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Metro Detroit Washtenaw County City

Ann Arbor

Tree Town: bookstores, big ideas and the biggest stadium in America

People (2025 estimate)
122,233
Land area
28.2 sq mi · 73.0 km²
From downtown
35.2 miles · 57 km · west
Incorporated
1851

11 events today, 39 this week

WeaponizingArchitecture · CC BY-SA 4.0

01 / Why it matters

Why Ann Arbor matters

Ann Arbor sits about 43 miles by car from Downtown Detroit, and it feels like a different world. Everything here orbits the University of Michigan, which started in Detroit in 1817 and moved here in 1837. Think students, researchers, coffee shops, bookstores and a lot of green along the Huron River. There's a reason people call it Tree Town.

Statistically it isn't part of the six-county Detroit–Warren–Dearborn metro area: Washtenaw County is its own Ann Arbor metro, which belongs to the wider nine-county Detroit–Warren–Ann Arbor combined statistical area. Plenty of locals don't think of themselves as Metro Detroiters, but Detroiters still drive out for game days, the art fair and dinner.

The student movements of the 1960s and 1970s gave the city a liberal, slightly quirky reputation that stuck. The first teach-in against the Vietnam War in the country happened here in 1965, and since 1972 the Hash Bash has taken over the Diag on the first Saturday of April.

Where Ann Arbor sits on the Metro Detroit map, with its neighbors. YpsilantiYpsilanti Charter TownshipDexterAnn Arbor
35.2 miles west of downtown Detroit The wider region (CSA) Imagery: EOxCloudless 2016, CC BY 4.0 · boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau

02 / Known for

What Ann Arbor is known for

  1. Michigan Stadium, nicknamed "The Big House": open since 1927 and officially seating 107,601, it's the largest stadium in the United States.

  2. The University of Michigan, founded in Detroit in 1817 and moved to Ann Arbor in 1837.

  3. The Ann Arbor Art Fair, held every July since 1960 and drawing more than 400,000 visitors a year.

  4. Zingerman's Delicatessen, the legendary deli Paul Saginaw and Ari Weinzweig opened in 1982.

  5. The tiny fairy doors hidden in downtown walls, a scavenger hunt in miniature.

03 / What’s on

What’s on in Ann Arbor

All in the event finder ↗
ScythianOct 9, 2026, 8:00 PM

Scythian

The Ark · Scythian is a four-member band named after Ukrainian nomads, blending Celtic, Eastern European, and Appalachian roots music with technical precision and energetic performances. Their live shows combine a barn-dance atmosphere, rock concert intensity, and diverse folk traditions.

04 / Places

117 places on our site in Ann Arbor

Search all places ↗

05 / What to do

If you’re in Ann Arbor

  • Michigan Stadium

    The Big House on a fall Saturday, with 100,000-plus people in maize and blue. Every home game since November 8, 1975, has drawn more than 100,000.

    Official site ↗

  • Ann Arbor Farmers Market (Kerrytown)

    Kerrytown's market has been running for more than a century and is producer-only, with about 130 Michigan vendors. Wander the neighborhood shops afterward.

    Official site ↗

  • Zingerman's Delicatessen

    Get in line for a giant sandwich on Detroit Street; locals will tell you it's worth the wait.

    Official site ↗

  • Nichols Arboretum

    The university's hilly arboretum on the Huron River, home to the largest collection of heirloom peonies in North America.

    Official site ↗

06 / History

Ann Arbor through the years

  1. 1824

    John Allen and Elisha Rumsey register the town plat as "Annarbour" on May 25.

  2. 1837

    The university founded in Detroit accepts land from the Ann Arbor Land Company and moves here.

  3. 1851

    Ann Arbor is chartered as a city.

  4. 1927

    Michigan Stadium opens on October 1 with an original capacity of 72,000.

  5. 1960

    At 2 a.m. on October 14, John F. Kennedy gives an impromptu speech on the Michigan Union steps, credited with sparking the Peace Corps.

  6. 1965

    The city hosts the first U.S. teach-in against the Vietnam War.

07 / Born here

35 people in our lexicon were born here

All 35 in the lexicon ↗

08 / People

Famous names from here

  • Gerald R. Ford the future president played football for Michigan, and his presidential library was dedicated on North Campus in 1981
  • Arthur Miller the playwright wrote his first play, No Villain, here and won a Hopwood Award for it; the university named a theater after him in 2007
The Michigan Theater's glowing marquee on Liberty Street
The Michigan Theater's glowing marquee on Liberty Street Chris Rycroft from Madison, Wisconsin, United States · CC BY 2.0

09 / Nearby

Towns nearby

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Sources

Population and area are Census Bureau figures (Ann Arbor city).

Change since 2020, per the Census Bureau estimate: −1.3 percent.

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