CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF HIGHLAND
Oakland County, Michigan

Local Economy   
 
Highland Township is largely a bedroom community, with many residents commuting to jobs in eastern Oakland County and the Detroit Metropolitan Area. Employers in the Township only support 6,409 jobs, as opposed to a population of 16,429 persons in the 17 to 65 year age range. The major employer in the Township is the Huron Valley School System, with 877 jobs in 2000 (from Oakland County Planning and Economic Development estimates). The second major employer is Numatics, Inc., a manufacturer of fluid power valves and hose fittings that services the auto industry. Numatics employs 234 persons.
Commercial activity is limited to three small nodes in the Township, providing for mostly local shopping needs, in centers ranging from 12,000 square feet to 80,000 square feet. The lack of sanitary sewer service has discouraged many developers from pursuing more significant developments. There are no "big box" national retail outlets in Highland Township at this time. Colasanti's Produce provides the most unique shopping experience in the Township, selling imported produce and foods, a meat market and wine outlet, as well as green plants and flowers in about 200,000 square feet of retail and greenhouse space.

Highland Township has not benefited directly from Oakland County's "Automation Alley" campaign to attract cluster of robotic-intensive high technology industries to the area. There is one forty-acre industrial park planned for development at this time, as well as one 80,000 square foot light industrial building. The recent recession has delayed developers' plans to break ground on these projects.

Developers in Highland Township have experienced much success recently in building and filling small office space (2000 to 12,000 square foot spaces). Nearly all property currently zoned for Office Business land use is now developed or actively under project planning for development, and fully occupied. There has been a recent influx of medical practices, moving to fill an apparent need in the community.

A summary of the top twenty employers by Standard Industrial Code is as follows:

     SIC            Industry                                                         No. of Jobs 
     15             Construction Industries                              30
     32-35       Manufacturing (Concrete/Metals)              360
     42             Trucking                                                         25
     54             Food Stores                                                  132
     55             Automotive Dealers                                     124
     58             Eating and Drinking Places                       80
     59             Miscellaneous Retail                                  49
     79             Recreation Services (Golf Clubs)             114
     82             Educational Services                                  877
     83             Social Services                                            69
 
     TOTAL JOBS IN TOP 20 EMPLOYERS 1860

These findings point to a well-diversified local economy, with representation in a variety of sectors. The population tends to fair well as far as unemployment rates, at least in comparison to the rest of Oakland County. In 1995, the unemployment rate in Highland Township was 4.0 percent, while it was 3.6 county-wide and 5.3 percent state-wide. More recently, in a booming economic period of 1999, the unemployment rate in Highland Township was 2.8 percent, with a county-wide unemployment rate of 2.5 percent, and a state wide average of 3.8 percent. Currently, the Township is experiencing an unemployment rate of 5.5 percent, with a county-wide average of only 5.0 percent and a state-wide average unemployment rate of 6.8 percent.