Stargaze Atlas

Michigan dark-sky map — light pollution by town

111 towns rated · darkest: West Bloomfield Township · measured from VIIRS 2024 satellite night-lights

Michigan has 111 towns rated for light pollution here, from its darkest — West Bloomfield Township (Bortle 5) — to its brightest city cores. 0 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (Bortle 4 or better). Sort the table by darkness to find the best stargazing near you, then open any town for its exact rating, what you can see, the nearest darker skies to drive to, and tonight's live Moon, cloud, and aurora conditions. Ratings are a VIIRS satellite proxy for planning, not survey-grade sky-brightness readings.

Statewide Michigan · VIIRS 2024
Towns rated
111

0 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (about Bortle 4 or better).

Darkest town
West Bloomfield Township
Genuinely dark towns
0

All Michigan towns by darkness

Darkest sky first. Click a column heading to sort, or filter by name. A satellite reading, not a survey-grade measurement — and the real dark skies are usually a short drive out of any town.

Michigan towns, darkest sky first.
Sky
West Bloomfield Township 5 Suburban sky 5.4
Norton Shores 5 Suburban sky 5.6
Farmington Hills 5 Suburban sky 7.3
Allendale 5 Suburban sky 7.4
Grosse Ile 5 Suburban sky 7.9
Walker 6 Bright suburban sky 8.0
Haslett 6 Bright suburban sky 8.2
Burton 6 Bright suburban sky 8.3
Portage 6 Bright suburban sky 9.3
Clinton Township 6 Bright suburban sky 10
Troy 6 Bright suburban sky 11
Waterford 6 Bright suburban sky 11
Saginaw Township North 6 Bright suburban sky 12
New Baltimore 6 Bright suburban sky 14
East Grand Rapids 6 Bright suburban sky 15
Auburn Hills 6 Bright suburban sky 15
Comstock Park 6 Bright suburban sky 15
Grand Haven 6 Bright suburban sky 17
Rochester Hills 6 Bright suburban sky 17
Holt 6 Bright suburban sky 17
Beecher 6 Bright suburban sky 17
Northview 6 Bright suburban sky 18
Canton 6 Bright suburban sky 18
Muskegon Heights 6 Bright suburban sky 18
Kentwood 6 Bright suburban sky 18
Romulus 6 Bright suburban sky 18
Beverly Hills 6 Bright suburban sky 19
Cadillac 6 Bright suburban sky 19
Okemos 6 Bright suburban sky 19
Saint Clair Shores 6 Bright suburban sky 20
Niles 6 Bright suburban sky 20
Fenton 7 Suburban / urban transition 20
Forest Hills 7 Suburban / urban transition 21
Big Rapids 7 Suburban / urban transition 23
South Lyon 7 Suburban / urban transition 24
Traverse City 7 Suburban / urban transition 24
Cutlerville 7 Suburban / urban transition 24
Alpena 7 Suburban / urban transition 24
Escanaba 7 Suburban / urban transition 24
Wixom 7 Suburban / urban transition 25
Adrian 7 Suburban / urban transition 25
Clawson 7 Suburban / urban transition 25
Owosso 7 Suburban / urban transition 25
Riverview 7 Suburban / urban transition 26
Midland 7 Suburban / urban transition 26
Harper Woods 7 Suburban / urban transition 27
Berkley 7 Suburban / urban transition 27
Southgate 7 Suburban / urban transition 27
Muskegon 7 Suburban / urban transition 28
Saginaw 7 Suburban / urban transition 28
Coldwater 7 Suburban / urban transition 28
Sault Ste. Marie 7 Suburban / urban transition 29
Westland 7 Suburban / urban transition 29
Fraser 7 Suburban / urban transition 29
Farmington 7 Suburban / urban transition 30
Mount Pleasant 7 Suburban / urban transition 30
Port Huron 7 Suburban / urban transition 30
Grosse Pointe Woods 7 Suburban / urban transition 31
Marquette 7 Suburban / urban transition 31
Grosse Pointe Park 7 Suburban / urban transition 31
Southfield 7 Suburban / urban transition 32
Holland 7 Suburban / urban transition 32
Garden City 7 Suburban / urban transition 32
Grandville 7 Suburban / urban transition 32
Monroe 7 Suburban / urban transition 32
Shelby 7 Suburban / urban transition 33
Sturgis 7 Suburban / urban transition 33
Trenton 7 Suburban / urban transition 33
Ionia 7 Suburban / urban transition 34
Ypsilanti 7 Suburban / urban transition 34
Wyoming 7 Suburban / urban transition 34
Jenison 7 Suburban / urban transition 36
Allen Park 7 Suburban / urban transition 36
Warren 7 Suburban / urban transition 37
Madison Heights 7 Suburban / urban transition 37
Eastpointe 7 Suburban / urban transition 38
Taylor 7 Suburban / urban transition 39
Inkster 7 Suburban / urban transition 39
Lincoln Park 8 City sky 40
Dearborn Heights 8 City sky 41
Melvindale 8 City sky 41
Rochester 8 City sky 42
Ferndale 8 City sky 43
Battle Creek 8 City sky 43
Roseville 8 City sky 43
Waverly 8 City sky 44
Redford 8 City sky 45
Woodhaven 8 City sky 47
Oak Park 8 City sky 48
Jackson 8 City sky 48
Wyandotte 8 City sky 49
Birmingham 8 City sky 50
Hazel Park 8 City sky 50
Bay City 8 City sky 50
Hamtramck 8 City sky 51
Livonia 8 City sky 51
Novi 8 City sky 53
Pontiac 8 City sky 54
Flint 8 City sky 55
Highland Park 8 City sky 55
Wayne 8 City sky 56
Kalamazoo 8 City sky 64
Sterling Heights 8 City sky 65
Mount Clemens 8 City sky 70
East Lansing 8 City sky 72
Royal Oak 8 City sky 72
Dearborn 8 City sky 78
Ann Arbor 8 City sky 86
Grand Rapids 9 Inner-city sky 112
Lansing 9 Inner-city sky 145
Detroit 9 Inner-city sky 347

Frequently asked questions

Where are the darkest skies in Michigan?
The darkest town tracked here is West Bloomfield Township. Sort the table on this page by darkness to see the full ranking, from the most rural, star-filled skies down to the brightest city cores.
How many dark-sky towns does Michigan have?
Of 111 towns rated here, 0 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (about Bortle 4 or better) — good for seeing the Milky Way on a clear, moonless night.
How are these light-pollution ratings measured?
From VIIRS 2024 annual-average satellite night-lights, sampled at each town's center and mapped to a darkness class and an estimated Bortle band. It is a satellite upward-radiance proxy for planning, not a survey-grade sky-brightness reading. See the methodology page for details.

Explore

Learn to read the Bortle scale, check the meteor shower calendar, or search all towns from the home page.