Jobs in the United States → United States guide → Cities → Detroit

Working in Detroit, MI

Jobs, pay and daily life in Detroit, from official statistics with source and year on every table.

In short: Detroit (Michigan): 645,702 residents, median household income $39,209, median rent $1,091, unemployment 5.6%.
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Map: Detroit in Michigan

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By AtiveSite · Published 07/11/2026 · Updated 07/11/2026 · Every figure is linked to its source below.

645,702residents (ACS 2024)
$39,209median household income
$1,091median rent a month
5.6%unemployment (BLS)
18.9%bachelor's degree or higher
51.0%homeowners

Overview

CITY (Detroit) Official statistic Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year (via Census Reporter) · Data: ACS 2020–2024

Detroit is a city in Michigan with 645,702 residents. The median household earns $39,209 a year and the median rent is $1,091 a month, which is 33.4% of the median household income. It is part of the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metropolitan area, where BLS counts 1,904,530 jobs.

Federal jobs in Michigan (335) →State guide: MichiganCountry guide

Jobs

LIVE (federal) + METRO Live feed + official statistic Source: USAJOBS (federal jobs only) · BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 · Data: 07/11/2026

There are 335 federal postings open in Michigan (USAJOBS, state level; we do not have a city filter for them). Private-sector jobs are not in this feed.

Open federal jobs in Michigan →

Occupations with the most jobs in the metro (among our 240 niches)

Sort:
Occupation ⇅Jobs ⇅Location quotient ⇅Median pay (year) ⇅Entry (10th pct.) ⇅Top (90th pct.) ⇅Median vs US ⇅
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators55,1003.20$49,240$37,000$77,550+10%
Retail Salespersons48,6101.02$35,130$28,550$48,720-1%
Home Health and Personal Care Aides46,4800.88$35,120$25,960$42,700-2%
Registered Nurses44,3101.07$97,280$78,140$110,650-0%
Fast Food and Counter Workers42,4300.90$29,590$25,960$36,140-5%
Cashiers37,9101.00$30,090$27,070$37,050-8%
General and Operations Managers37,2500.87$104,010$51,910$259,390-2%
Stockers and Order Fillers37,0901.07$36,720$30,690$47,800-2%
Office Clerks, General34,5701.14$45,810$31,720$63,440+2%
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand34,0300.94$40,330$32,350$52,080+0%
Customer Service Representatives31,3100.98$44,730$31,040$63,730-0%
Waiters and Waitresses29,2101.05$37,490$25,960$64,210+6%
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners26,8100.99$36,680$30,100$46,530-0%
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers25,7801.02$59,120$41,960$76,660+1%
Software Developers24,8701.20$130,760$82,720$167,490-4%
Mechanical Engineers22,5006.19$109,470$79,880$161,030+5%
Accountants and Auditors19,3901.09$80,650$58,080$133,870-4%
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education18,3901.08$65,210$48,750$99,460+2%
Industrial Engineers17,3503.87$104,110$78,860$150,430+2%
Nursing Assistants17,3000.98$39,900$37,900$47,620-6%

Highest-paying occupations in the metro (at least 500 jobs)

Sort:
Occupation ⇅Jobs ⇅Location quotient ⇅Median pay (year) ⇅Entry (10th pct.) ⇅Top (90th pct.) ⇅Median vs US ⇅
Emergency Medicine Physicians5201.28$447,750$234,510$466,920+33%
Chief Executives2,0700.83$304,110$112,220$604,220+42%
Nurse Anesthetists1,1701.84$243,130$220,840$302,070+3%
Pediatricians, General7301.51$218,000$105,180$307,250+4%
Obstetricians and Gynecologists5502.09$209,550$140,230$595,210-28%
Family Medicine Physicians1,9401.48$181,990$65,310$382,240-25%
Computer and Information Systems Managers7,9800.97$170,040$103,890$234,520-3%
Architectural and Engineering Managers9,2603.43$168,550$128,680$218,050-2%
Dentists, General1,7001.12$167,860$121,920$283,380-2%
Purchasing Managers1,4901.45$163,660$103,140$221,410+11%
Financial Managers11,6701.13$160,240$91,520$285,500-4%
Sales Managers8,7601.12$155,560$79,250$251,160+5%
General Internal Medicine Physicians1,2301.50$149,990$59,980$359,200-42%
Human Resources Managers3,0901.14$149,980$97,340$232,790+0%
Marketing Managers3,3700.70$149,310$86,600$236,670-10%
Optometrists6101.16$142,690$117,240$213,850+4%
Managers, All Other4,5000.59$138,970$82,860$214,660-2%
Pharmacists4,2801.09$137,770$63,630$170,230-2%
Lawyers10,1101.09$134,980$78,730$246,420-15%
Nurse Practitioners3,4000.86$134,390$106,110$164,390+2%

Economy

METRO (Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI) Official statistic Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 · BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics · Data: OEWS May 2025; BLS 2026M09

These figures are for the whole Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metropolitan area, not the city alone.

Sort:
Occupation field ⇅Jobs ⇅Location quotient ⇅Median pay ⇅Median vs US ⇅
Office and Administrative Support208,2300.96$47,280-0%
Production167,9201.60$48,490+3%
Transportation and Material Moving164,9500.98$44,200-0%
Sales and Related158,2800.96$37,710-2%
Food Preparation and Serving Related153,1400.91$34,700-1%
Management135,8601.00$127,690+1%
Business and Financial Operations127,3300.99$81,540-1%
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical126,9201.05$84,090-3%
Healthcare Support93,9400.97$37,670-2%
Educational Instruction and Library84,9100.76$60,810+0%
Architecture and Engineering75,8602.37$103,080+4%
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair74,8401.00$60,310+1%
Construction and Extraction66,2100.84$63,450+7%
Computer and Mathematical63,5200.99$104,070-5%
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance51,1700.92$37,410-1%
Protective Service36,5200.79$53,970+8%
Personal Care and Service35,5800.89$34,090-6%
Community and Social Service27,7400.85$57,000-2%
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media22,3400.89$60,910-3%
Legal16,9301.06$102,180-0%
Life, Physical, and Social Science10,6200.59$81,610-1%
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry1,7300.33$38,680+6%

Median pay across all occupations: $52,080 (US $50,980); unemployment 5.6% (2026M09).

Industries where residents work

Sort:
Industry (residents) ⇅Share of employed residents ⇅
Education and health care23.8%
Manufacturing15.5%
Professional, scientific, management, administrative12.1%
Retail trade10.0%
Arts, entertainment, accommodation, food9.8%
Transportation, warehousing, utilities7.4%
Other services5.8%
Finance, insurance, real estate5.4%
Construction4.5%
Public administration2.9%
Information1.3%
Wholesale trade1.2%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining0.4%

Commuting

CITY (Detroit) Official statistic Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year (via Census Reporter) · Data: ACS 2020–2024

Sort:
How residents get to work ⇅Share ⇅
Drive alone66.8%
Public transit3.9%
Walk2.6%
Work from home9.8%
Commute of 45 minutes or more8.5%

Shares are of workers aged 16 and over; they describe residents, wherever they work.

Pay and cost

CITY + METRO Official statistic Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year (via Census Reporter) · BEA Regional Price Parities · Data: ACS 2020–2024; RPP 2024

Sort:
Indicator ⇅Value ⇅
Median household income$39,209
Income per person$24,766
Median gross rent per month$1,091
Yearly rent as share of median household income33.4%
Median home value$95,900
Homeowners51.0%
Poverty rate34.5%
Price level of the metro area (US = 100)100.3
Metro median pay, all occupations$52,080

Does this salary work here? (estimate)

Estimate for a wage earner: 2026 federal brackets and standard deduction (IRS), Social Security 6.2% up to $184,500, Medicare 1.45% (+0.9% above $200,000 single / $250,000 married), and a state rate you set. It ignores credits, pre-tax deductions, local taxes and benefits. Sources: IRS: tax year 2026 inflation adjustments · SSA wage base per Federal Register notice 2025-19763.

State tax: Flat 4.25%.

People and education

CITY (Detroit) Official statistic Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year (via Census Reporter) · Data: ACS 2020–2024

Sort:
Indicator ⇅Value ⇅
Median age35.9
High school or higher (25+)83.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)18.9%
Born abroad8.3%
Labour force participation (16+)54.5%

Where the foreign-born residents come from (by region)

Asia12,115 (52.7%)
Latin America7,479 (32.5%)
Africa2,347 (10.2%)
Europe928 (4.0%)
Northern America117 (0.5%)

Work permits are federal: see permits and first steps.

Climate

CITY (Detroit) Model estimate on a 0.5° grid Source: NASA POWER climatology (MERRA-2, 2001–2025) · Data: monthly means 2001–2025

Sort:
Month ⇅Mean temperature (°C) ⇅Mean temperature (°F) ⇅Precipitation (mm) ⇅
Jan-4.72452
Feb-4.02552
Mar1.33456
Apr7.64676
May14.15797
Jun19.56784
Jul22.47285
Aug21.87182
Sep18.06474
Oct10.85172
Nov4.24062
Dec-1.52955

Satellite-reanalysis climatology on a grid of roughly 50 km, so it smooths local effects (hills, coast, city heat). It is not a weather-station record.

Nearby cities

CITY Calculation Source: straight-line distance from coordinates (Census Gazetteer) · Data: 2024

Sort:
City ⇅State ⇅Distance (straight line) ⇅Population ⇅Median household income ⇅Median rent ⇅
WarrenMI9 mi137,928$64,016$1,225
Sterling HeightsMI14 mi133,573$79,909$1,292
Ann ArborMI33 mi122,036$82,212$1,649
ToledoOH55 mi267,463$49,724$901
ClevelandOH96 mi365,391$43,383$961
AkronOH121 mi189,247$48,076$955
Grand RapidsMI136 mi198,535$69,108$1,266
Fort WayneIN138 mi268,589$61,422$999
ColumbusOH166 mi931,551$67,084$1,383
DaytonOH188 mi136,579$45,247$918

Straight-line distance in miles, not driving distance.

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FAQ

How many people live in Detroit?

645,702 (Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024 5-year estimate).

What is the median rent in Detroit?

$1,091 a month (ACS 2020–2024), which is 33.4% of the median household income.

What is the median household income in Detroit?

$39,209 (ACS 2020–2024, in 2024 dollars).

What is the unemployment rate in Detroit?

5.6% (BLS metro area 2026M09).

Which state is Detroit in?

Michigan. See the state guide for minimum wage, taxes and pay.

Sources

Sources

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