East Bay township 11,384 93.67% 11.96%
4 Long Lake township 9,649 92.77% 10.14%
5 Blair township 8,923 93.87% 9.37%
6 Green Lake township 6,519 93.25% 6.85%
7 5,822 93.53% 6.12%
8 4,959 93.92% 5.21%
9 4,306 87.81% 4.52%
10 2,614 95.96% 2.75%
11 1,844 94.32% 1.94%
12 1,735 94.65% 1.82%
13 1,317 92.81% 1.38%
14 1,235 93.49% 1.30%
15 513 90.80% 0.54%
16 359 97.82% 0.38%

Methodology

This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks cities in Grand Traverse County, MI by their White population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census Defines White Population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their race, meaning individuals can choose one or more racial categories when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as White, whether alone or in combination with another race.
Here are a few important things to know about how race is reported:
  • Some people identify as White alone, while others identify as White along with another race (such as White and White).
  • Hispanic / Latino origin is reported separately from race, so someone can be both Hispanic and White .
  • We’ve used the “White alone or in combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the White population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as White alone or in combination in cities. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total City Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as White .
  2. % of Total Grand Traverse County White Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. White population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

Things to Keep in Mind

Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
  • In places with very small White populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
  • Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
  • Cities that don’t have any reported White population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where White populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.