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If you're looking for safe cities and neighborhoods, amazing schools, and high-end shopping, with a bank account to match, you can stop your search. There are cities in on our richest cities in michigan that have these 5-star amenities, and then some. And, yes, they are mainly centralized around Detroit.
To create this list, we asked ourselves, what is important to rich people? Besides the obvious: high paying jobs, affluent neighborhoods, gigantic homes, and Michelin rated restaurants, the cities on our list cater to the 'one percent' on a different level: they are posh, posh. Cities on our list like Grosse Pointe Farms offer beachfront access to Lake St. Clair and cities like Beverly Hills provide upscale golf courses that rival in comparison to Beverly Hills, California.
How does one get their hand on one of these Michigan gems where living your best life requires a boat load of coinage? Well, a couple of things have to fall into place for you. You need to find a job that pays way above average. Might we suggest a job in real estate in our number one richest city? And then you have to find a home with prices in this city close to $350,000. That's a lot of MIchigan cheddar, folks
To see which cities make the dolla' holla' on our top richest cities in Michigan for 2021, grab a bowl of potato pierogies, a nice quiet spot on Lake Michigan, Lake Superior, Lake Ontario, or Lake Erie, and take a look at the list below.
Here are the 10 richest places in Michigan for 2021:
Did we mention that you either have to be the owner the Detroit Lions, in possession of the original Pasty recipe, or a member of the DeVos family to live in our top richest cities in MIchigan for 2021?
In all seriousness, we narrowed down the richest cities in the Great Lakes State by looking at several factors: poverty rate, median household income, unemployment rate. The cities also had to have a population of at least 5,000.
What is the richest city in Michigan? Without further adieu, the richest in Michigan would be Huntington Woods.
To see how your city compared, or what cities made the top 10, take a look below.
Rich people not your cup of tea? Feel free to check out some more reading about Michigan:
The 10 Richest Cities In Michigan For 2021
1. East Grand Rapids
/10
Population: 11,759
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $144,922
Unemployment Rate: 2.5%
Poverty Rate: 2.0%
More on East Grand Rapids: Real Estate | Photos
2. Beverly Hills
/10
Population: 10,387
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Median Income: $127,419
Unemployment Rate: 2.4%
Poverty Rate: 1.9%
More on Beverly Hills: Real Estate | Photos
3. Northville
/10
Population: 6,007
Rank Last Year: 3 (No Change)
Median Income: $114,346
Unemployment Rate: 2.1%
Poverty Rate: 3.3%
More on Northville: Real Estate | Photos
4. Berkley
/10
Population: 15,372
Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 1)
Median Income: $86,905
Unemployment Rate: 1.6%
Poverty Rate: 4.0%
More on Berkley: Real Estate | Photos
5. Birmingham
/10
Population: 21,201
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 1)
Median Income: $122,804
Unemployment Rate: 2.4%
Poverty Rate: 5.3%
More on Birmingham: Real Estate | Photos
6. Novi
/10
Population: 60,014
Rank Last Year: 8 (Up 2)
Median Income: $98,020
Unemployment Rate: 2.8%
Poverty Rate: 4.0%
More on Novi: Real Estate | Photos
7. Grosse Pointe Farms
/10
Population: 9,168
Rank Last Year: 6 (Down 1)
Median Income: $143,711
Unemployment Rate: 3.2%
Poverty Rate: 2.5%
More on Grosse Pointe Farms: Real Estate | Photos
8. Grosse Pointe Woods
/10
Population: 15,498
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 3)
Median Income: $104,848
Unemployment Rate: 2.9%
Poverty Rate: 4.1%
More on Grosse Pointe Woods: Real Estate | Photos
9. Milan
/10
Population: 6,107
Rank Last Year: 15 (Up 6)
Median Income: $71,402
Unemployment Rate: 1.9%
Poverty Rate: 4.8%
More on Milan: Real Estate | Photos
10. Grosse Pointe
/10
Population: 5,206
Rank Last Year: 13 (Up 3)
Median Income: $106,932
Unemployment Rate: 3.3%
Poverty Rate: 3.3%
More on Grosse Pointe: Real Estate | Photos
How We Determined The Richest Places In Michigan For 2021
The first thing that comes to most people's minds when they think about determining the richest places is to simply identify personal incomes. After all, rich people have really high salaries.
However, we don't believe that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the "richest places". So we looked at this set of criteria from the newly released 2015-2019 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income
- Unemployment Rate
Median household income is the most digestible way to understand how rich a place really is. The unemployment rate tries to capture the prospects for more people to become rich. If more people are employed, the richer the future looks.
After we collected the data for all 148 places with more than 5,000 people in Michigan, we ranked each place from 1 to 148 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the richest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a "Rich Score" with the place having the lowest overall Rich Score, East Grand Rapids, crowned the "Richest City In Michigan For 2021". You can download the data here.
You can learn more about the top ten below or skip to the end to see the rankings for all 148 places.
There You Have It - The Wealthiest Places In Michigan For 2021
Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the richest places in Michigan, we weren't sure what we'd encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in Michigan.
When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very top of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.
If you're curious enough, here are the poorest cities in Michigan, according to data:
Poorest: Highland Park
2nd Poorest: River Rouge
3rd Poorest: Benton Harbor
For more Michigan reading, check out:
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Michigan
- Cheapest Places To Live In Michigan
- Safest Places In Michigan
Detailed List Of The Richest Cities In Michigan
| Rank | City | RichScore |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | East Grand Rapids | 4.67 |
| 2 | Beverly Hills | 5.0 |
| 3 | Northville | 6.33 |
| 4 | Berkley | 8.33 |
| 5 | Birmingham | 10.0 |
| 6 | Novi | 13.33 |
| 7 | Grosse Pointe Farms | 13.33 |
| 8 | Grosse Pointe Woods | 14.0 |
| 9 | Milan | 14.33 |
| 10 | Grosse Pointe | 16.0 |
| 11 | Rochester Hills | 16.0 |
| 12 | Huntington Woods | 16.0 |
| 13 | Grosse Pointe Park | 17.0 |
| 14 | Plymouth | 18.33 |
| 15 | Troy | 21.0 |
| 16 | Frankenmuth | 22.67 |
| 17 | Royal Oak | 24.67 |
| 18 | South Lyon | 25.0 |
| 19 | Farmington | 25.33 |
| 20 | Clawson | 25.67 |
| 21 | Milford | 26.33 |
| 22 | Livonia | 27.33 |
| 23 | Grandville | 27.67 |
| 24 | Ferndale | 29.0 |
| 25 | Trenton | 29.67 |
| 26 | Farmington Hills | 29.67 |
| 27 | Walker | 31.0 |
| 28 | Brighton | 32.0 |
| 29 | St. Joseph | 32.67 |
| 30 | Hudsonville | 33.33 |
| 31 | New Baltimore | 33.33 |
| 32 | Allen Park | 35.33 |
| 33 | Rochester | 35.67 |
| 34 | Saline | 36.67 |
| 35 | Flushing | 38.33 |
| 36 | Wixom | 41.0 |
| 37 | St. Clair | 42.0 |
| 38 | Tecumseh | 42.0 |
| 39 | Chelsea | 42.33 |
| 40 | Zeeland | 43.67 |
| 41 | Grand Ledge | 44.67 |
| 42 | Richmond | 46.67 |
| 43 | St. Johns | 49.0 |
| 44 | Sterling Heights | 49.67 |
| 45 | Norton Shores | 50.0 |
| 46 | Riverview | 50.33 |
| 47 | Marysville | 51.33 |
| 48 | Mason | 51.67 |
| 49 | Swartz Creek | 51.67 |
| 50 | Garden City | 51.67 |
| 51 | Fraser | 52.0 |
| 52 | Petoskey | 52.33 |
| 53 | Kentwood | 52.67 |
| 54 | Fenton | 53.33 |
| 55 | St. Clair Shores | 53.67 |
| 56 | Rockford | 54.0 |
| 57 | Woodhaven | 54.0 |
| 58 | Midland | 54.0 |
| 59 | Grand Blanc | 54.33 |
| 60 | Portage | 55.0 |
| 61 | Holland | 56.0 |
| 62 | Allegan | 56.67 |
| 63 | Grand Haven | 57.33 |
| 64 | Traverse City | 62.0 |
| 65 | Ann Arbor | 63.33 |
| 66 | Auburn Hills | 63.67 |
| 67 | Madison Heights | 63.67 |
| 68 | Wyoming | 64.67 |
| 69 | Southgate | 65.33 |
| 70 | Walled Lake | 65.33 |
| 71 | Howell | 65.67 |
| 72 | Flat Rock | 67.67 |
| 73 | Utica | 75.33 |
| 74 | Hastings | 75.67 |
| 75 | Marshall | 75.67 |
| 76 | Southfield | 76.67 |
| 77 | Oak Park | 77.33 |
| 78 | Wyandotte | 77.33 |
| 79 | Eaton Rapids | 77.33 |
| 80 | Westland | 78.33 |
| 81 | Iron Mountain | 79.0 |
| 82 | St. Louis | 82.0 |
| 83 | Charlotte | 82.67 |
| 84 | Coldwater | 83.33 |
| 85 | Three Rivers | 84.67 |
| 86 | Ludington | 85.67 |
| 87 | Manistee | 85.67 |
| 88 | Center Line | 86.33 |
| 89 | Monroe | 87.67 |
| 90 | Holly | 88.67 |
| 91 | Dearborn Heights | 90.0 |
| 92 | Owosso | 92.33 |
| 93 | Grand Rapids | 93.33 |
| 94 | Roseville | 95.0 |
| 95 | Taylor | 95.33 |
| 96 | Dearborn | 97.33 |
| 97 | Eastpointe | 97.33 |
| 98 | Menominee | 98.33 |
| 99 | Wayne | 98.33 |
| 100 | Warren | 98.67 |
Does this chart mean Macomb county mi isn’t the best place to live?
City of Bloomfield Hills – Median Income: $201,439
The population is under 5,000 — so we don’t consider it a “city”.