How big is Detroit, Michigan?

Detroit has a population of approximately 169,842 residents according to the latest U.S. Census American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2019–2023). It is a city by Census Place size classification.

Is housing in Detroit affordable?

By the years-to-own measure, housing in Detroit is affordable. The median home value ($121,183) divided by the median household income ($35,054) gives a ratio of 3.5 — meaning the median home costs about 3.5 years of pre-tax household income. (Lower is more affordable; the U.S. median is ~4.) Methodology: /methodology/years-to-own/.

What is the climate like in Detroit?

Detroit has an annual average temperature of 52.1°F. The coldest month is January (average 26.2°F) and the warmest is July (average 73.9°F). Source: NOAA NCEI nClimDiv, 1991–2020 climate normals.

Is the climate changing in Detroit?

Detroit is steadily warming at a rate of 3.79°F per century, measured as the linear regression slope of annual mean temperature on year since 1970. Source: NOAA NCEI nClimDiv. Methodology: /methodology/warming-velocity/.

What is the median household income in Detroit?

The median household income in Detroit is $35,054, which ranks at the 5th percentile nationally — higher than 5% of U.S. Census places. Source: U.S. Census American Community Survey 5-year 2019–2023.

How did Detroit vote in the 2024 presidential election?

Detroit is Democratic-leaning. In the 2024 presidential election, the underlying county recorded 34% Republican and 63% Democratic. Source: MIT Election Lab.

What is the local economy like in Detroit?

Detroit's economy is moderately concentrated across major industry sectors, with a Herfindahl–Hirschman Index of 2,318. The single largest NAICS sector accounts for 40% of local establishments. Source: U.S. Census County Business Patterns. Methodology: /methodology/industry-hhi/.

What county is Detroit in?

Detroit is in Wayne County, MI. Wayne County has a total population of 1,594,563 with a years-to-own ratio of 2.9.

How old is the population in Detroit?

The median resident in Detroit is 35.6 years old, which is typical than the U.S. median of about 38.9. Source: U.S. Census ACS.

Detroit, Michigan — Commerce Institute

55 years

The slow remaking of a wayne

Per-capita personal income from 1969 to 2024, drawn from BEA County Income data.

Per-capita personal income

BEA Personal Income · Wayne County

Income up 13.1× in 55 years. Wayne County per-capita personal income rose from $4,252 in 1969 to $55,715 in 2024.

Time machine

Detroit in 2024 is what Overland Park, KS was in 2009.

Across our 8 dimensions, Detroit's 2024 profile most closely matches Overland Park, KS's 2009 profile. Similarity score 0.99.

The setting

The lay of the land

Topography

Elevation

618 ft

Mid-elevation Northeast/Midwest range.

126 years of weather, in one panel

What weather looks like here

Annual averages back to 1900 (NOAA NCEI nClimDiv), severe weather counts since 1950 (NOAA Storm Events Database).

1900–2025 — every year's average temperature

Each stripe is one year. Blue = cooler, red = warmer. The trend is the story. Dashed line marks 1970, when the modern warming era began. 126 years of NOAA nClimDiv records.

Long-run shift

+3.2°F

1900–1929 avg → 2000s+ avg

Warmest year

2024 · 53.7°F

Coldest year

1917 · 43.9°F

By the numbers

Annual avg temp

52.1°F

↗ +2.7°F since 1900

Hottest month

73.9°F

July average

Coldest month

26.2°F

January average

Annual precip

35.1″

Above US avg (30″)

Heating degree days

5,549

cold heating bills

Cooling degree days

892

light AC use

Severe weather, 1950–2024

Counted events from NOAA Storm Events Database

Tornadoes

420

≈ 5 per year

Hail

3,300

≈ 44 per year

Flash floods

490

≈ 6 per year

Floods

250

≈ 3 per year

Lightning

410

≈ 5 per year

Within driving distance

In Detroit's orbit

Nearby places — neighbors, the closest county seat, the closest college town. Click through to compare.

Mount Clemens

MI · pop

Dearborn

MI · pop

Hamtramck

MI · pop

Dearborn Heights

MI · pop

Sterling Heights

MI · pop

Ypsilanti

MI · pop

Southfield

MI · pop

Wayne

MI · pop

Against every other US town

What stands out

Where Detroit ranks among 32,000+ US Census places. Each dot is this place; the gray band is the national distribution; the red tick is the national median.

Industry mix

Local establishment count by NAICS sector · Census County Business Patterns · 2014–2022

Retail28%

Healthcare21%

Food & lodging18%

Professional15%

Construction11%

Manufacturing7%

Agriculture0%

What's notable about Detroit

Bottom 5% nationally for household income
Top 1% nationally for population size
Bottom quartile nationally for home values (rank 20)
Top quartile nationally for climate trend (rank 77)

If you like Detroit

Towns that feel familiar

Across our 768-dimensional embedding of demographics, climate, and economy, these are the places most like Detroit.

#1 · 1.0

Dearborn

MI · pop

HHI$47k

Jan temp26°F

#2 · 0.99

Dearborn Heights

MI · pop

HHI$64k

Jan temp25°F

#3 · 0.99

Hamtramck

MI · pop

HHI$39k

Jan temp26°F

#4 · 0.99

Southfield

MI · pop

HHI$53k

Jan temp23°F

Frequently asked

Common questions about Detroit

Each answer is computed from the data on this page. Citation sources linked in each answer.

How big is Detroit, Michigan?: Detroit has a population of approximately 169,842 residents according to the latest U.S. Census American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2019–2023). It is a city by Census Place size classification.
Is housing in Detroit affordable?: By the years-to-own measure, housing in Detroit is affordable. The median home value ($121,183) divided by the median household income ($35,054) gives a ratio of 3.5 — meaning the median home costs about 3.5 years of pre-tax household income. (Lower is more affordable; the U.S. median is ~4.) Methodology: /methodology/years-to-own/.
What is the climate like in Detroit?: Detroit has an annual average temperature of 52.1°F. The coldest month is January (average 26.2°F) and the warmest is July (average 73.9°F). Source: NOAA NCEI nClimDiv, 1991–2020 climate normals.
Is the climate changing in Detroit?: Detroit is steadily warming at a rate of 3.79°F per century, measured as the linear regression slope of annual mean temperature on year since 1970. Source: NOAA NCEI nClimDiv. Methodology: /methodology/warming-velocity/.
What is the median household income in Detroit?: The median household income in Detroit is $35,054, which ranks at the 5th percentile nationally — higher than 5% of U.S. Census places. Source: U.S. Census American Community Survey 5-year 2019–2023.
How did Detroit vote in the 2024 presidential election?: Detroit is Democratic-leaning. In the 2024 presidential election, the underlying county recorded 34% Republican and 63% Democratic. Source: MIT Election Lab.
What is the local economy like in Detroit?: Detroit's economy is moderately concentrated across major industry sectors, with a Herfindahl–Hirschman Index of 2,318. The single largest NAICS sector accounts for 40% of local establishments. Source: U.S. Census County Business Patterns. Methodology: /methodology/industry-hhi/.
What county is Detroit in?: Detroit is in Wayne County, MI. Wayne County has a total population of 1,594,563 with a years-to-own ratio of 2.9.
How old is the population in Detroit?: The median resident in Detroit is 35.6 years old, which is typical than the U.S. median of about 38.9. Source: U.S. Census ACS.

Every number on this page comes from a federal data source.

Commerce Institute builds profiles from public-domain federal datasets only — no surveys, no proprietary scoring, no opaque indexes. Every metric on this page is queryable; every methodology is published.

U.S. Census ACS — demographics, housing, education, 2014–2023
BEA Personal Income — per-capita income, 1969–2024
BLS QCEW — wages by NAICS sector, 1990–2024
NOAA NCEI nClimDiv — climate, 1901–2024
NOAA Storm Events — severe weather, 1950–2024
Zillow ZHVI — home values, 2000–2025
FHFA HPI — housing index, 1975–2025
IRS SOI Migration — net flows + AGI, 1991–2022
MIT Election Lab — presidential, 2008–2024
Census CBP — business establishments by NAICS, 2014–2022
USGS Elevation — place elevation
OpenStreetMap — retail brand presence, F&B amenities
+ 23 more sources — covering health, schools, banking, agriculture, mobility, civic life

Rendered 2026-05-12. See methodology for every metric definition.

Detroit,
Michigan.

48227

Wayne County, MI

Michigan

The slow remaking of a wayne

The lay of the land

What weather looks like here

In Detroit's orbit

What stands out

What's notable about Detroit

Towns that feel familiar

Common questions about Detroit

Every number on this page comes from a federal data source.