Data / Rankings / Unemployed people / Cities in Michigan

Cities in Michigan by unemployed people

Detroit, MI had the highest unemployed people of 51 cities in 2020, at 57,767. Wyandotte, MI had the lowest, at 699. The median was 2,717. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest57,767Detroit, MI
Lowest699Wyandotte, MI
Median2,71751 cities

All cities, 2020

Detroit, MI: 57,767 personsDetroit, MI57,767Grand Rapids, MI: 10,488 personsGrand Rapids, MI10,488Warren, MI: 10,455 personsWarren, MI10,455Sterling Heights, MI: 8,388 personsSterling Heights, MI8,388Flint, MI: 8,035 personsFlint, MI8,035Lansing, MI: 5,953 personsLansing, MI5,953Pontiac, MI: 5,827 personsPontiac, MI5,827Southfield, MI: 4,975 personsSouthfield, MI4,975Dearborn, MI: 4,767 personsDearborn, MI4,767Eastpointe, MI: 4,490 personsEastpointe, MI4,490Farmington Hills, MI: 4,281 personsFarmington Hills, MI4,281Ann Arbor, MI: 3,606 personsAnn Arbor, MI3,606Roseville, MI: 3,576 personsRoseville, MI3,576Westland, MI: 3,504 personsWestland, MI3,504Kalamazoo, MI: 3,489 personsKalamazoo, MI3,489Troy, MI: 3,456 personsTroy, MI3,456Livonia, MI: 3,451 personsLivonia, MI3,451Wyoming, MI: 3,375 personsWyoming, MI3,375Dearborn Heights, MI: 3,212 personsDearborn Heights, MI3,212Taylor, MI: 3,203 personsTaylor, MI3,203Saginaw, MI: 3,185 personsSaginaw, MI3,185Oak Park, MI: 2,978 personsOak Park, MI2,978St. Clair Shores, MI: 2,836 personsSt. Clair Shores, MI2,836Rochester Hills, MI: 2,800 personsRochester Hills, MI2,800Battle Creek, MI: 2,759 personsBattle Creek, MI2,759Kentwood, MI: 2,717 personsKentwood, MI2,717Jackson, MI: 2,613 personsJackson, MI2,613Novi, MI: 2,459 personsNovi, MI2,459Muskegon, MI: 2,396 personsMuskegon, MI2,396Port Huron, MI: 2,230 personsPort Huron, MI2,230Inkster, MI: 2,224 personsInkster, MI2,224Bay City, MI: 2,169 personsBay City, MI2,169Royal Oak, MI: 2,123 personsRoyal Oak, MI2,123Lincoln Park, MI: 2,101 personsLincoln Park, MI2,101East Lansing, MI: 2,025 personsEast Lansing, MI2,025Portage, MI: 1,718 personsPortage, MI1,718Garden City, MI: 1,707 personsGarden City, MI1,707Romulus, MI: 1,654 personsRomulus, MI1,654Hamtramck, MI: 1,611 personsHamtramck, MI1,611Burton, MI: 1,519 personsBurton, MI1,519Midland, MI: 1,484 personsMidland, MI1,484Mount Pleasant, MI: 1,363 personsMount Pleasant, MI1,363Auburn Hills, MI: 1,356 personsAuburn Hills, MI1,356Southgate, MI: 1,181 personsSouthgate, MI1,181Allen Park, MI: 1,143 personsAllen Park, MI1,143Norton Shores, MI: 1,093 personsNorton Shores, MI1,093Ferndale, MI: 992 personsFerndale, MI992Holland, MI: 834 personsHolland, MI834Madison Heights, MI: 829 personsMadison Heights, MI829Walker, MI: 785 personsWalker, MI785Wyandotte, MI: 699 personsWyandotte, MI699Detroit, MI: 57,767 personsDetroit, MI57,767Grand Rapids, MI: 10,488 personsGrand Rapids, MI10,488Warren, MI: 10,455 personsWarren, MI10,455Sterling Heights, MI: 8,388 personsSterling Heights, MI8,388Flint, MI: 8,035 personsFlint, MI8,035Lansing, MI: 5,953 personsLansing, MI5,953Pontiac, MI: 5,827 personsPontiac, MI5,827Southfield, MI: 4,975 personsSouthfield, MI4,975Dearborn, MI: 4,767 personsDearborn, MI4,767Eastpointe, MI: 4,490 personsEastpointe, MI4,490Farmington Hills, MI: 4,281 personsFarmington Hills, MI4,281Ann Arbor, MI: 3,606 personsAnn Arbor, MI3,606Roseville, MI: 3,576 personsRoseville, MI3,576Westland, MI: 3,504 personsWestland, MI3,504Kalamazoo, MI: 3,489 personsKalamazoo, MI3,489Troy, MI: 3,456 personsTroy, MI3,456Livonia, MI: 3,451 personsLivonia, MI3,451Wyoming, MI: 3,375 personsWyoming, MI3,375Dearborn Heights, MI: 3,212 personsDearborn Heights, MI3,212Taylor, MI: 3,203 personsTaylor, MI3,203Saginaw, MI: 3,185 personsSaginaw, MI3,185Oak Park, MI: 2,978 personsOak Park, MI2,978St. Clair Shores, MI: 2,836 personsSt. Clair Shores, MI2,836Rochester Hills, MI: 2,800 personsRochester Hills, MI2,800Battle Creek, MI: 2,759 personsBattle Creek, MI2,759Kentwood, MI: 2,717 personsKentwood, MI2,717Jackson, MI: 2,613 personsJackson, MI2,613Novi, MI: 2,459 personsNovi, MI2,459Muskegon, MI: 2,396 personsMuskegon, MI2,396Port Huron, MI: 2,230 personsPort Huron, MI2,230Inkster, MI: 2,224 personsInkster, MI2,224Bay City, MI: 2,169 personsBay City, MI2,169Royal Oak, MI: 2,123 personsRoyal Oak, MI2,123Lincoln Park, MI: 2,101 personsLincoln Park, MI2,101East Lansing, MI: 2,025 personsEast Lansing, MI2,025Portage, MI: 1,718 personsPortage, MI1,718Garden City, MI: 1,707 personsGarden City, MI1,707Romulus, MI: 1,654 personsRomulus, MI1,654Hamtramck, MI: 1,611 personsHamtramck, MI1,611Burton, MI: 1,519 personsBurton, MI1,519Midland, MI: 1,484 personsMidland, MI1,484Mount Pleasant, MI: 1,363 personsMount Pleasant, MI1,363Auburn Hills, MI: 1,356 personsAuburn Hills, MI1,356Southgate, MI: 1,181 personsSouthgate, MI1,181Allen Park, MI: 1,143 personsAllen Park, MI1,143Norton Shores, MI: 1,093 personsNorton Shores, MI1,093Ferndale, MI: 992 personsFerndale, MI992Holland, MI: 834 personsHolland, MI834Madison Heights, MI: 829 personsMadison Heights, MI829Walker, MI: 785 personsWalker, MI785Wyandotte, MI: 699 personsWyandotte, MI699
persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2020
persons		Change on 2019
1Detroit, MI57,767+166%
2Grand Rapids, MI10,488+166.1%
3Warren, MI10,455+173.6%
4Sterling Heights, MI8,388+173.9%
5Flint, MI8,035+128.1%
6Lansing, MI5,953+114.4%
7Pontiac, MI5,827+158.4%
8Southfield, MI4,975+157.2%
9Dearborn, MI4,767+166%
10Eastpointe, MI4,490+172.8%
11Farmington Hills, MI4,281+157.1%
12Ann Arbor, MI3,606+126.2%
13Roseville, MI3,576+173%
14Westland, MI3,504+166.1%
15Kalamazoo, MI3,489+123.9%
16Troy, MI3,456+157.5%
17Livonia, MI3,451+166.7%
18Wyoming, MI3,375+170.6%
19Dearborn Heights, MI3,212+165.9%
20Taylor, MI3,203+166%
21Saginaw, MI3,185+108.7%
22Oak Park, MI2,978+157.6%
23St. Clair Shores, MI2,836+173%
24Rochester Hills, MI2,800+157.4%
25Battle Creek, MI2,759+140.8%
26Kentwood, MI2,717+166.6%
27Jackson, MI2,613+145.8%
28Novi, MI2,459+158.6%
29Muskegon, MI2,396+174.5%
30Port Huron, MI2,230+134.2%
31Inkster, MI2,224+165.7%
32Bay City, MI2,169+100.3%
33Royal Oak, MI2,123+157.6%
34Lincoln Park, MI2,101+165.6%
35East Lansing, MI2,025+112.5%
36Portage, MI1,718+126.1%
37Garden City, MI1,707+165.9%
38Romulus, MI1,654+166.8%
39Hamtramck, MI1,611+165.8%
40Burton, MI1,519+128.8%
41Midland, MI1,484+103.6%
42Mount Pleasant, MI1,363+116.3%
43Auburn Hills, MI1,356n/a
44Southgate, MI1,181+168.4%
45Allen Park, MI1,143+165.8%
46Norton Shores, MI1,093+175.3%
47Ferndale, MI992+161.1%
48Holland, MI834+144.6%
49Madison Heights, MI829+157.5%
50Walker, MI785+171.6%
51Wyandotte, MI699+165.8%

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. 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.CurrentU20-24. 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, 2020) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24

MLA 9

Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average, Cities in Michigan by unemployed people, 2020. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 30 Sept. 2026, https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/michigan-cities?period=2020. 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, 2020. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/michigan-cities?period=2020.

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, 2020 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/michigan-cities?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_michigan_by_2020,
  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, 2020}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/michigan-cities?period=2020. 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.CurrentU20-24. 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, 2020
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.CurrentU20-24
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/michigan-cities?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/michigan-cities?period=2020.
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.CurrentU20-24. 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 57,767 in 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest unemployed people?

Wyandotte, MI, with 699 in 2020.

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.

Unemployed people: other rankings

Cities in Michigan: more rankings