Ranking · Worst of · 2026
Highest unemployment by ZIP code in Metro Detroit
Unemployment rate for every ZIP code in Metro Detroit, ranked from the latest Census estimates.
By Victoria Jackson, Editor In Chief
1 min read
- Zip codes compared
- 226
- Median, Metro Detroit
- 5.1%
- Number 1, ZIP 48227
- 20.3%
ZIP 48227 ranks first for Unemployment rate, at 20.3%
Unemployment rate, Metro Detroit. 10 places.
-
1
ZIP 48227 20.3%
Around Detroit, Wayne County
-
2
ZIP 48205 19.4%
Around Detroit, Wayne County
-
3
ZIP 48238 19.2%
Around Detroit, Wayne County
-
4
ZIP 48211 19.2%
Around Detroit, Wayne County
-
5
ZIP 48206 18.7%
Around Detroit, Wayne County
-
6
ZIP 48204 17.5%
Around Detroit, Wayne County
-
7
ZIP 48213 17.1%
Around Detroit, Wayne County
-
8
ZIP 48203 16.9%
Around Detroit, Wayne County
-
9
ZIP 48219 16.7%
Around Detroit, Wayne County
-
10
ZIP 48224 15.3%
Around Detroit, Wayne County
Numbers do not play favorites, and this list is no exception. Rebuild Detroit compared 226 ZIP codes in Metro Detroit by unemployment rate for 2026.
ZIP 48227 comes first with 20.2%, 297% above the median. The Metro Detroit median is 5.1%.
Who leads the list
ZIP 48227 leads the list with 20.2% (Around Detroit, Wayne County). ZIP 48205 is second with 19.4% (Around Detroit, Wayne County).
ZIP 48238 takes third with 19.2% (Around Detroit, Wayne County).
The rest of the top 10
Rounding out the top 10 are ZIP 48211 (19.2%), ZIP 48206 (18.7%), ZIP 48204 (17.5%), ZIP 48213 (17.1%), ZIP 48203 (16.9%), ZIP 48219 (16.7%), and ZIP 48224 (15.3%). Every one of the top 10 is in Wayne County.
The other end of the list
At the other end of Metro Detroit, ZIP 48070 has the lowest figure with 0.9%. That is a spread of 19.4% between first and last place.
By the numbers
The gap between number 1 and number 2 is 0.9%. The top 10 average 18.0%, against 5.7% for the other 216 ZIP codes.
113 of the 226 ZIP codes sit above the median.
What it means for you
So what does that mean for you?
The jobless rate moves home prices, rents and how long a for-sale sign stays up. A low spot here is not a verdict on the people who live there. It is one public number, and numbers move when a community moves them.
How we ranked
Every number is the U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates. ZIP codes are the Census Bureau's ZIP code tabulation areas, each listed with the nearest served town.
Ties are broken alphabetically.
Final word
This list updates when the numbers behind it do, and every place on it links to its own guide on Rebuild Detroit. Stay tuned.
Sources
Editor In Chief, Detroit Ledger
Victoria Jackson is a lifelong student and sharp-eyed documentarian of all things Detroit, from its rich musical roots and cultural icons to its shifting neighborhoods, storied architecture, and underground legends.