Cities in Michigan by unemployed people

Detroit, MI had the highest unemployed people of 50 cities in 2018, at 22,453. Wyandotte, MI had the lowest, at 272. The median was 1,095. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest22,453Detroit, MI
Lowest272Wyandotte, MI
Median1,09550 cities

All cities, 2018

Detroit, MI: 22,453 personsDetroit, MI22,453Grand Rapids, MI: 4,018 personsGrand Rapids, MI4,018Warren, MI: 3,706 personsWarren, MI3,706Flint, MI: 3,467 personsFlint, MI3,467Sterling Heights, MI: 2,967 personsSterling Heights, MI2,967Lansing, MI: 2,835 personsLansing, MI2,835Pontiac, MI: 2,249 personsPontiac, MI2,249Southfield, MI: 1,926 personsSouthfield, MI1,926Dearborn, MI: 1,852 personsDearborn, MI1,852Farmington Hills, MI: 1,658 personsFarmington Hills, MI1,658Ann Arbor, MI: 1,657 personsAnn Arbor, MI1,657Kalamazoo, MI: 1,610 personsKalamazoo, MI1,610Eastpointe, MI: 1,600 personsEastpointe, MI1,600Saginaw, MI: 1,517 personsSaginaw, MI1,517Westland, MI: 1,359 personsWestland, MI1,359Livonia, MI: 1,336 personsLivonia, MI1,336Troy, MI: 1,333 personsTroy, MI1,333Wyoming, MI: 1,279 personsWyoming, MI1,279Roseville, MI: 1,274 personsRoseville, MI1,274Dearborn Heights, MI: 1,249 personsDearborn Heights, MI1,249Taylor, MI: 1,244 personsTaylor, MI1,244Battle Creek, MI: 1,177 personsBattle Creek, MI1,177Oak Park, MI: 1,153 personsOak Park, MI1,153Bay City, MI: 1,112 personsBay City, MI1,112Jackson, MI: 1,110 personsJackson, MI1,110Rochester Hills, MI: 1,079 personsRochester Hills, MI1,079Kentwood, MI: 1,042 personsKentwood, MI1,042St. Clair Shores, MI: 1,009 personsSt. Clair Shores, MI1,009East Lansing, MI: 970 personsEast Lansing, MI970Muskegon, MI: 949 personsMuskegon, MI949Novi, MI: 942 personsNovi, MI942Port Huron, MI: 942 personsPort Huron, MI942Inkster, MI: 865 personsInkster, MI865Royal Oak, MI: 819 personsRoyal Oak, MI819Lincoln Park, MI: 818 personsLincoln Park, MI818Midland, MI: 777 personsMidland, MI777Portage, MI: 777 personsPortage, MI777Garden City, MI: 665 personsGarden City, MI665Burton, MI: 652 personsBurton, MI652Mount Pleasant, MI: 646 personsMount Pleasant, MI646Romulus, MI: 638 personsRomulus, MI638Hamtramck, MI: 626 personsHamtramck, MI626Southgate, MI: 456 personsSouthgate, MI456Allen Park, MI: 445 personsAllen Park, MI445Norton Shores, MI: 423 personsNorton Shores, MI423Ferndale, MI: 378 personsFerndale, MI378Holland, MI: 348 personsHolland, MI348Madison Heights, MI: 322 personsMadison Heights, MI322Walker, MI: 296 personsWalker, MI296Wyandotte, MI: 272 personsWyandotte, MI272Detroit, MI: 22,453 personsDetroit, MI22,453Grand Rapids, MI: 4,018 personsGrand Rapids, MI4,018Warren, MI: 3,706 personsWarren, MI3,706Flint, MI: 3,467 personsFlint, MI3,467Sterling Heights, MI: 2,967 personsSterling Heights, MI2,967Lansing, MI: 2,835 personsLansing, MI2,835Pontiac, MI: 2,249 personsPontiac, MI2,249Southfield, MI: 1,926 personsSouthfield, MI1,926Dearborn, MI: 1,852 personsDearborn, MI1,852Farmington Hills, MI: 1,658 personsFarmington Hills, MI1,658Ann Arbor, MI: 1,657 personsAnn Arbor, MI1,657Kalamazoo, MI: 1,610 personsKalamazoo, MI1,610Eastpointe, MI: 1,600 personsEastpointe, MI1,600Saginaw, MI: 1,517 personsSaginaw, MI1,517Westland, MI: 1,359 personsWestland, MI1,359Livonia, MI: 1,336 personsLivonia, MI1,336Troy, MI: 1,333 personsTroy, MI1,333Wyoming, MI: 1,279 personsWyoming, MI1,279Roseville, MI: 1,274 personsRoseville, MI1,274Dearborn Heights, MI: 1,249 personsDearborn Heights, MI1,249Taylor, MI: 1,244 personsTaylor, MI1,244Battle Creek, MI: 1,177 personsBattle Creek, MI1,177Oak Park, MI: 1,153 personsOak Park, MI1,153Bay City, MI: 1,112 personsBay City, MI1,112Jackson, MI: 1,110 personsJackson, MI1,110Rochester Hills, MI: 1,079 personsRochester Hills, MI1,079Kentwood, MI: 1,042 personsKentwood, MI1,042St. Clair Shores, MI: 1,009 personsSt. Clair Shores, MI1,009East Lansing, MI: 970 personsEast Lansing, MI970Muskegon, MI: 949 personsMuskegon, MI949Novi, MI: 942 personsNovi, MI942Port Huron, MI: 942 personsPort Huron, MI942Inkster, MI: 865 personsInkster, MI865Royal Oak, MI: 819 personsRoyal Oak, MI819Lincoln Park, MI: 818 personsLincoln Park, MI818Midland, MI: 777 personsMidland, MI777Portage, MI: 777 personsPortage, MI777Garden City, MI: 665 personsGarden City, MI665Burton, MI: 652 personsBurton, MI652Mount Pleasant, MI: 646 personsMount Pleasant, MI646Romulus, MI: 638 personsRomulus, MI638Hamtramck, MI: 626 personsHamtramck, MI626Southgate, MI: 456 personsSouthgate, MI456Allen Park, MI: 445 personsAllen Park, MI445Norton Shores, MI: 423 personsNorton Shores, MI423Ferndale, MI: 378 personsFerndale, MI378Holland, MI: 348 personsHolland, MI348Madison Heights, MI: 322 personsMadison Heights, MI322Walker, MI: 296 personsWalker, MI296Wyandotte, MI: 272 personsWyandotte, MI272
persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2018
persons
Change on 2017
1Detroit, MI22,453-4.6%
2Grand Rapids, MI4,018-11%
3Warren, MI3,706-6.9%
4Flint, MI3,467-12.1%
5Sterling Heights, MI2,967-6.3%
6Lansing, MI2,835-13.3%
7Pontiac, MI2,249-3.7%
8Southfield, MI1,926-3.7%
9Dearborn, MI1,852-4.6%
10Farmington Hills, MI1,658-3.7%
11Ann Arbor, MI1,657-10.9%
12Kalamazoo, MI1,610-12.5%
13Eastpointe, MI1,600-7%
14Saginaw, MI1,517-10.7%
15Westland, MI1,359-4.6%
16Livonia, MI1,336-4.6%
17Troy, MI1,333-3.2%
18Wyoming, MI1,279-11.7%
19Roseville, MI1,274-6.8%
20Dearborn Heights, MI1,249-4.7%
21Taylor, MI1,244-4.7%
22Battle Creek, MI1,177-13.6%
23Oak Park, MI1,153-3.8%
24Bay City, MI1,112-12.7%
25Jackson, MI1,110-13%
26Rochester Hills, MI1,079-3.1%
27Kentwood, MI1,042-11.4%
28St. Clair Shores, MI1,009-7%
29East Lansing, MI970-15.6%
30Muskegon, MI949-13.4%
31Novi, MI942-1.9%
31Port Huron, MI942-6%
33Inkster, MI865-4.8%
34Royal Oak, MI819-3.2%
35Lincoln Park, MI818-4.8%
36Midland, MI777-12.1%
36Portage, MI777-12.7%
38Garden City, MI665-4.7%
39Burton, MI652-11.5%
40Mount Pleasant, MI646-13.4%
41Romulus, MI638-4.2%
42Hamtramck, MI626-4.7%
43Southgate, MI456-4.4%
44Allen Park, MI445-4.7%
45Norton Shores, MI423-11.5%
46Ferndale, MI378-3.6%
47Holland, MI348-11.5%
48Madison Heights, MI322-3.6%
49Walker, MI296-11.4%
50Wyandotte, MI272-4.9%

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 2018 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, 2018) [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, 2018. 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=2018. 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, 2018. 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=2018.

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, 2018 [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=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_michigan_by_2018,
  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, 2018}},
  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=2018. 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, 2018
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=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/michigan-cities?period=2018.
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 22,453 in 2018, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest unemployed people?

Wyandotte, MI, with 272 in 2018.

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 2018 and are not ranked.

Unemployed people: other rankings

Cities in Michigan: more rankings