How much do households in the Detroit, MI area spend on rent?
Data updated September 16, 2024
About $1.11K, or 31.9% of their income, in 2018–2022. This is measured by comparing median rent and median monthly income for renting households.
Showing data for
In 2018–2022, median rent was
31.9%
of median income
In 2018–2022,
$1.11K
was the median rent per month
Comparing rent to renter income provides one measure of rental affordability.
Detroit, MI area’s median rent was about $1.11K per month in 2018–2022. Typical monthly income among renting households was about $3.48K per month during that same period.
A typical household spent about $1.11K on rent in the Detroit, MI area.
Median rent and median renter household income, 2018–2022
Dividing rent by income provides what is called a rent-to-income ratio. A higher ratio of rent-to-income indicates rent is less affordable while a lower ratio indicates greater affordability.
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The Department of Housing and Urban Development considers households with a rent-to-income ratio of more than 30%, that is, households that spend more than 30% of their income on housing, to be cost-burdened. Cost-burdened households may have less money for other necessities such as food, healthcare, or savings. When median monthly rent is more than 30% of median monthly income, it means a typical household would meet the definition of housing cost-burdened.
Detroit, MI area's rent-to-income ratio ranked 5 out of 14 Michigan metros.
Ratio of median rent to median renter household income, 2018–2022
Compared to other metro areas in Michigan, the Detroit, MI area has the second highest median rent and third highest median renter-household income. Out of the fourteen metros in the state, the Detroit, MI area’s rent-to-income ratio ranked tenth lowest.
The large metro average rent-to-income ratio was 31.4%.
Ratio of median rent to median renter household income, 2018–2022
The Detroit, MI area is classified as a large metro, which means it has over 1 million people. Compared to other large metros, the rent-to-income ratio in the Detroit, MI area is higher than is typical. The average rent-to-income ratio among large metros was 31.4% in 2018–2022, which is 0.5 percentage points lower than in the Detroit, MI area.
Renter income and rent, large metro areas (2018–2022)
| 1. | Atlanta, GA area | $4,480 |
| 2. | Baltimore, MD area | $4,588 |
| 3. | Birmingham, AL area | $3,306 |
| 4. | Boston, MA area | $5,388 |
| 5. | Buffalo, NY area | $3,131 |
| 6. | Charlotte, NC area | $4,307 |
| 7. | Cincinnati, OH area | $3,462 |
| 8. | Cleveland, OH area | $3,222 |
| 9. | Columbus, OH area | $4,100 |
| 10. | Dallas, TX area | $4,738 |
