Northville was first settled by European Americans in 1825, and was incorporated as a Village in 1867. It was not incorporated as a City until 1955. Originally one of two communities within Plymouth Township, Northville Township split off in 1898 to form its own township.

The first land patent in the Northville area was granted to Gideon Benton in 1823; the current Cass Benton Park is located here. The first settlers did not arrive, however, until 1825. Many of these first settlers were originally from central and western New York State, with ancestors in New England. Others came from the nearby, already settled Plymouth community to Northville.

Among these early settlers were Alanson Aldrich, followed by Alvale Smith, who sold his property to John Miller. Miller built the first mill in Plymouth Township, sometime between 1825 and 1828. Mill Race Historical Village is now preserved at this site. Many employees of the mill began to build their houses near it. Northville was named for its relation north of Plymouth.

In 1827, Northville was home to a post office, and Gideon Benton was the US postmaster. Also in 1827, J.F. Davis, became the first resident doctor in Northville. A tailor, tavern, shoe shop, and two blacksmiths also started business in the village. Many of Northville's first settlers' surnames became namesakes for contemporary street names today. These include Rufus Thayer Jr. (Thayer Blvd.), Joseph Yerkes (Yerkes St.), Daniel and Samuel Cady (Cady St.), William Dunlap (Dunlap St.), and other settlers. The first church was constructed in 1836 by a Methodist congregation.

Northville continued to grow throughout the Victorian era. This is evident in the architecture around downtown where many homes are in the Queen Anne style. Northville's Victorian heritage is celebrated every September in the Victorian Festival, which was recently rechristened the "Heritage Festival".

The first schoolhouse in Northville opened in 1853 and was taught by Jacob Ramsdell. Northville was incorporated as a village in 1867 from a portion of Plymouth Township. By the end of the nineteenth century, it had established a public school system headed by a superintendent.

Henry Ford purchased a factory in Northville and moved machinery from plants in the area to the factory in 1919. Known as the Northville Valve Plant, the plant was rebuilt in 1936, and enlarged in 1956. The plant provided valves for every Ford, Mercury, and Lincoln vehicle, except for the Lincoln Continental, until closing and being sold in 1981. The building now houses offices and a health club. In 1925, the Penniman-Allen Theater opened downtown and remained open through the mid-70's. The theater eventually closed, but opened again in 1978 as the Marquis Theater and is now home to live children's theater. When Northville was more rural, skiing was popular and tournaments were held often. In 1944, Northville Downs opened as the first nighttime harness racing track in Michigan. The Downs were built on the site of the former Wayne County Fair, where Joe Louis trained in 1939 for his World Championship later that same year. Northville Downs stayed in continuous operation from 1944 to 2024 and was located at the corner of Center Street and 7 Mile Road.

The city was incorporated in 1955 along the boundaries of the Village of Northville, and grew rapidly during the prolonged period of white flight from the City of Detroit in the middle and late 20th century. The Village of Northville included portions of Novi Township in Oakland County and Northville Township in Wayne County. Over the next several years, the city boundaries expanded through annexation of portions of Novi Township and the Village of Novi both east and west of the city and north of Baseline Road. The city's northern boundary was fixed by the incorporation of the Village of Novi into the City of Novi in 1969. The city has also annexed small portions of Northville Township, the most recent of which was an expansion of the Rural Hill Cemetery. Northville Township's status as a Charter Township generally precludes the city from annexing any significant portion of the Township. The most recent annexation was permitted by the Township in order for the city to expand the city-owned and operated cemetery.

In 1889, the Ladies Library Association was organized by Mary Lapham, and had 1,200 books and 150 members by 1892. The library was located in the former Young Men's Hall until 1964, when it moved temporarily to the new City Hall. In 1975, the library moved again temporarily to the Northville Square Mall; in 1980 it returned to City Hall. In 1996, it moved into the newly built Northville District Library.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.06 square miles (5.34 km), of which 2.04 square miles (5.28 km) is land and 0.02 square miles (0.05 km) (0.97%) is water.

The city is divided almost equally between Oakland County to the north and Wayne County to the south. Eight Mile Road (or Baseline Road) serves as the county line. Of the city's 2.06 square miles (5.34 km) in area and population of 5,970, 1.06 square miles (2.75 km) (51.4%) and 2,739 residences (45.9%) are within Wayne County. Oakland County contains 1.00 square mile (2.59 km) of land (48.6%) and 3,231 residents (54.1%).

In 2007, the median income for a household in the city was $98,054, and the median income for a family was $123,509.). Males had a median income of $75,126 versus $41,343 for females. The per capita income for the city was $43,454. About 1.0% of families and 1.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.2% of those under age 18 and 2.2% of those age 65 or over.

As of the census of 2010, there were 5,970 people, 2,596 households, and 1,643 families living in the city. The population density was 2,912.2 inhabitants per square mile (1,124.4/km). There were 2,767 housing units at an average density of 1,349.8 units per square mile (521.2 units/km). The racial makeup of the city was 93.7% White, 1.6% African American, 0.1% Native American, 2.6% Asian, 0.6% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race were 2.2% of the population.

There were 2,596 households, of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.8% were married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 36.7% were non-families. 32.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.94.

The median age in the city was 45.3 years. 22% of residents were under the age of 18; 5.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.1% were from 25 to 44; 34.3% were from 45 to 64; and 16.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.9% male and 52.1% female.

As of the census of 2000, there were 6,459 people, 2,720 households, and 1,795 families living in the city. The population density was 3,239.1 inhabitants per square mile (1,250.6/km). There were 2,801 housing units at an average density of 1,404.7 units per square mile (542.4 units/km). The racial makeup of the city was 96.11% White, 0.39% African American, 0.19% Native American, 1.86% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 0.59% from other races, and 0.77% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.64% of the population. In more detail, 18.7% were of German, 14.1% were of Irish, 12.3% were of Polish, 10.1% were of English, and 7.4% were of Italian ancestry.

There were 2,720 households, out of which 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.3% were married couples living together, 5.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.0% were non-families. 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.97.

Northville Public Schools is the local school district. Amerman Elementary School and Hillside Middle School are in the Northville city limits. Additionally, portions of Northville are zoned to Moraine Elementary School and Silver Springs Elementary School, both in Northville Township. Additionally some sections of Northville are zoned to Meads Mill Middle School in Northville Township. Northville High School in Northville Township is the zoned high school for all of the Northville District.

Our Lady of Victory School, a Catholic K-8 school, is in Northville. The church established the school in 1950. The first facility, which opened in 1952, had four rooms. An addition with four classrooms and an office was installed for $85,000 (~$663,662 in 2023) in 1961. An additional two classrooms and a connecting structure to the worship facility were added in 1985. The current 19 classroom facility opened in 2006. As of 2020 the school has over 450 students. Catholic schools are under the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit.

St. Paul's Lutheran School, a Lutheran K-8 school, is also in Northville. The affiliated church, founded in 1896 by Rev. John J Goulding, had established, dis-established, and then, in 1959, re-established the school. Post-1959 it was initially in a building with two rooms. Its current facility has ten rooms.