Welcome to Traverse City ...
The city of Traverse City is primarily located in Grand Traverse County<1> and is the County Seat for Grand Traverse County. A portion of Traverse City extends into Leelanau County.
Traverse City was established in 1847.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Traverse City has a population of 15,715 people<2> (see below for details).
The community of Traverse City is 610 feet [186 m] above sea level.<3>.
Time Zone: Traverse City lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
Traverse City lies within the (231) area code.
The ZIP codes for Traverse City: 49684-49686, 49696<4>
Websites for Traverse City ...
Official Website: www.ci.traverse-city.mi.us/
Chamber of Commerce: www.tcchamber.org/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Traverse City had an population of 15,715 people. This is an increase of 7.09% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 8.14% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Traverse City had a population of 14,674 people (which is 16.87% of the total population of Grand Traverse County). This makes Traverse City the county's most populous community.
The population of Traverse City represents 0.15% of the population of Michigan (which has 9,883,640 people), making it the state's 65th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 14,674 people, the population of Traverse City has remained roughly the same as the 2000 Census (which had a count of 14,532 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Traverse City.
Communities near Traverse City ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Traverse City.
- Elk Rapids
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Rapids
- Elk Rapids is located in Antrim County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,626 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elk Rapids <5>
- Kingsley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kingsley have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsley
- Kingsley is located in Grand Traverse County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,618 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kingsley <5>
- Buckley
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckley
- Buckley is located in Wexford County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 717 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Buckley <5>
- Suttons Bay
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Suttons Bay have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suttons Bay
- Suttons Bay is located in Leelanau County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 617 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Suttons Bay <5>
- Fife Lake
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fife Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fife Lake
- Fife Lake is located in Kalkaska County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 478 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fife Lake <5>
- Lake Ann
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Ann have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Ann
- Lake Ann is located in Benzie County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 271 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lake Ann <5>
- Acme
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Acme have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acme
- Acme is located in Grand Traverse County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Acme <5>
- Grawn
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grawn have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grawn
- Grawn is located in Grand Traverse County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grawn <5>
- Solon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest) - Bingham
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Traverse City. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Traverse City.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Traverse City. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Traverse City.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Traverse City. Our list includes 20 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Traverse City.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Traverse City ...
Looking for more information about Traverse City? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Traverse City, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Traverse City.
Adding Traverse City to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Traverse City in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Traverse City was on a map titled Road Map for Michigan (from Shell Oil, 1956).
We also found Traverse City in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Traverse City.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Traverse City: www.ci.traverse-city.mi.us/
The official website for Grand Traverse County: www.grandtraverse.org/
The official website for State of Michigan: https://www.michigan.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Michigan's counties, including Grand Traverse, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Traverse City. |
| <3> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Traverse City - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <4> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Traverse City). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Traverse City or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). Our list of ZIP Codes for Traverse City includes: 49684, 49685 & 49686. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |