AreaProfile

Detroit, Michigan

Area Profile

638,530 residents. Jobs, income, climate, physical risk, development and airport access for Detroit, in Wayne County.

59
Area Score
Bottom 34% of 133 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity127th of 139 published cities35
Growth87th of 134 published cities45
Housing affordabilityTop 48% of 150 published cities68
Climate111th of 149 published cities63
Physical resilienceTop 17% of 150 published cities81
Access106th of 149 published cities94
Economic stability149th of 150 published cities19
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable published city profiles: unemployment is 10.7% and the Opportunity signal places Detroit in the bottom 9%.

Residential permitting has slowed: 1,908 units authorized over the past twelve months, 32% below the prior year.

Natural-hazard exposure is lower than in most comparable published city profiles, placing Detroit in the top 17% for physical resilience.

At a glance

Population
638,530
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$39,938
Bottom 10% nationally
Density
4,603/sq mi
138.7 sq mi of land
Median age
35.2
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Wayne County
Michigan
Metro area
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI
Nearest major airport
DTW
17 mi · Detroit Metro Wayne County
Median home value
$83,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 10.7% is lower than 0% of the 140 measured US cities.

Employment grew 0.9% over the past year, to 239,715 employed residents.

Median household income of $39,938 is below 90% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$937$39,938Bottom 10%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$418$24,594Bottom 19%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate32.7%Top 8%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute26.6 minBottom 49%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher18.1%Bottom 43%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment239,715Top 28%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)0.4%Top 45%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)0.9%Top 7%June 2026
Labor force268,385Top 24%June 2026
Labor force participation54.1%Bottom 31%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$69,210Top 43%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$52,080Top 30%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)1.2%Top 1%June 2026
Unemployment rate10.7%Top 1%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032026/012026/06156.4
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 10.7% in June 2026.
Median household income, successive ACS releases
202120222023202440k35k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $39,938 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.
Largest occupations — Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators55,100$49,240
Retail Salespersons48,610$35,130
Home Health and Personal Care Aides46,480$35,120
Registered Nurses44,310$97,280
Fast Food and Counter Workers42,430$29,590
Cashiers37,910$30,090

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,074 takes 32% of median household income, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 2.1 times median household income here, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
32.3%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.1×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,074
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$83,900
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income2.10Bottom 26%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate50.3%Bottom 10%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±1,892329,393Top 1%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$13$1,074Top 42%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$1,317$83,900Bottom 11%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income32.3%Top 5%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate21.7%Top 21%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
45/ 100
Ranks 87 of 134 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing — 2 consecutive years, measured from 2020 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 1% since 2020, reaching 645,705 in 2024.

At 3.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
1,908
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
3.0
Bottom 38% nationally
Year over year
−32%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
54.3%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024646k635k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.
Housing units permitted per year
2020202120222023202420253k732
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+208%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 84°F and January a low of 20°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 29.9 inches.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station DETROIT CITY AP, 5.0 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND3.5"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation29.9"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low20°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high84°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing48°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

81 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are strong wind and winter weather.

Strong windModerate
Winter weatherModerate

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, tornado, inland flooding, heat wave, ice storm, lightning, earthquake, landslide, hurricane, wildfire, coastal flooding, hail.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Taxes

AreaProfile does not yet publish tax comparisons. No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, methodology transparency and update cadence, and the product rule is to omit a dimension rather than estimate it. The Area Score is calculated without a tax component and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Nothing on AreaProfile is individualized tax advice.

Access

5 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 17 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Detroit Metro Wayne CountyDTW17 mi12,003 ft
Eugene F Kranz Toledo ExpressTOL66 mi10,600 ft
Capital Region IntlLAN80 mi8,506 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Put Detroit side by side with a similar place.

Detroit vs ClevelandDetroit vs BuffaloDetroit vs ShreveportDetroit vs Rochester

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 29, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.

ZIP codes in Detroit

6 published ZIP profiles
ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeArea Score
4822850,117$30,68054
4821947,208$43,65559
4823545,600$39,26557
4821243,384$38,18657
4822141,392$57,87863
4822740,302$36,52757