The list
Homes standing vacant, Detroit.
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1
Palmer Park 51.6%
District 2, 1 Census tract
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2
Petoskey-Otsego 50.4%
District 5, 1 Census tract
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3
Wildemere Park 49.3%
District 5, 1 Census tract
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4
Greenfield Park 48.3%
District 3, 1 Census tract
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5
Nardin Park 48.1%
District 7, 2 Census tracts
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6
Jamison 47.7%
District 5, 1 Census tract
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7
Poletown East 47.3%
District 5, 2 Census tracts
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8
Midwest 46.5%
District 6, 6 Census tracts
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9
Riverbend 45.6%
District 4, 1 Census tract
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10
Dexter-Linwood 44.2%
District 5, 7 Census tracts
Your next step
Thinking of selling? See what your house could bring today.
Get a cash offer for your houseNumbers do not play favorites, and this list is no exception. Rebuild Detroit compared 138 neighborhoods in Detroit by homes standing vacant for 2026.
Palmer Park comes first with 51.6%, 149% above the median. The Detroit median is 20.7%.
Who leads the list
Palmer Park leads the list with 51.6% (District 2, 1 Census tract). Petoskey-Otsego is second with 50.4% (District 5, 1 Census tract).
Wildemere Park takes third with 49.3% (District 5, 1 Census tract).
The rest of the top 10
Rounding out the top 10 are Greenfield Park (48.3%), Nardin Park (48.1%), Jamison (47.7%), Poletown East (47.3%), Midwest (46.5%), Riverbend (45.6%), and Dexter-Linwood (44.2%). District 5 holds 5 of the top 10 spots, and District 2 holds 1.
The other end of the list
At the other end of Detroit, Far West Detroit has the lowest figure with 3.2%. That is a spread of 48.4% between first and last place.
By the numbers
The gap between number 1 and number 2 is 1.1%. The top 10 average 47.9%, against 20.2% for the other 128 neighborhoods.
69 of the 138 neighborhoods sit above the median.
What it means for you
So what does that mean for you?
Vacant homes weigh on a block, and they are also where the next renovation usually starts. 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. A neighborhood's figures combine the Census tracts whose center falls inside its boundary; its medians are population-weighted averages of those tracts' medians.
Industrial areas, parks and the airport are left out.
Final word
This list updates when the numbers behind it do, and every place on it links to its own guide on Rebuild Detroit. That is the story so far.
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.