The list
Median rent as a share of renter income, Detroit.
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1
Aviation Sub 51.0%
District 7, 1 Census tract
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2
Berg-Lahser 51.0%
District 1, 2 Census tracts
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3
Chandler Park 51.0%
District 4, 1 Census tract
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4
Elijah McCoy 51.0%
District 5, 1 Census tract
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5
Far West Detroit 51.0%
District 7, 1 Census tract
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6
Grant 51.0%
District 3, 1 Census tract
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7
Happy Homes 51.0%
District 7, 1 Census tract
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8
Hubbell-Lyndon 51.0%
District 1, 2 Census tracts
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9
Jamison 51.0%
District 5, 1 Census tract
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10
Lasalle College Park 51.0%
District 4, 1 Census tract
Numbers do not play favorites, and this list is no exception. Rebuild Detroit compared 136 neighborhoods in Detroit by median rent as a share of renter income for 2026.
Aviation Sub comes first with 51.0%, 38% above the median. The Detroit median is 36.8%.
Who leads the list
Aviation Sub leads the list with 51.0% (District 7, 1 Census tract). Berg-Lahser is second with 51.0% (District 1, 2 Census tracts).
Chandler Park takes third with 51.0% (District 4, 1 Census tract).
The rest of the top 10
Rounding out the top 10 are Elijah McCoy (51.0%), Far West Detroit (51.0%), Grant (51.0%), Happy Homes (51.0%), Hubbell-Lyndon (51.0%), Jamison (51.0%), and Lasalle College Park (51.0%). District 7 holds 3 of the top 10 spots, and District 1 holds 2.
The other end of the list
At the other end of Detroit, Pembroke has the lowest figure with 21.8%. That is a spread of 29.2% between first and last place.
By the numbers
The top 10 average 51.0%, against 36.8% for the other 126 neighborhoods. 68 of the 136 neighborhoods sit above the median.
What it means for you
So what does that mean for you?
Housing counselors treat 30% of income as the line where rent starts to squeeze everything else. 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.