Detroit has plenty to offer, but the price of admission usually comes with traffic, sky-high rent, and a calendar that fills itself.
If you want the upside of Detroit without the daily grind, the answer is almost always a good suburb. The catch: not every suburb is worth the move.
So we ranked them. Using Saturday Night Science, we pulled the numbers on every place within commuting distance of Detroit: incomes, home prices, unemployment, schools, the works. The result is a no-nonsense ranking of where you actually want to live.
$190,150 median income · $537,208 median home price
Located in
Oakland County, Michigan
Huntington Woods is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the Detroit area. We’ll tell you the good about “Awesome Huntington Woods.”
Everyone here is rich; families average $190,150 a year, which is the 2nd highest in the Detroit region. And only 0.9% are out of work. Homes average more than $537,208 each.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$161,208 median income · $513,933 median home price
Located in
Wayne County, Michigan
Grosse Pointe Farms is the second best ‘burb we looked at near Detroit for 2026.
It ranks 7th for incomes in the area and only 0.7% of residents lack insurance, good for best.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$158,853 median income · $469,116 median home price
Here in Grosse Pointe, it’s really safe, and residents are just about as rich as you’ll see in the Detroit metro area.
The bad side? Schools are more crowded, and the cost of living puts a large part of the city out of reach for most families.
But price is based on demand and a lot of people want to live in Grosse Pointe.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$177,412 median income · $587,951 median home price
Located in
Oakland County, Michigan
Beverly Hills ranks as the 4th best suburb of Detroit for 2026.
You won’t find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in Beverly Hills and the schools are some of the best around.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$112,145 median income · $471,425 median home price
Located in
Wayne County, Michigan
Coming in as the fifth best is Plymouth.
Plymouth gets kudos for having the 13th most expensive homes in the Detroit area, where houses sell for an average of $471,425. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$171,125 median income · $478,434 median home price
Pleasant Ridge is proud of its 6th place finish on this list. And here’s why.
Most residents have great jobs and the unemployment rate sits at 5.7%.
According to online reports, Pleasant Ridge is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Detroit area, meaning you need to get in soon.
$145,530 median income · $588,077 median home price
Located in
Wayne County, Michigan
The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Northville.
Northville schools are some of the best in the region, and crime is really low. The cost of living makes it a lot more desirable for many families, especially first-time home buyers.
And, it’s only 20.0 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$153,510 median income · $733,351 median home price
Located in
Oakland County, Michigan
Birmingham is growing quickly, and for a good reason. Crime is far below average, and most residents are gainfully employed. Even the cost of living is reasonable.
A solid 1.3% of people lack insurance, good for 9th in the area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$194,079 median income · $881,785 median home price
Is ‘Everything Better In Franklin?’
Almost.
It placed 9th on our list thanks to the fact that it’s really expensive to live here, but the schools are great, so you get what you pay for in that regard.
$116,239 median income · $314,815 median home price
Located in
Oakland County, Michigan
And rounding out the top ten for 2026 is Berkley.
This city is far above average in every category, and the best part? It’s far more affordable than the other cities listed above. So, you get a big bang for your buck here.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Michigan’s statewide median.
Michigan statewide median: $72,875
Michigan statewide median: $259,857
Michigan statewide median: 5.7%
Michigan statewide median: 13.2%
On the map
Where the best Detroit suburbs are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the best suburbs around Detroit for 2026
Figuring out the best suburbs around Detroit was simple. We used Saturday Night Science to find things people like about living in the suburbs and then locate the suburbs with those things.
We analyzed the newest American Community Survey data for 2020-2024 to research each suburb. We decided upon the following criteria:
- Low unemployment rate
- High median household incomes
- Population density (lots of things to do)
- High home values
- A lot of college-educated people
- Low poverty
- High rate of insured families
We defined a suburb as being within 30 miles of Detroit.
Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 75 suburbs to evaluate around Detroit.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 75 in each category, where 1 was the best.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.
Finally, we crowned the city with the best quality of life index, the “Best Suburb near Detroit.” We’re lookin’ at you, Huntington Woods.
This result may differ from our state-wide data as we did not include commute times and crime for this analysis to allow for a more extensive selection of suburbs.
We updated the data for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the best Detroit suburbs. Skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from best to worst.
The full plate
Table: Best Detroit Suburbs
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Suburb Score | Population | Median Income | Median Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods | 8.14 | 6,328 | $190,150 | $537,208 |
| 2 | Grosse Pointe Farms | 10.71 | 9,904 | $161,208 | $513,933 |
| 3 | Grosse Pointe | 11.43 | 5,541 | $158,853 | $469,116 |
| 4 | Beverly Hills | 12.79 | 10,524 | $177,412 | $587,951 |
| 5 | Plymouth | 13.71 | 9,214 | $112,145 | $471,425 |
| 6 | Pleasant Ridge | 13.93 | 2,602 | $171,125 | $478,434 |
| 7 | Northville | 14.00 | 6,069 | $145,530 | $588,077 |
| 8 | Birmingham | 14.71 | 21,763 | $153,510 | $733,351 |
| 9 | Franklin | 15.43 | 2,554 | $194,079 | $881,785 |
| 10 | Berkley | 15.79 | 15,149 | $116,239 | $314,815 |
| 11 | Village of Grosse Pointe Shores | 16.14 | 2,795 | $189,583 | $822,993 |
| 12 | Grosse Pointe Park | 16.71 | 11,319 | $124,111 | $502,195 |
| 13 | Rochester | 19.64 | 12,934 | $111,750 | $486,537 |
| 14 | Bloomfield Hills | 20.36 | 4,415 | $189,942 | $663,115 |
| 15 | Royal Oak | 20.64 | 57,950 | $101,109 | $331,359 |
| 16 | Grosse Pointe Woods | 21.14 | 16,094 | $126,395 | $349,101 |
| 17 | Lake Orion | 22.21 | 2,863 | $101,318 | $406,638 |
| 18 | South Lyon | 23.86 | 11,950 | $92,467 | $467,292 |
| 19 | Milford | 26.64 | 6,487 | $105,713 | $481,467 |
| 20 | Clawson | 27.07 | 11,374 | $88,636 | $286,026 |
| 21 | Wolverine Lake | 27.43 | 4,487 | $92,247 | $323,138 |
| 22 | Farmington | 28.43 | 11,504 | $97,750 | $327,491 |
| 23 | Rochester Hills | 29.00 | 77,089 | $120,694 | $465,253 |
| 24 | Novi | 30.21 | 66,717 | $110,723 | $467,223 |
| 25 | Ferndale | 30.43 | 19,190 | $94,640 | $250,328 |
| 26 | New Baltimore | 31.00 | 12,072 | $106,033 | $354,733 |
| 27 | Troy | 31.14 | 87,898 | $120,045 | $457,480 |
| 28 | Livonia | 31.21 | 93,851 | $98,460 | $309,576 |
| 29 | Trenton | 33.07 | 18,125 | $82,212 | $239,684 |
| 30 | Carleton | 34.14 | 2,595 | $73,365 | $322,605 |
| 31 | Keego Harbor | 34.93 | 2,747 | $64,896 | $224,720 |
| 32 | Farmington Hills | 35.14 | 83,515 | $104,836 | $387,308 |
| 33 | St. Clair Shores | 35.64 | 58,140 | $73,500 | $227,950 |
| 34 | Walled Lake | 35.86 | 7,299 | $72,055 | $242,300 |
| 35 | Riverview | 36.29 | 12,186 | $73,468 | $242,241 |
| 36 | Gibraltar | 36.29 | 4,873 | $91,651 | $228,500 |
| 37 | Allen Park | 36.57 | 27,925 | $81,655 | $206,256 |
| 38 | Utica | 38.86 | 5,180 | $58,718 | $253,468 |
| 39 | Oak Park | 39.86 | 29,318 | $71,510 | $232,982 |
| 40 | Wyandotte | 39.86 | 24,489 | $71,987 | $186,227 |
| 41 | Rockwood | 39.86 | 3,161 | $88,080 | $227,940 |
| 42 | Romeo | 40.57 | 3,578 | $74,323 | $423,748 |
| 43 | Wixom | 41.14 | 17,295 | $65,485 | $384,492 |
| 44 | Southfield | 41.93 | 76,236 | $68,166 | $250,952 |
| 45 | Flat Rock | 43.14 | 10,340 | $81,585 | $257,473 |
| 46 | Southgate | 43.29 | 29,366 | $66,118 | $192,161 |
| 47 | Madison Heights | 43.86 | 28,419 | $69,503 | $219,511 |
| 48 | Belleville | 44.14 | 3,910 | $62,991 | $305,079 |
| 49 | New Haven | 44.57 | 6,475 | $66,125 | $308,844 |
| 50 | Fraser | 44.71 | 14,583 | $64,354 | $234,792 |
| 51 | Sterling Heights | 45.57 | 133,573 | $79,909 | $306,785 |
| 52 | Auburn Hills | 47.57 | 25,105 | $84,375 | $277,483 |
| 53 | Hazel Park | 47.64 | 14,963 | $67,073 | $155,502 |
| 54 | Center Line | 48.36 | 8,463 | $54,703 | $166,336 |
| 55 | Woodhaven | 49.71 | 12,690 | $78,648 | $266,356 |
| 56 | Roseville | 50.21 | 47,123 | $62,182 | $168,929 |
| 57 | Ypsilanti | 51.07 | 19,857 | $46,588 | $282,887 |
| 58 | Harper Woods | 51.14 | 15,116 | $65,022 | $153,570 |
| 59 | Dearborn | 51.71 | 107,423 | $65,324 | $245,068 |
| 60 | Westland | 51.79 | 83,633 | $62,076 | $211,889 |
| 61 | Dearborn Heights | 53.64 | 61,771 | $60,391 | $212,389 |
| 62 | Romulus | 53.86 | 24,831 | $69,151 | $203,010 |
| 63 | Eastpointe | 54.21 | 33,982 | $62,325 | $150,775 |
| 64 | Mount Clemens | 55.07 | 15,511 | $52,310 | $175,694 |
| 65 | Warren | 56.07 | 137,928 | $64,016 | $196,785 |
| 66 | Lincoln Park | 57.86 | 39,257 | $58,616 | $150,869 |
| 67 | Taylor | 58.93 | 62,081 | $61,081 | $175,806 |
| 68 | Wayne | 61.07 | 17,310 | $59,038 | $172,173 |
| 69 | Melvindale | 61.43 | 12,554 | $42,185 | $139,402 |
| 70 | Hamtramck | 62.00 | 27,743 | $39,293 | $164,411 |
| 71 | Ecorse | 65.29 | 9,064 | $40,241 | $81,039 |
| 72 | Inkster | 65.57 | 25,428 | $39,252 | $108,131 |
| 73 | Pontiac | 66.71 | 62,104 | $44,329 | $137,921 |
| 74 | Highland Park | 67.00 | 8,628 | $29,309 | $88,863 |
| 75 | River Rouge | 68.86 | 7,008 | $41,053 | $85,479 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 75 suburbs within 30 miles of Detroit.
Summary
Summary: Welcome to the Best Detroit ‘Burbs of 2026
We said it once, and we’ll say it again–life in the big city isn’t for everyone. At least not all the time.
The best suburbs of Detroit are Huntington Woods, Grosse Pointe Farms, Grosse Pointe, Beverly Hills, Plymouth, Pleasant Ridge, Northville, Birmingham, Franklin, and Berkley.
So if you’re craving the amenities of a larger city like Detroit but don’t want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might be for you. Not sold on Michigan? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Best Suburbs Of Detroit FAQs
What is the best suburb of Detroit?
Huntington Woods is the best suburb of Detroit for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Grosse Pointe Farms and Grosse Pointe are next.
What are the best suburbs of Detroit?
The best suburbs of Detroit are Huntington Woods, Grosse Pointe Farms, Grosse Pointe, Beverly Hills, Plymouth, Pleasant Ridge, Northville, Birmingham, Franklin, and Berkley. We ranked all 75 places within commuting range.
How expensive is Huntington Woods?
The median household income in Huntington Woods is $190,150 and the median home costs $537,208. Top suburbs rarely come cheap; that is part of how they got there.
What counts as a suburb of Detroit?
Any place within 30 miles of Detroit qualifies. 75 towns fit that circle, and every one of them got scored.
How do you rank Detroit suburbs?
Each suburb is scored on income, home values, density, unemployment, education, insurance coverage, and poverty, using Census American Community Survey data. The best combined score, Huntington Woods, takes the crown.
