The 10 Cheapest Detroit, MI Neighborhoods To Live In For 2022


We used science and data to determine which neighborhoods in Detroit are the cheapest of the cheap.

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Everything else equal, I think we can all agree that living in a cheaper place is better than living in a more expensive place.

I'd much rather pay $500/mo in rent than $1,000. And I'd rather pay $2 for coffee than $5.

And while every neighbhorhood in Detroit might be more expensive than living in rural Michigan, there are certain neighborhoods that are definitely cheaper.

So what exactly are those Detroit neighborhoods where your dollar goes a little further -- you can get that one bedroom instead of the studio?

Instead of relying on public opinion and speculation, we wanted to get the facts straight and find out which neighborhoods in Detroit are the cheapest.

What's the cheapest neighborhood to live in Detroit for 2022? According to the most recent census data, Oakwood Heights looks to be the cheaptest Detroit neighborhood to live in.

At this point we should make it clear that you do get what you pay for -- some of these neighborhoods might not be the best places to live in Detroit. You could be sacrificing location or crime rates in return for more space and cheaper groceries.

Read on to see how we determined the places around Detroit that deserve a little bragging rights or maybe you're interested in the worst neighborhoods in Detroit.

Once you're done, you can look at the bottom of the story for a complete chart of every neighborhood we looked at from cheapest to most expensive.

For more Michigan reading, check out:

The 10 Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Detroit For 2022

1. Oakwood Heights

Oakwood Heights Detroit, MI

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

/10

Population: 164
Cost Of Living Index: 75 (cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 0.4 (3rd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.0 (2nd cheapest)
More on Oakwood Heights: Homes For Sale | Data

2. Eliza Howell

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 839
Cost Of Living Index: 78 (2nd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 0.4 (2nd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.011 (7th cheapest)
More on Eliza Howell: Homes For Sale | Data

3. Grixdale

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 1,085
Cost Of Living Index: 81 (16th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 0.5 (5th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.013 (10th cheapest)
More on Grixdale: Homes For Sale | Data

4. Mcdougall-Hunt

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 895
Cost Of Living Index: 79 (4th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 0.9 (20th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.012 (9th cheapest)
More on Mcdougall-Hunt: Homes For Sale | Data

5. Carbon Works

Carbon Works Detroit, MI

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

2
/10

Population: 615
Cost Of Living Index: 80 (10th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 0.8 (14th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.017 (17th cheapest)
More on Carbon Works: Homes For Sale | Data

6. Blackstone Park

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 2,082
Cost Of Living Index: 80 (10th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 0.8 (13th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.018 (20th cheapest)
More on Blackstone Park: Homes For Sale | Data

7. Chandler Park

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 2,113
Cost Of Living Index: 80 (10th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 0.7 (10th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.021 (3cheapest)
More on Chandler Park: Homes For Sale | Data

8. Grandale

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 5,794
Cost Of Living Index: 80 (10th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.0 (25th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.017 (16th cheapest)
More on Grandale: Homes For Sale | Data

9. Conant Gardens

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,080
Cost Of Living Index: 81 (16th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.2 (36th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.016 (14th cheapest)
More on Conant Gardens: Homes For Sale | Data

10. Gold Coast

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 294
Cost Of Living Index: 80 (10th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 0.9 (17th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.024 (47th cheapest)
More on Gold Coast: Homes For Sale | Data

Methodology: How We Determined The Cheapest Detroit Hoods In 2022

In order to rank the cheapest places to live in Detroit, we had to determine what criteria defines "cheap".

Using census and extrapolated BLS data, we arrived at the following set of criteria:

  • Overall Cost Of Living
  • Rent To Income Ratio
  • Median Home Value To Income Ratio

We then ranked each neighborhood with scores from 1 to 88 in each category, where 1 was the cheapest.

Next, we averaged the rankings for each neighborhood to create a cheap neighborhood index.

And finally, we crowned the neighborhood with the lowest cheapest neighborhood index the "Cheapest City Neighborhood In Detroit." We're lookin' at you, Oakwood Heights.

Read on below to learn more about what it's like to live in the cheapest places Detroit. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the neighborhoods in the city from cheapest to most expensive.

Summary: Lowest Cost Places To Live In Detroit

If you're measuring the neighborhoods in Detroit where prices are low and it's cheap to live, this is an accurate list.

As we mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Detroit aren't all cheap. Marina District takes the title of the most expensive neighborhood to live in Detroit.

We ranked the neighborhoods from cheapest to most expensive in the chart below.

For more Michigan reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Detroit For 2022

Rank Neighborhood Cost Of Living Index
1 Oakwood Heights 75
2 Eliza Howell 78
3 Grixdale 81
4 Mcdougall-Hunt 79
5 Carbon Works 80
6 Blackstone Park 80
7 Chandler Park 80
8 Grandale 80
9 Conant Gardens 81
10 Gold Coast 80
11 Bagley 82
12 Riverdale 81
13 Ravendale 83
14 Weatherby 80
15 Rosedale Park 84
16 Belmont 86
17 Springwells 83
18 Aviation 84
19 Milwaukee Junction 79
20 Core City 82
21 Martin Park 84
22 Poletown East 80
23 Boynton 84
24 Chaldean Town 81
25 Nw Goldberg 79
26 Park 86
27 Warrendale 82
28 Pulaski 85
29 Forest Park 79
30 Southwest Detroit 82
31 Regent Park 87
32 Brightmoor 84
33 Grandmont 89
34 Hubbard-Richard 85
35 East English Village 88
36 Fitzgerald 81
37 Michigan-Martin 85
38 Islandview 82
39 Van Steuban 87
40 Castle Rouge 84
41 Berg-Lasher 84
42 Morningside 87
43 Brush Park 85
44 Franklin Park 86
45 North Rosedale Park 94
46 Barton-Mcfarland 83
47 University District 93
48 Sherwood Forest 98
49 Greensbriar 86
50 Old Redford 88
51 Virginia Park 86
52 Briggs 82
53 Five Points 84
54 State Fair Grounds 84
55 Eight Mile Wyoming 84
56 Lasalle College Park 84
57 Petosky-Otsego 84
58 The Eye 86
59 Millenium Village 89
60 Palmer Woods 129
61 Westwood Park 85
62 Mohican Regent 87
63 Detroit Golf 94
64 Kranz Woods 84
65 Russell Woods 89
66 Herman Gardens 82
67 Lasalle Gardens 85
68 Woodbridge 95
69 Wayne State 85
70 Joseph Barry 93
71 Jefferson Chalmers 88
72 Downtown 92
73 Indian Village 107
74 Grandmont-Rosedale 89
75 Lafayette Park 87
76 Fishkorn 86
77 West Village 88
78 Rivertown 99
79 Elmwood Park 86
80 West Side Industrial 95
81 New Center 86
82 Green Acres 94
83 Corktown 99
84 Midtown 93
85 Jefferies 93
86 Conner Creek Ind 90
87 Art Center 91
88 Marina District 109

Editor's Note: We updated this article for 2022. This is our third time ranking the cheapest neighborhoods to live in Detroit.

About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.

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