Novi was organized as a township in 1832, on land taken from Farmington Township. The name Novi was offered by resident Dr. J. C. Emery, at the suggestion of his wife. Residents were reportedly looking for a shorter name than Farmington.

A local account has said that it was named after the sixth toll gate (No. VI) on the Grand River Road. However, the township was named in 1832 and the toll road was not constructed until the 1850s. Another account said that it was the sixth stagecoach stop outside Detroit. Similarly, the township was said to be stop six (or VI) on the railroad, but the Holly, Wayne & Monroe Railway (now CSX Transportation) was not constructed through the township until 1870–71, almost 40 years after the organization and naming of the township.

Novi was incorporated as a city in 1969 after the approval of a city charter on February 18, 1969, by Village of Novi voters. Charter approval followed an election on May 20, 1968, in which voters approved the incorporation of the city: the vote was 694 in favor and 283 votes against. The charter became effective on February 24, 1969. There had been several previous attempts by organizers to incorporate as a city. The city was incorporated along the boundaries of the existing Village of Novi, and grew quickly in the latter half of the 20th century as second- and third-stage waves of white flight from the City of Detroit and older suburbs resulted in more extensive urban sprawl in the region.

• The historic Township Hall was originally located on Novi Road, south of Grand River. It was moved to the Novi Library property in the 1980s. It was recently relocated again onto the property that was the site of the Jacob and Rebecca Fuerst Farmstead.
• Tollgate Farm is a 160-acre (650,000m) farmstead and educational center.
• The Colonel Samuel White Homestead site is identified by a Michigan Historical Marker.
• A portion of the original Novi Depot was constructed in 1871 for the Holly, Wayne and Monroe Railroad (now absorbed by CSX Transportation).
• The Jacob and Rebecca Fuerst Farmstead was a historic site listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The City of Novi demolished the Fuerst Farmstead in order to develop the site for other historic uses. The north barn was destroyed on July 16, 2008. The farm house was demolished in August 2008. The south and east barns were dismantled and removed from the site. None of the original buildings of the Farmstead was preserved on the site. But the historic Township Hall was relocated to this site.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 31.29 square miles (81.04 km), of which 30.25 square miles (78.35 km) is land and 1.04 square miles (2.69 km) (3.32%) is water.

The city is located on Walled Lake which lies mainly within Novi and is the largest lake in the city. It also serves as the headwaters of the Middle Branch of the Rouge River. Shawood Lake is southwest of Walled Lake. Several smaller lakes within the city were created by gravel pit mining or as stormwater retention areas. Most of the city lies within the Rouge River watershed. Some areas on the north and west side of the city are part of the Huron River watershed.

Three major freeways converge in Novi. The city's location provides direct access to several major freeways including I-96, I-696, I-275, and M-5.

The city is located within the boundaries of the survey township of Novi Township, which now also includes portions of the cities of Northville and Walled Lake. The remaining unincorporated township is only a tiny fraction of 0.11 square miles (0.28 km) surrounded by the city.

As of the census of 2010, there were 55,224 people, 22,258 households, and 14,599 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,825.0 inhabitants per square mile (704.6/km). There were 24,226 housing units at an average density of 800.6 per square mile (309.1/km). The racial makeup of the city was 73.0% White, 8.1% African American, 0.2% Native American, 15.9% Asian, 0.7% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 3.0% of the population.

There were 22,258 households, of which 35.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.1% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.4% were non-families. 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.11.

The median age in the city was 39.1 years. 25.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 28% were from 25 to 44; 28.6% were from 45 to 64; and 11.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.4% male and 51.6% female.

In 2000, there were 18,726 households, out of which 36.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.2% were married couples living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.2% were non-families. 28.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.17.

In the city, 27.6% of the population was under the age of 18, 6.7% was from 18 to 24, 35.7% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 8.1% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city in 2000 was $71,918, and the median income for a family was $91,369 (These figures had risen to $78,151 and $101,286 respectively according to a 2007 estimate). Males had a median income of $65,590 versus $38,432 for females. The per capita income for the city was $35,992. About 1.6% of families and 2.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.4% of those under age 18 and 2.7% of those age 65 or over.

As of 2011, 15.9% of its residents were Asian, and Novi had 2,438 Japanese residents, giving it the largest Japanese population of any Michigan municipality. By 2011, the Japanese population experienced an increase of 53% from 2003, when the city had 1,417 Japanese residents. The economic director of the City of Novi, Ara Topouzian, said "We've been told often by the consulate-general's office or other Japanese officials that they refer to Novi as Little Tokyo because we've been very warm and welcoming and accommodating." Many Japanese in Novi are in the United States on temporary visas which last for three to five years. According to Dr. Andrew Vosburgh of the St. John Providence Health System, many Japanese in Novi work in development, engineering, and research. Their workplaces are located in and around several cities including Novi, Ann Arbor, and Springfield Township. As of April 2013 there are 2,666 Japanese nationals who live in Novi.

The Novi Public Library has Japanese content in the adult and children's sections. The Novi Community School District has enrollment information and other documents available in Japanese. The websites of the City of Novi, the Novi Public Library, and St. John Providence Park Hospital have Japanese welcome messages. The Novi Kroger and the Staybridge Suites extended stay hotel cater to Japanese customers. The hotel stated in 2011 that Japanese make up 30% of its customers, and had increased in a two-year span ending in 2011. The city also has Japanese cultural activities and cultural activities offered in Japanese, including horseback riding lessons conducted in the Japanese language and a Japanese movie night. The hospital offers cultural awareness training for employees, documents translated in Japanese, Japanese translators, and yoga classes conducted in Japanese.

In the 1990s, several Japanese automobile firms had opened offices along M-14. Nissan Motor Co. opened its Farmington Hills office in November 1991. In addition, Toyota established a technical center in Ann Arbor. Novi had gained several Japanese restaurants by the mid-1990s. In summer 2011, the Japanese School of Detroit moved to Novi from Birmingham.

In January 2022, Palstec Industrial Co.Ltd, a publicly traded company based in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture, relocated its local subsidiary to the same city, highlighting the recent trend of Japanese companies moving into the area.

The 2008 CNN/Money "Best Places to Live" stated that the city had a significant Asian Indian population. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, there were 1,278 ethnic Asian Indians in Novi.

The 25,000-square-foot (2,300 m) Sri Venkateswara Temple and Cultural Center (SVTCC), built from $10 million, opened in 2013. It is the first Michigan Hindu temple to be named after a southern Indian deity. It had a temporary location for five years before it opened its permanent facility. As of 2013, the temple has a devotee base of about 3,000 people. The community operating the temple mostly comprises Indians who speak Telugu. Many of them originate from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Novi operates under the council-manager form of government. It is governed by a 7-member city council, consisting of a mayor elected to two-year terms, and six other councilmembers elected to staggered four-year terms. Councilmembers serve part-time, at-large, and without pay, and are elected in a nonpartisan capacity in odd-numbered years. The council elects one of its members to serve as mayor pro tempore.

The city council appoints a city manager, who oversees the day-to-day operations of the city. The first city charter was adopted by the voters in 1969. The last major charter revision was in 1977.

Most of Novi is located in Michigan's 6th congressional district, while a small portion is located in the 11th congressional district.

Most of Novi is in the Novi Community Schools district, which includes Novi High School, Novi Middle School, and six elementary schools in the city of Novi. A significant portion of the city's south side is located in the Northville Public Schools district, which includes one elementary school in Novi. Another portion is in the Walled Lake Consolidated School District, which includes two elementary schools in Novi. A small portion at the west end is part of the South Lyon Community Schools district.

Private schools include:

• Detroit Catholic Central High School
• Novi Christian Academy

The Catholic K-8 school Our Lady of Victory School in Northville belongs to the Our Lady of Victory Parish, which designated the two Novi Catholic churches (Holy Family and Saint James) as "collaboration partner parishes". St. William Church, which includes sections of Novi in its service area, also operates a Catholic K-8 school, St. William Catholic School, in Walled Lake. The Catholic schools belong to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit.

The Japanese School of Detroit (JSD), a supplementary Japanese school, offers Saturday Japanese classes. It moved to Novi from Birmingham in the summer of 2011.

The Sundai Michigan International Academy (駿台ミシガン国際学院 Sundai Mishigan Kokusai Gakuin), affiliated with the Sundai Center for International Education (駿台国際教育センター Sundai Kokusai Kyōiku Sentā, see 駿台予備学校), is located in Novi. The school's purpose is to prepare Japanese children who have lived in the United States for a long time for a return to Japan, and to assist newly arrived Japanese children who have no fluency of English.

Novi is served by the Charles and Myrtle Walker Novi Public Library. It first opened in 1960 in a former bank building. An addition, installed in 1964, made the library two times its original size. In 1975, the groundbreaking ceremonies for a 23,190-square-foot (2,154 m) new library facility were held, and the library opened in 1976. The project to construct the "Dorothy Flattery Wing", the eastern wing, began in 1988. The wing was dedicated on April 22, 1989. The current facility had its groundbreaking in 2008, opening to the public on June 1, 2010.