Detroit, Michigan had 649,095 residents as of July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025), ranking #27 nationally and #1 in Michigan. cost of living runs 0.3% above the U.S. average (BEA RPP 2024); a family of four needs roughly $90,596/yr to break even (2025 modeled). This profile draws on 13 federal datasets covering population, housing, income, employment, climate, and risk.
Population grew 1.5% from the April 2020 base to mid-2025.
Vintage 2025 · annual estimates
Recent history (V2025 series, 2020 base → 2025).
2020 base: 639,534 → 2025: 649,095 (+1.5%)
Year
Population
Reference date
2020 base
639,534
April 1, 2020
2020
638,419
July 1, 2020
2021
635,046
July 1, 2021
2022
634,219
July 1, 2022
2023
637,452
July 1, 2023
2024
644,035
July 1, 2024
2025
649,095
July 1, 2025
Earlier history (2010–2019, prior Census vintage)
These figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Vintage 2019 release — a separate, earlier methodology. They’re shown here as historical context only; the 2010 and 2019 values aren’t directly comparable to the 2020–2025 series above.
Population shrank 6.1% from 2010 to 2019 (V2019 — see seam note below).
2010 base: 713,898 → 2019: 670,031 (-5.8%)
Year
Population
Reference date
2010 base
713,898
April 1, 2010
2010
711,131
July 1, 2010
2011
705,118
July 1, 2011
2012
700,183
July 1, 2012
2013
691,868
July 1, 2013
2014
682,609
July 1, 2014
2015
679,410
July 1, 2015
2016
677,143
July 1, 2016
2017
674,631
July 1, 2017
2018
672,977
July 1, 2018
2019
670,031
July 1, 2019
What's the median income in Detroit?
Median household income is 49% below the U.S. median ($39,938 vs $77,719); 32.7% live in poverty — 20.2 points above the 12.5% U.S. rate.
Income and poverty estimates for Detroit from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year estimates (window 2020–2024). Every figure is shown with its 90% margin of error (MOE). Cells where the ± margin exceeds half the estimate are flagged "low precision." See methodology §12.
Measure
Estimate
± margin / note
Median household income
39,938-48.6% vs US
±937
Per capita income
24,594-43.2% vs US
±418
Population in poverty
32.7%
share of population for whom poverty status is determined
Median home value is 72% below the U.S. median ($83,900 vs $303,400); median rent is 20% below ($1,074 vs $1,348); price-to-income ratio is 2.1×, making it 1.9× as affordable as the typical U.S. city (3.9×).
Poverty (Census SAIPE 2024, model-based), unemployment (BLS LAUS 2024 annual averages), and remote-work share (ACS 2020–2024) for Detroit. Numbers are labeled at their native grain — place-grain when BLS publishes it, otherwise per-county. We do not compute population-weighted county averages. See methodology §13.
Measure
Value
Grain
Unemployment rate (annual avg)
9.1%
Detroit (BLS sub-state LAUS)
Civilian labor force
262,567
2024 annual avg
Worked from home
12.0%-14.1% vs US
share of workers 16+ commuting from home · U.S. median: 14% · ACS
County context — Detroit sits in Wayne County:
County
Poverty rate
Median HH income
Unemployment
Wayne County
22.1%
$59,484
5.5%
Top industries by private employment — NAICS supersectors rolled up from Detroit's linked county in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW, 2024 annual averages). See methodology §11.
#
Industry (NAICS supersector)
Private employment
Avg weekly wage
#1
Health care and social assistance (62)
116,757
$1,344 / wk
#2
Manufacturing (31-33)
89,659
$1,752 / wk
#3
Retail trade (44-45)
64,087
$779 / wk
#4
Accommodation and food services (72)
60,098
$565 / wk
#5
Transportation and warehousing (48-49)
58,035
$1,356 / wk
What workers earn in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metro — top occupations by employment plus six curated benchmarks (registered nurse, software developer, elementary teacher, general manager, retail salesperson, truck driver). Wages are metro-area medians from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). See methodology §25.
Occupation
Employment
Median annual
Median hourly
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators
62,530
$47,840
$23.00
Fast Food and Counter Workers
47,450
$29,490
$14.18
Stockers and Order Fillers
40,950
$37,380
$17.97
Home Health and Personal Care Aides
38,410
$32,290
$15.53
Cashiers
36,350
$29,750
$14.31
Office Clerks, General
36,070
$45,640
$21.94
Customer Service Representatives
32,180
$45,160
$21.71
Retail Salespersons · benchmark
48,560
$34,700
$16.68
Registered Nurses · benchmark
44,280
$88,980
$42.78
General and Operations Managers · benchmark
37,250
$105,030
$50.49
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers · benchmark
26,140
$55,830
$26.84
Software Developers · benchmark
21,670
$124,780
$59.99
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education · benchmark
Household budget figures are arithmetic floors using current federal sources at the grains documented in methodology. Not a recommended salary, not a poverty threshold, not a composite score.
6.6% foreign-born (U.S. median 14%); Spanish is the most-spoken language at home other than English (7.0% of residents 5+).
Where Detroit's residents come from and what they speak at home, from the ACS 5-Year 2020–2024. Foreign-born is the share of residents born outside the U.S. (any citizenship status); language-at-home is reported only for residents 5 and older.
Measure
Value
± margin / note
Foreign-born share
6.6%-52.7% vs US
share of residents born outside the U.S. · U.S. median: 14% · ACS B05002
Speak only English at home
88.0%
share of population 5+ · ACS C16001 line 2
Top non-English language at home
Spanish7.0%
most-spoken language other than English among residents 5+ · ACS C16001 collapsed buckets
Hottest month: July (84°F avg high). Coldest: January (19°F avg low). Annual precipitation: 34.2 in.
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) for Detroit from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. See methodology §15 for the gridded vs. station source path.
Average monthly highs & lows · 30-year normal (NOAA 1991–2020). Every number on this chart is an average.
bar = avg daily high → avg daily lowprecip in inches below each barprecip in millimeters below each bar
Composite risk score: 99.0/100 — Relatively High nationally; top hazard: Cold Wave (99.7).
Natural-hazard exposure for Detroit from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index (FEMA NRI March 2023). NRI is an expected-annual-loss composite calibrated on 1996–2019 historical losses, published at the U.S. county grain. See methodology §17.
County
NRI composite
Rating
Top hazards
Wayne County
99.0
Relatively High
Cold Wave · score 99.7 · Very High
Strong Wind · score 99.7 · Very High
Tornado · score 99.5 · Very High
Source: FEMA National Risk Index · FEMA NRI March 2023 · methodology →
Internet & broadband.
16 non-satellite ISPs serve the area; 60% of locations have gigabit-capable service per ISP filings.
Fixed broadband availability for Detroit from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's Broadband Data Collection (BDC), as of June 30, 2025. Every speed and provider count below is an ISP-reported advertised maximum — not measured throughput. Actual delivered speeds typically run 60–80% of advertised. See methodology §16.
Measure
Value
Note
Providers serving this city
16 + satellite
distinct ISPs, excluding satellite-only
Fiber providers
14
offer fiber-to-the-premises somewhere in the BDC
Units with ≥100/20 Mbps fixed
100.0%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Locations with ≥100 Mbps upload
60.4%
derived: max(fiber ≥100/20, gigabit). Fiber is symmetric; gigabit is ≥100 up by definition
Units with ≥1 Gbps fixed
60.4%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Total broadband-serviceable units
332,779
residential locations in the FCC Fabric (not households)
Source: FCC BDC · as of June 30, 2025 · methodology →
In-state context.
Detroit sits at state rank #1 among 533 cities in Michigan. Nearby in the state ranking:
Detroit is ranked #27 of 19,483 U.S. cities by 2025 population.
Just above in the profiled set: Boston, MA · #26 · 672,973 residents.
Just below in the profiled set: Portland, OR · #28 · 635,109 residents.
Quick travel facts for Detroit
Quick travel facts.
Nearest commercial airport
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport(DTW) ·
17 mi 28 km from city centroid
Sources: elevation from USGS Elevation Point Query Service (3DEP) · nearest airport from OurAirports CSV (FAA-aligned, type=large/medium, scheduled_service=yes) · best months derived from NOAA 1991-2020 normals · methodology →
Sources · provenance
Every listed dataset is used on this page.
The GEOID for Detroit is 2622000. These are the official datasets used by this profile's main data modules; click "methodology" for inclusion rules and the V2019 ↔ V2025 seam, or "source" for the raw publisher page.
