Living close to
Michigan's largest city is much more affordable than you might think, as many local options give you full access to all of the cool amenities Detroit has to offer while helping you save a few bucks in the meantime.
Here are the 10 most affordable Detroit suburbs.
Key Stats:
- Median household income: $44,119
- Median home value: $73,100
Home to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport and a General Motors plant, Romulus has several huge employers that help fill this city with job opportunities. It makes the cut for our list thanks to the way its higher incomes and low cost of living form the perfect storm of affordability.
Romulus also has a great park called the Mary Ann Banks Park, as well as an athletic center with tons of space for recreational activities.
Key Stats:
- Median household income: $25,659
- Median home value: $46,600
A city that’s basically surrounded by Detroit, Hamtramck gives you access to all of the amenities you’ll need, while still keeping you in a town of only 20,000 residents.
The town is noteworthy throughout Michigan for the large number of festivals it hosts, including the Metro Times Blowout, Paczki Day, and the Hamtramck Labor Day Festival. If you’re looking for an active community that’s still affordable, Hamtramck might be the place for you.
Key Stats:
- Median home value: $62,500
- Median household income: $40,589
Lincoln Park is part of the “Downriver” area, a collection of suburbs that lie south of Detroit along the Detroit River. This is another affordable suburb that keeps you close to the city without the hustle and bustle that can make city life hectic.
Like many of the other suburbs in the Downriver area, Lincoln Park is notable for it’s affordable homes and low cost of living.
Key Stats:
- Income spent on rent: 34.3 percent
- Median home value: $59,000
Melvindale has no problem staying true to its town’s slogan, “The Little City with a Big Heart.” While it’s only got 10,000 residents, it has a very active community with roughly one-third of the population consisting of families.
While the average median income here is on the lower end of the spectrum with regards to our list, home prices are also very low, making Melvindale one of the most affordable Detroit suburbs.
Key Stats:
- Income spent on rent: 41.3 percent
- Median home value: $54,700
If you’re looking for an affordable Detroit suburb that’s on the rise, check out Hazel Park. In recent years, tons of new developments have gone up in the local area, including a new coffee shop, a pharmacy, and the tallest apartment building in town.
An artistic community has also popped up in recent years, with open mics, discussion forums, and film nights becoming a commonplace. As an added bonus, the crime rate has been on the decline in recent years, making Hazel Park one of the most appealing suburbs on our list.
Key Stats:
- Income spent on rent: 34.7 percent
- Median household income: $66,100
After taking a proactive approach to attract new business in recent years, Roseville has started to invest in its own future, making this Detroit suburb a great place to plan live if you’re planning for years to come.
It’s a pretty big community, with close to 50,000 residents, yet it still manages to maintain that special small town feel. Since it’s roughly 20 miles away from Detroit, it’s far enough from the city to avoid the congestion, while still making it easy to commute into town on a daily basis.
Key Stats:
- Median household income: $48,439
- Median home value: $88,200
Southgate is notable for having slightly higher incomes than most of the other affordable Detroit suburbs on our list. Not only is it the headquarters for the main newspaper in the Downriver area, it’s also got a large shopping center, plenty of retailers like Meijer and Lowe’s, and a large number of restaurants in the local area.
Southgate is home to a large education system, with six public schools, six private schools, and three colleges and universities.
Key Stats:
- Median home value: $50,200
- Median household income: $28,013
Ecorse has a very active community, with amenities including a great public library, a Senior Center, and a rowing club. Its location along the Detroit River also makes Ecorse great for enjoying a little bit of nature.
There are six parks, each with their own picnic area and playgrounds. This is one suburb that can’t be missed when you’re on the hunt for a new place to live.
Key Stats:
- Median home value: $83,100
- Income spent on rent: 30.5 percent
Garden City often gets statewide attention for being home to the Garden City High School Cougars athletic program. With a high school football stadium that seats more than 2,000 on a regular basis and a softball team that won the state championship in 2008, this school gets plenty of press.
Garden City also has over 209 acres of park space, which makes it easy for the residents here to get outside and get moving.
Key Stats:
- Median home value: $62,500
- Median household income: $43,207
Eastpointe has the entertainment and recreation you’d expect in a town much larger than 30,000. Eastpointe hosts a bunch of festivals and special events the summer months. A few of the local favorites include the Erin-Halfway Days Living History Festival and the Summer Fest held in John F. Kennedy Memorial Park.
While Eastpointe has developed a reputation of being more of a commuter community over the last couple decades, it’s got a local atmosphere that’s becoming more vibrant every year.
Our Methodology
To create this list of affordable Detroit suburbs, we took a look at the following criteria:
- Cost of living
- Median home value
- Percentage of income spent on rent
- Affordability ratio (median home value divided by median household income)
We then averaged those scores into one overall score and the places with the 10 lowest scores made up our list of the 10 most affordable Detroit suburbs.
For this list, we sourced data from AreaVibes, business listings, and the 2013 U.S. Census American Community Survey.
Want to see how all 51 Detroit suburbs stacked up? Take a look at the table below:
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