Cities in Michigan by unemployed people

Detroit, MI had the highest unemployed people of 50 cities in 2017, at 23,535. Wyandotte, MI had the lowest, at 286. The median was 1,188. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest23,535Detroit, MI
Lowest286Wyandotte, MI
Median1,18850 cities

All cities, 2017

Detroit, MI: 23,535 personsDetroit, MI23,535Grand Rapids, MI: 4,516 personsGrand Rapids, MI4,516Warren, MI: 3,979 personsWarren, MI3,979Flint, MI: 3,943 personsFlint, MI3,943Lansing, MI: 3,271 personsLansing, MI3,271Sterling Heights, MI: 3,167 personsSterling Heights, MI3,167Pontiac, MI: 2,335 personsPontiac, MI2,335Southfield, MI: 1,999 personsSouthfield, MI1,999Dearborn, MI: 1,942 personsDearborn, MI1,942Ann Arbor, MI: 1,859 personsAnn Arbor, MI1,859Kalamazoo, MI: 1,840 personsKalamazoo, MI1,840Farmington Hills, MI: 1,722 personsFarmington Hills, MI1,722Eastpointe, MI: 1,720 personsEastpointe, MI1,720Saginaw, MI: 1,698 personsSaginaw, MI1,698Wyoming, MI: 1,449 personsWyoming, MI1,449Westland, MI: 1,424 personsWestland, MI1,424Livonia, MI: 1,400 personsLivonia, MI1,400Troy, MI: 1,377 personsTroy, MI1,377Roseville, MI: 1,367 personsRoseville, MI1,367Battle Creek, MI: 1,362 personsBattle Creek, MI1,362Dearborn Heights, MI: 1,310 personsDearborn Heights, MI1,310Taylor, MI: 1,305 personsTaylor, MI1,305Jackson, MI: 1,276 personsJackson, MI1,276Bay City, MI: 1,274 personsBay City, MI1,274Oak Park, MI: 1,199 personsOak Park, MI1,199Kentwood, MI: 1,176 personsKentwood, MI1,176East Lansing, MI: 1,149 personsEast Lansing, MI1,149Rochester Hills, MI: 1,114 personsRochester Hills, MI1,114Muskegon, MI: 1,096 personsMuskegon, MI1,096St. Clair Shores, MI: 1,085 personsSt. Clair Shores, MI1,085Port Huron, MI: 1,002 personsPort Huron, MI1,002Novi, MI: 960 personsNovi, MI960Inkster, MI: 909 personsInkster, MI909Portage, MI: 890 personsPortage, MI890Midland, MI: 884 personsMidland, MI884Lincoln Park, MI: 859 personsLincoln Park, MI859Royal Oak, MI: 846 personsRoyal Oak, MI846Mount Pleasant, MI: 746 personsMount Pleasant, MI746Burton, MI: 737 personsBurton, MI737Garden City, MI: 698 personsGarden City, MI698Romulus, MI: 666 personsRomulus, MI666Hamtramck, MI: 657 personsHamtramck, MI657Norton Shores, MI: 478 personsNorton Shores, MI478Southgate, MI: 477 personsSouthgate, MI477Allen Park, MI: 467 personsAllen Park, MI467Holland, MI: 393 personsHolland, MI393Ferndale, MI: 392 personsFerndale, MI392Madison Heights, MI: 334 personsMadison Heights, MI334Walker, MI: 334 personsWalker, MI334Wyandotte, MI: 286 personsWyandotte, MI286Detroit, MI: 23,535 personsDetroit, MI23,535Grand Rapids, MI: 4,516 personsGrand Rapids, MI4,516Warren, MI: 3,979 personsWarren, MI3,979Flint, MI: 3,943 personsFlint, MI3,943Lansing, MI: 3,271 personsLansing, MI3,271Sterling Heights, MI: 3,167 personsSterling Heights, MI3,167Pontiac, MI: 2,335 personsPontiac, MI2,335Southfield, MI: 1,999 personsSouthfield, MI1,999Dearborn, MI: 1,942 personsDearborn, MI1,942Ann Arbor, MI: 1,859 personsAnn Arbor, MI1,859Kalamazoo, MI: 1,840 personsKalamazoo, MI1,840Farmington Hills, MI: 1,722 personsFarmington Hills, MI1,722Eastpointe, MI: 1,720 personsEastpointe, MI1,720Saginaw, MI: 1,698 personsSaginaw, MI1,698Wyoming, MI: 1,449 personsWyoming, MI1,449Westland, MI: 1,424 personsWestland, MI1,424Livonia, MI: 1,400 personsLivonia, MI1,400Troy, MI: 1,377 personsTroy, MI1,377Roseville, MI: 1,367 personsRoseville, MI1,367Battle Creek, MI: 1,362 personsBattle Creek, MI1,362Dearborn Heights, MI: 1,310 personsDearborn Heights, MI1,310Taylor, MI: 1,305 personsTaylor, MI1,305Jackson, MI: 1,276 personsJackson, MI1,276Bay City, MI: 1,274 personsBay City, MI1,274Oak Park, MI: 1,199 personsOak Park, MI1,199Kentwood, MI: 1,176 personsKentwood, MI1,176East Lansing, MI: 1,149 personsEast Lansing, MI1,149Rochester Hills, MI: 1,114 personsRochester Hills, MI1,114Muskegon, MI: 1,096 personsMuskegon, MI1,096St. Clair Shores, MI: 1,085 personsSt. Clair Shores, MI1,085Port Huron, MI: 1,002 personsPort Huron, MI1,002Novi, MI: 960 personsNovi, MI960Inkster, MI: 909 personsInkster, MI909Portage, MI: 890 personsPortage, MI890Midland, MI: 884 personsMidland, MI884Lincoln Park, MI: 859 personsLincoln Park, MI859Royal Oak, MI: 846 personsRoyal Oak, MI846Mount Pleasant, MI: 746 personsMount Pleasant, MI746Burton, MI: 737 personsBurton, MI737Garden City, MI: 698 personsGarden City, MI698Romulus, MI: 666 personsRomulus, MI666Hamtramck, MI: 657 personsHamtramck, MI657Norton Shores, MI: 478 personsNorton Shores, MI478Southgate, MI: 477 personsSouthgate, MI477Allen Park, MI: 467 personsAllen Park, MI467Holland, MI: 393 personsHolland, MI393Ferndale, MI: 392 personsFerndale, MI392Madison Heights, MI: 334 personsMadison Heights, MI334Walker, MI: 334 personsWalker, MI334Wyandotte, MI: 286 personsWyandotte, MI286
persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2017
persons
Change on 2016
1Detroit, MI23,535-10.4%
2Grand Rapids, MI4,516-1.1%
3Warren, MI3,979-14.6%
4Flint, MI3,943-2.3%
5Lansing, MI3,271+0.2%
6Sterling Heights, MI3,167-14.4%
7Pontiac, MI2,335-14%
8Southfield, MI1,999-13.9%
9Dearborn, MI1,942-10.3%
10Ann Arbor, MI1,859-3.9%
11Kalamazoo, MI1,840-2.3%
12Farmington Hills, MI1,722-13.9%
13Eastpointe, MI1,720-14.9%
14Saginaw, MI1,698-1.8%
15Wyoming, MI1,449-2%
16Westland, MI1,424-10.2%
17Livonia, MI1,400-10.3%
18Troy, MI1,377-13.7%
19Roseville, MI1,367-14.7%
20Battle Creek, MI1,362-1.1%
21Dearborn Heights, MI1,310-10.4%
22Taylor, MI1,305-10.4%
23Jackson, MI1,276-6.3%
24Bay City, MI1,274-2.2%
25Oak Park, MI1,199-14.1%
26Kentwood, MI1,176-2.4%
27East Lansing, MI1,149-0.6%
28Rochester Hills, MI1,114-13%
29Muskegon, MI1,096-3.9%
30St. Clair Shores, MI1,085-14.7%
31Port Huron, MI1,002-15.9%
32Novi, MI960-13.4%
33Inkster, MI909-10.4%
34Portage, MI890-1.3%
35Midland, MI884-4.4%
36Lincoln Park, MI859-10.4%
37Royal Oak, MI846-13.5%
38Mount Pleasant, MI746-7%
39Burton, MI737-1.6%
40Garden City, MI698-10.5%
41Romulus, MI666-9.9%
42Hamtramck, MI657-10.4%
43Norton Shores, MI478-2.8%
44Southgate, MI477-10.3%
45Allen Park, MI467-10.5%
46Holland, MI393-4.6%
47Ferndale, MI392-14%
48Madison Heights, MI334-13.9%
48Walker, MI334-2.1%
50Wyandotte, MI286-10.1%

Other periods

About this ranking

Residents with no job who were available for work and had looked for work in the previous four weeks, or were waiting to be recalled from a layoff, annual average.

More on how it is measured
  • People aged 16 and over by place of residence, from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  • Active-duty military personnel and people living in institutions are excluded.

United States cities only for now. The survey definition, not a count of benefit claimants. BLS estimates cities by splitting county estimates with Census Bureau employment and population data and unemployment insurance claims, so city figures are less precise than state ones. BLS publishes cities of 25,000 or more, and smaller cities in New England.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the cities are compared on one definition. 1 cities with data in other periods have no value for 2017 and are left out rather than filled from another source. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2026). Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average (Cities in Michigan by unemployed people, 2017) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19

MLA 9

Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average, Cities in Michigan by unemployed people, 2017. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 30 Sept. 2026, https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/michigan-cities?period=2017. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Cities in Michigan by unemployed people, 2017. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/michigan-cities?period=2017.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average, Cities in Michigan by unemployed people, 2017 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/michigan-cities?period=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_michigan_by_2017,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average: Cities in Michigan by unemployed people, 2017}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/michigan-cities?period=2017. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
TI  - Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average: Cities in Michigan by unemployed people, 2017
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/30
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/michigan-cities?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/michigan-cities?period=2017.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Rank Cities in Michigan by unemployed people using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which city has the highest unemployed people?

Detroit, MI, with 23,535 in 2017, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest unemployed people?

Wyandotte, MI, with 286 in 2017.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12. 1 cities have no value for 2017 and are not ranked.

Unemployed people: other rankings

Cities in Michigan: more rankings