Data / Rankings / Unemployed people / Cities in Michigan

Cities in Michigan by unemployed people

Detroit, MI had the highest unemployed people of 51 cities in 2021, at 32,194. Wyandotte, MI had the lowest, at 388. The median was 1,404. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest32,194Detroit, MI
Lowest388Wyandotte, MI
Median1,40451 cities

All cities, 2021

Detroit, MI: 32,194 personsDetroit, MI32,194Grand Rapids, MI: 5,836 personsGrand Rapids, MI5,836Warren, MI: 5,023 personsWarren, MI5,023Flint, MI: 4,838 personsFlint, MI4,838Sterling Heights, MI: 4,027 personsSterling Heights, MI4,027Lansing, MI: 3,993 personsLansing, MI3,993Pontiac, MI: 2,936 personsPontiac, MI2,936Dearborn, MI: 2,639 personsDearborn, MI2,639Southfield, MI: 2,482 personsSouthfield, MI2,482Eastpointe, MI: 2,160 personsEastpointe, MI2,160Farmington Hills, MI: 2,138 personsFarmington Hills, MI2,138Kalamazoo, MI: 2,133 personsKalamazoo, MI2,133Ann Arbor, MI: 2,132 personsAnn Arbor, MI2,132Saginaw, MI: 1,996 personsSaginaw, MI1,996Westland, MI: 1,944 personsWestland, MI1,944Livonia, MI: 1,912 personsLivonia, MI1,912Wyoming, MI: 1,889 personsWyoming, MI1,889Dearborn Heights, MI: 1,778 personsDearborn Heights, MI1,778Taylor, MI: 1,774 personsTaylor, MI1,774Troy, MI: 1,744 personsTroy, MI1,744Roseville, MI: 1,714 personsRoseville, MI1,714Battle Creek, MI: 1,645 personsBattle Creek, MI1,645Kentwood, MI: 1,517 personsKentwood, MI1,517Jackson, MI: 1,510 personsJackson, MI1,510Oak Park, MI: 1,486 personsOak Park, MI1,486Rochester Hills, MI: 1,404 personsRochester Hills, MI1,404Muskegon, MI: 1,379 personsMuskegon, MI1,379St. Clair Shores, MI: 1,359 personsSt. Clair Shores, MI1,359Bay City, MI: 1,293 personsBay City, MI1,293Novi, MI: 1,237 personsNovi, MI1,237Inkster, MI: 1,231 personsInkster, MI1,231Lincoln Park, MI: 1,163 personsLincoln Park, MI1,163Port Huron, MI: 1,084 personsPort Huron, MI1,084Portage, MI: 1,067 personsPortage, MI1,067Royal Oak, MI: 1,061 personsRoyal Oak, MI1,061East Lansing, MI: 979 personsEast Lansing, MI979Garden City, MI: 945 personsGarden City, MI945Romulus, MI: 924 personsRomulus, MI924Burton, MI: 918 personsBurton, MI918Hamtramck, MI: 892 personsHamtramck, MI892Midland, MI: 871 personsMidland, MI871Mount Pleasant, MI: 744 personsMount Pleasant, MI744Auburn Hills, MI: 687 personsAuburn Hills, MI687Southgate, MI: 654 personsSouthgate, MI654Allen Park, MI: 632 personsAllen Park, MI632Norton Shores, MI: 629 personsNorton Shores, MI629Ferndale, MI: 496 personsFerndale, MI496Holland, MI: 459 personsHolland, MI459Walker, MI: 438 personsWalker, MI438Madison Heights, MI: 414 personsMadison Heights, MI414Wyandotte, MI: 388 personsWyandotte, MI388Detroit, MI: 32,194 personsDetroit, MI32,194Grand Rapids, MI: 5,836 personsGrand Rapids, MI5,836Warren, MI: 5,023 personsWarren, MI5,023Flint, MI: 4,838 personsFlint, MI4,838Sterling Heights, MI: 4,027 personsSterling Heights, MI4,027Lansing, MI: 3,993 personsLansing, MI3,993Pontiac, MI: 2,936 personsPontiac, MI2,936Dearborn, MI: 2,639 personsDearborn, MI2,639Southfield, MI: 2,482 personsSouthfield, MI2,482Eastpointe, MI: 2,160 personsEastpointe, MI2,160Farmington Hills, MI: 2,138 personsFarmington Hills, MI2,138Kalamazoo, MI: 2,133 personsKalamazoo, MI2,133Ann Arbor, MI: 2,132 personsAnn Arbor, MI2,132Saginaw, MI: 1,996 personsSaginaw, MI1,996Westland, MI: 1,944 personsWestland, MI1,944Livonia, MI: 1,912 personsLivonia, MI1,912Wyoming, MI: 1,889 personsWyoming, MI1,889Dearborn Heights, MI: 1,778 personsDearborn Heights, MI1,778Taylor, MI: 1,774 personsTaylor, MI1,774Troy, MI: 1,744 personsTroy, MI1,744Roseville, MI: 1,714 personsRoseville, MI1,714Battle Creek, MI: 1,645 personsBattle Creek, MI1,645Kentwood, MI: 1,517 personsKentwood, MI1,517Jackson, MI: 1,510 personsJackson, MI1,510Oak Park, MI: 1,486 personsOak Park, MI1,486Rochester Hills, MI: 1,404 personsRochester Hills, MI1,404Muskegon, MI: 1,379 personsMuskegon, MI1,379St. Clair Shores, MI: 1,359 personsSt. Clair Shores, MI1,359Bay City, MI: 1,293 personsBay City, MI1,293Novi, MI: 1,237 personsNovi, MI1,237Inkster, MI: 1,231 personsInkster, MI1,231Lincoln Park, MI: 1,163 personsLincoln Park, MI1,163Port Huron, MI: 1,084 personsPort Huron, MI1,084Portage, MI: 1,067 personsPortage, MI1,067Royal Oak, MI: 1,061 personsRoyal Oak, MI1,061East Lansing, MI: 979 personsEast Lansing, MI979Garden City, MI: 945 personsGarden City, MI945Romulus, MI: 924 personsRomulus, MI924Burton, MI: 918 personsBurton, MI918Hamtramck, MI: 892 personsHamtramck, MI892Midland, MI: 871 personsMidland, MI871Mount Pleasant, MI: 744 personsMount Pleasant, MI744Auburn Hills, MI: 687 personsAuburn Hills, MI687Southgate, MI: 654 personsSouthgate, MI654Allen Park, MI: 632 personsAllen Park, MI632Norton Shores, MI: 629 personsNorton Shores, MI629Ferndale, MI: 496 personsFerndale, MI496Holland, MI: 459 personsHolland, MI459Walker, MI: 438 personsWalker, MI438Madison Heights, MI: 414 personsMadison Heights, MI414Wyandotte, MI: 388 personsWyandotte, MI388
persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2021
persons		Change on 2020
1Detroit, MI32,194-44.3%
2Grand Rapids, MI5,836-44.4%
3Warren, MI5,023-52%
4Flint, MI4,838-39.8%
5Sterling Heights, MI4,027-52%
6Lansing, MI3,993-32.9%
7Pontiac, MI2,936-49.6%
8Dearborn, MI2,639-44.6%
9Southfield, MI2,482-50.1%
10Eastpointe, MI2,160-51.9%
11Farmington Hills, MI2,138-50.1%
12Kalamazoo, MI2,133-38.9%
13Ann Arbor, MI2,132-40.9%
14Saginaw, MI1,996-37.3%
15Westland, MI1,944-44.5%
16Livonia, MI1,912-44.6%
17Wyoming, MI1,889-44%
18Dearborn Heights, MI1,778-44.6%
19Taylor, MI1,774-44.6%
20Troy, MI1,744-49.5%
21Roseville, MI1,714-52.1%
22Battle Creek, MI1,645-40.4%
23Kentwood, MI1,517-44.2%
24Jackson, MI1,510-42.2%
25Oak Park, MI1,486-50.1%
26Rochester Hills, MI1,404-49.9%
27Muskegon, MI1,379-42.4%
28St. Clair Shores, MI1,359-52.1%
29Bay City, MI1,293-40.4%
30Novi, MI1,237-49.7%
31Inkster, MI1,231-44.6%
32Lincoln Park, MI1,163-44.6%
33Port Huron, MI1,084-51.4%
34Portage, MI1,067-37.9%
35Royal Oak, MI1,061-50%
36East Lansing, MI979-51.7%
37Garden City, MI945-44.6%
38Romulus, MI924-44.1%
39Burton, MI918-39.6%
40Hamtramck, MI892-44.6%
41Midland, MI871-41.3%
42Mount Pleasant, MI744-45.4%
43Auburn Hills, MI687-49.3%
44Southgate, MI654-44.6%
45Allen Park, MI632-44.7%
46Norton Shores, MI629-42.5%
47Ferndale, MI496-50%
48Holland, MI459-45%
49Walker, MI438-44.2%
50Madison Heights, MI414-50.1%
51Wyandotte, MI388-44.5%

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, 2021) [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, 2021. 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=2021. 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, 2021. 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=2021.

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, 2021 [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=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_michigan_by_2021,
  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, 2021}},
  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=2021. 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, 2021
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=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/michigan-cities?period=2021.
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 32,194 in 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest unemployed people?

Wyandotte, MI, with 388 in 2021.

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