Photo: Dwight Burdette · CC BY 3.0Even on the area’s higher pay, Dearborn Heights costs more to live in than 68% of U.S. towns
It ranks #545 of 701 in Michigan for affordability. Up 2.3% in a year, 19% below the Michigan typical home.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metro area ($77K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade measures what housing costs against what households in the area earn. Dearborn Heights’ area earns well above the typical U.S. town ($77K against $74K), but homes, rent and taxes here run higher still. Owners keep up better than renters: 30% of owners pay 30% or more of income for housing (typical U.S. town: 20%), against 53% of renters.
In dollars
- $213Ktypical home, 19% below the Michigan typical homeZillow, September 2026
- $1,500a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 100prices across the Detroit metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 95)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 2.4 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$77K, Detroit-area income
- 21%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 53%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across Michigan: 50%Census 2020–24
- 30%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
What Dearborn Heights’ housing numbers say
Homes haven’t kept up with new residents
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Dearborn Heights gained 5,518 residents while 105 new homes were permitted: about 52.6 new residents per new home, against 1.2 across Michigan. New homes ↓
Very little new building
Dearborn Heights permitted 119 new homes over the past 10 years, about 0.2 a year per 1,000 residents. Across Michigan, the pace in 2025 was 2.3. In 2025, Dearborn Heights permitted 13. New homes ↓
Owning can cost less than renting
With 20% down at the calculator’s rate, the typical Dearborn Heights home runs about $1,410 a month with tax and insurance. A two-bedroom rents for about $1,500. The hurdle is getting in: the down payment, and a budget at the median income that falls short of the typical home. Can I afford it? ↓
A high property tax rate
Owners pay about 1.64% of a home’s value a year in property tax, against 1.25% across Michigan. The median bill is $3,036 (Michigan: $2,904). On the typical home, that’s about $290 a month. Property taxes ↓
A median income goes further next door
At Dearborn Heights’ median income, the calculator’s budget of about $212K falls short here but covers the typical home in Detroit ($75K), Inkster ($106K) and Redford Township ($174K). Can I afford it? ↓
Written from the data on this page. Home values are the Zillow Home Value Index, through September 2026; sales and supply are Redfin’s for May 2026; permits are Census figures through 2025; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Dearborn Heights’ grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Dearborn Heights is more affordable than 32% of U.S. towns, #545 of 701 in Michigan. The share of households paying 30%+ for housing pulls the grade down most; home prices hold it up.
Values have outpaced Michigan: the typical Dearborn Heights home is up 30.6% in five years, against 24.4% statewide (Zillow).
Up 30.6% in five years
Faster than Michigan (24.4%).
Show as a table
| January | Dearborn Heights | Michigan |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $100,000 | $142,000 |
| 2018 | $113,000 | $153,000 |
| 2019 | $123,000 | $164,000 |
| 2020 | $129,000 | $173,000 |
| 2021 | $147,000 | $192,000 |
| 2022 | $166,000 | $215,000 |
| 2023 | $177,000 | $228,000 |
| 2024 | $188,000 | $238,000 |
| 2025 | $203,000 | $250,000 |
| 2026 | $211,000 | $259,000 |
| September 2026 | $213,000 | $264,000 |
A typical Dearborn Heights home worth $98K in October 2016 is worth about $213K today.
Zillow Home Value Index: the typical value of all homes (middle third), smoothed and seasonally adjusted, through September 2026.
A strong seller's market
Homes are selling faster than new ones are listed: less than two months of supply. Well-priced homes can draw several offers.
Under ~4 months of supply favors sellers; over ~6 favors buyers.
Redfin Data Center, all residential sales, May 2026.
A typical home costs 2.4 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Dearborn Heights’s own median, or type yours.
That covers a typical Dearborn Heights home, with $59K to spare.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,500 a month here, $90 more than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Dearborn Heights’s typical property tax (1.64% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,500
Renters already here pay a median of $1,331, so moving in tends to cost more than staying put.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI HUD Metro FMR Area): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
13 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 13 new homes in Dearborn Heights in 2025, all single-family houses, worth about $4.4 million to build. That's 0.2 per 1,000 residents, slower than across Michigan (2.3). Over the past 10 years, Dearborn Heights has permitted 119 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Dearborn Heights gained 5,518 residents while 105 new homes were permitted: about 53 new residents per new home. Population grew faster than building, so existing homes filled up: a sign of tight supply. Across Michigan: 1.2 new residents per new home.
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 7 | 7 | 0 | $2.4 million |
| 2025 | 13 | 13 | 0 | $4.4 million |
| 2024 | 8 | 8 | 0 | $3.2 million |
| 2023 | 13 | 13 | 0 | $3.6 million |
| 2022 | 14 | 14 | 0 | $4.2 million |
| 2021 | 14 | 14 | 0 | $4.4 million |
| 2020 | 10 | 10 | 0 | $2.7 million |
| 2019 | 19 | 9 | 10 | $2.5 million |
| 2018 | 9 | 9 | 0 | $2.4 million |
| 2017 | 11 | 11 | 0 | $2.9 million |
| 2016 | 8 | 8 | 0 | $2.9 million |
| 2015 | 17 | 9 | 8 | $3.1 million |
| 2014 | 12 | 12 | 0 | $3.7 million |
| 2013 | 9 | 9 | 0 | $1.9 million |
| 2012 | 8 | 8 | 0 | $1.1 million |
| 2011 | 12 | 12 | 0 | $924,000 |
| 2010 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2009 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $337,000 |
| 2008 | 8 | 8 | 0 | $1.4 million |
| 2007 | 16 | 16 | 0 | $3.7 million |
| 2006 | 39 | 39 | 0 | $7.6 million |
| 2005 | 53 | 37 | 16 | $7.1 million |
| 2004 | 73 | 53 | 20 | $14.6 million |
| 2003 | 30 | 30 | 0 | $6.6 million |
| 2002 | 24 | 24 | 0 | $2.8 million |
| 2001 | 39 | 39 | 0 | $6.5 million |
| 2000 | 52 | 52 | 0 | $10.3 million |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Property tax runs above the Michigan norm
The median bill is $3,036 (Michigan: $2,904), 1.64% of a home’s value a year, against 1.25% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
The rest of a budget near Dearborn Heights
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metro area, or Michigan. Groceries follow the goods price level; nobody publishes them town by town.
| Cost | Here | Compared with | Area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prices overall U.S. = 100 | 100 | MI 96 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 99 | MI 96 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 107 | MI 100 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Other services U.S. = 100 | 103 | MI 101 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Electricity cents per kWh, homes | 23.1¢ | U.S. 18.3¢ | state | EIA, July 2026 |
Price levels: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities 2024 (metro area and state). Electricity: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A.
Dearborn Heights vs. its neighbors
Of the 8 towns here with a Zillow value, Dearborn Heights has the 7th-lowest.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, September 2026 | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dearborn Heights | C | $213K | $185K | 1.64% | $1,500 |
| Dearborn | C− | $248K | $219K | 1.76% | $1,590 |
| Detroit | B+ | $75K | $84K | 1.67% | $1,230 |
| Allen Park | B− | $206K | $184K | 1.89% | $1,400 |
| Inkster | B | $106K | $80K | 2.30% | $1,410 |
| Redford Township | C+ | $174K | $156K | 1.65% | $1,630 |
| Westland | B− | $211K | $185K | 1.49% | $1,390 |
| Taylor | B | $176K | $153K | 1.70% | $1,210 |
Questions about the cost of living in Dearborn Heights
Is Dearborn Heights expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Dearborn Heights costs more than 68% of U.S. towns: a C for cost of living, #545 of 701 in Michigan. The typical home costs 2.4 years of the median household income of the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metro area ($77K).
How much does a house cost in Dearborn Heights?
About $213K, Zillow’s typical value for September 2026, up 2.3% in a year. The Michigan typical home is $264K.
What salary do you need to live in Dearborn Heights?
To buy the typical home with 20% down at 6.3%, about $60,000 a year, keeping the payment (about $1,410 a month with tax and insurance) at 28% of income. To rent a two-bedroom at 30% of income, about $60,000.
How much is rent in Dearborn Heights?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,500 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $1,331 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Dearborn Heights?
The median bill is $3,036 a year, 1.64% of the median home value (Michigan: $2,904, 1.25%), from the Census 2020–24.
Are home prices in Dearborn Heights going up?
Yes: up 2.3% in the past year and 30.6% in five years, against 24.4% across Michigan (Zillow).
Neighbors talk housing
What Dearborn Heights buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research, September 2026. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, May 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.