Plymouth is two municipalities sharing one ZIP code. The City of Plymouth is 2.22 square miles with a 2020 population of 9,370. Plymouth Charter Township wraps around it, covers 16 square miles, and had a 2020 population of 27,938. Both are in Wayne County. A "Plymouth, MI 48170" mailing address does not tell you which one you live in, and the difference affects your tax bill and which hall you call about a water main. That is the first thing to understand about living here and the thing most guides skip.
The second thing is that the City is organized around one place. Kellogg Park sits at W. Ann Arbor Trail and S. Main, and the Downtown Development Authority, which calls it the focal point for the area's civic, social, and commercial activity, reports over one million visitors a year. The Gathering, the covered pavilion beside it, hosts the Saturday Farmers Market from May through October. The Chamber of Commerce counts more than 75 specialty retailers downtown, and the DDA reports roughly 1 percent vacancy in its district. The calendar is busy year-round: the Plymouth Ice Festival in late January, Music in the Air on 14 Friday nights each summer, Art in the Park in July, the Plymouth Fall Festival in September.
The third thing is green space. Hines Park runs 17.5 miles along the Middle Rouge River from 7 Mile Road in Northville to Ford Road in Dearborn, straight through Plymouth, with over 20 named sections and 25 recreation areas. Plymouth Township Park adds 80 acres.
The guides below cover each of these in detail, including the parts that are less flattering: the cost, the winters, the limited transit, and the things Plymouth does not have.
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