The list
Median rent as a share of renter income, Metro Detroit.
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1
ZIP 48005 51.0%
Around Armada Township, Macomb County
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2
ZIP 48095 51.0%
Around Washington Township, Macomb County
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3
ZIP 48137 51.0%
Around Unadilla Township, Livingston County
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4
ZIP 48323 51.0%
Around West Bloomfield, Oakland County
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5
ZIP 48386 51.0%
Around White Lake, Oakland County
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6
ZIP 48062 49.2%
Around Richmond Township, Macomb County
-
7
ZIP 48126 47.3%
Around Dearborn, Wayne County
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8
ZIP 48228 46.6%
Around Detroit, Wayne County
-
9
ZIP 48367 45.9%
Around Addison Township, Oakland County
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10
ZIP 48219 45.0%
Around Detroit, Wayne County
Numbers do not play favorites, and this list is no exception. Rebuild Detroit compared 222 ZIP codes in Metro Detroit by median rent as a share of renter income for 2026.
ZIP 48005 comes first with 51.0%, 73% above the median. The Metro Detroit median is 29.4%.
Who leads the list
ZIP 48005 leads the list with 51.0% (Around Armada Township, Macomb County). ZIP 48095 is second with 51.0% (Around Washington Township, Macomb County).
ZIP 48137 takes third with 51.0% (Around Unadilla Township, Livingston County).
The rest of the top 10
Rounding out the top 10 are ZIP 48323 (51.0%), ZIP 48386 (51.0%), ZIP 48062 (49.2%), ZIP 48126 (47.3%), ZIP 48228 (46.6%), ZIP 48367 (45.9%), and ZIP 48219 (45.0%). Macomb County holds 3 of the top 10 spots, and Oakland County holds 3.
The other end of the list
At the other end of Metro Detroit, ZIP 48049 has the lowest figure with 9.0%. That is a spread of 42.0% between first and last place.
By the numbers
The top 10 average 48.9%, against 29.5% for the other 212 ZIP codes. 111 of the 222 ZIP codes 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. 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. Keep this page handy.
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.