The list
Median rent as a share of renter income, Wayne County.
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1
River Rouge 43.3%
Wayne County, population 7,008
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2
Dearborn 38.3%
Wayne County, population 107,423
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3
Melvindale 36.7%
Wayne County, population 12,554
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4
Detroit 35.9%
Wayne County, population 638,530
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5
Inkster 34.6%
Wayne County, population 25,428
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6
Highland Park 33.7%
Wayne County, population 8,628
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7
Redford 33.5%
Wayne County, population 48,338
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8
Wayne 32.2%
Wayne County, population 17,310
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9
Grosse Pointe Farms 31.7%
Wayne County, population 9,904
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10
Dearborn Heights 31.6%
Wayne County, population 61,771
Every list tells a story if you know how to read it. Rebuild Detroit compared 42 communities in Wayne County by median rent as a share of renter income for 2026.
River Rouge comes first with 43.3%, 57% above the median. The Wayne County median is 27.6%.
Who leads the list
River Rouge leads the list with 43.3% (Wayne County, population 7,008). Dearborn is second with 38.3% (Wayne County, population 107,423).
Melvindale takes third with 36.7% (Wayne County, population 12,554).
The rest of the top 10
Rounding out the top 10 are Detroit (35.9%), Inkster (34.6%), Highland Park (33.7%), Redford (33.5%), Wayne (32.2%), Grosse Pointe Farms (31.7%), and Dearborn Heights (31.6%). Every one of the top 10 is in Wayne County.
The other end of the list
At the other end of Wayne County, Grosse Pointe has the lowest figure with 14.0%. That is a spread of 29.3% between first and last place.
By the numbers
The gap between number 1 and number 2 is 5.0%. The top 10 average 35.2%, against 26.1% for the other 32 communities.
21 of the 42 communities 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. Communities with fewer than 1,000 residents are left out.
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. 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.