Ypsilanti (/ˌɪpsəˈlænti/ IP-sə-LAN-tee), commonly shortened to Ypsi (/ˈɪpsiː/ IP-see), is a city and college town located on the Huron River in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 20,648. The city is bounded to the north by Superior Charter Township and on the west, south, and east by Ypsilanti Charter Township (a separately governed municipality). Ypsilanti is a part of the Ann Arbor–Ypsilanti metropolitan area, the Huron River Valley, and the Detroit–Warren–Ann Arbor combined statistical area.
Ypsilanti is known for being the home of Eastern Michigan University (formerly the Michigan State Normal College) since the university's founding as Michigan's first normal school (teachers' college) in 1849, its location on the historic Detroit–Chicago Road (now US Highway 12), its historic Depot Town commercial district, and for its distinctive Ypsilanti Water Tower constructed in 1890. The city is closely associated with Ford Motor Company's Willow Run Bomber Plant which manufactured over 8,500 Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bombers during World War II. Ford Motor Company is also known for damming the Huron River to generate hydroelectric power, which created Ypsilanti's Ford Lake. Ypsilanti is conveniently located on the intersection of US Highway 23 (north–south) and Interstate 94 (east–west), and is a short 15 to 20 minute drive to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW). The city is located 8 miles east of Ann Arbor and is 35 miles west of Downtown Detroit. It is also home to the first Domino's Pizza location, located near EMU's McKenny Student Union in South Campus.
