Clarkston is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, United States. A northern suburb of Detroit, located about 34 mi (55 km) northwest of downtown Detroit, Clarkston is surrounded by Independence Township, but administered independently since its incorporation in 1992. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 928. With a total land area of 0.44 square miles (1.14 km2), Clarkston is the smallest city by land area in the state of Michigan.

Oakland County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a principal county of the Detroit metropolitan area, containing the bulk of Detroit's northern suburbs. Due to the county's government complex spanning 2 municipalities, its county seat is shared between Pontiac and Waterford. Its largest city is Troy. As of the 2020 Census, its population was 1,274,395, making it the second-most populous county in Michigan, and the largest county in the United States without a city of 100,000 residents.