Hillsdale is a somewhat small city located in the state of Michigan. With a population of 8,030 people and three associated neighborhoods, Hillsdale is the 139th largest community in Michigan. Hillsdale has an unusually large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic cities.

Of important note, Hillsdale is also a city of artists. Hillsdale has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Hillsdale’s character.

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 7.71% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

In addition, Hillsdale is a college town. There are a lot of students in Hillsdale attending college, and as a result Hillsdale provides a number of services, amenities and opportunities geared to the needs and activities of students.

Compared to the rest of the country, citizens of Hillsdale spend much less time in their cars: on average, their commute to work is only 17.11 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the city are less than they would otherwise be.

The citizens of Hillsdale are slightly better educated than the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns, with 23.20% of adults in Hillsdale having a bachelor's degree or advanced degree.

The per capita income in Hillsdale in 2022 was $22,339, which is low income relative to Michigan and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $89,356 for a family of four. However, Hillsdale contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

The people who call Hillsdale home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Hillsdale residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Hillsdale include German, English, Irish, Polish, and Scottish.

The most common language spoken in Hillsdale is English. Other important languages spoken here include Polish and Spanish.