Where is the Smallest Town in the State of Michigan?

In the state of Michigan, you will find the city of Detroit with a population of 639,111.

Then there is the city of Grand Rapids with a population of 198,917.

Where is the smallest city in the state?

You have to make a road trip to the northwestern part of the lower peninsula to find it. It is located in Benzie County. Located in Crystal Lake Township you will find the community of Pilgrim, Michigan. The city is 224 acres in size and the permanent population in that little town is 11!

For the 2010 census, the community of Pilgrim was listed as a newly-organized census-designated place. It now had defined boundaries and population statistics for the first time. With only 11 permanent residents, Pilgrim is officially the "least-populated" of the 159 census-designated places in the state.

From the city-data.com website you can find some interesting statistics about Michigan's tiniest city...

• The population is pretty much half men and half women. There are 5 males in the city and 6 females.
• The median age of a resident of Pilgrim is 76 years old
• The estimated median household income in 2019 was $60,449
• As of November 2020, 4.1% of the residents of Pilgrim were unemployed. (This is interesting because 4.1% of 11 is .451. So apparently there is just about 1/2 of a person unemployed there. Not sure how that works out!)
• Over the last 15 years, 60.2% of the population of Pilgrim have never married, 19.4%  are now married, 20.4% are widowed.
• They are a pretty educated group of 11 people. Over the last 25 years the entire the population of Pilgrim, MI has at least a high school education. They also have a bachelor's degree or higher. 40% of the residents have a graduate or professional degree.

It appears the city may be growing in size pretty rapidly. According to the World Population Review website, the population of Pilgrim, MI is now up to a grand total of 20 residents in 2022. That's almost double the population from 2010!

I have never been to Pilgrim, but it is on my list of places to visit. From looking at Google Maps, I don't think they have a working stop light, or even a stop sign in the town. Don't blink as you drive down M-22 -- you might miss the town.

While you are in that area, check out the Tunnel of Trees...

And here are 15 towns you must visit...

And here are 50 of Michigan's "Must Drive" roads...