Rochester Hills is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 76,300. It is the 14th-largest city in Michigan. It has also ranked as the safest city in Michigan for the past seven years. The area was first settled by European Americans in 1817, and organized as Avon Township in 1835. The City of Rochester incorporated in 1967, while the remaining area of Avon Township was incorporated and renamed the City of Rochester Hills in 1984. Considered a northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Rochester Hills is about 12 miles (19.3 km) north of Detroit.