Even on the area’s higher pay, Harper Woods costs more to live in than 65% of U.S. towns
It ranks #514 of 701 in Michigan for affordability. Down 1.2% in a year, 43% 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. Harper Woods’ 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: 27% of owners pay 30% or more of income for housing (typical U.S. town: 20%), against 44% of renters.
In dollars
- $150Ktypical home, 43% below the Michigan typical homeZillow, September 2026
- $1,620a 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
- 2.1 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
- 44%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across Michigan: 50%Census 2020–24
- 27%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
Housing in Harper Woods, in brief
Owning can cost less than renting
With 20% down at the calculator’s rate, the typical Harper Woods home runs about $1,060 a month with tax and insurance. A two-bedroom rents for about $1,620. Can I afford it? ↓
Homes haven’t kept up with new residents
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Harper Woods gained 1,256 residents while 2 new homes were permitted: about 628 new residents per new home, against 1.2 across Michigan. New homes ↓
A high property tax rate
Owners pay about 2.18% of a home’s value a year in property tax, against 1.25% across Michigan. The median bill is $3,433 (Michigan: $2,904). On the typical home, that’s about $270 a month. Property taxes ↓
Buyers have time and room to negotiate
At the pace homes sold in May, it would take about 5.4 months to sell everything listed (Michigan: 2.6). The typical home took 26 days to sell and sold at 98% of asking. Only 14% sold above the asking price. How fast homes sell ↓
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 Harper Woods’ grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Harper Woods is more affordable than 35% of U.S. towns, #514 of 701 in Michigan. The share of households paying 30%+ for housing pulls the grade down most; home prices hold it up.
Values have lagged Michigan: the typical Harper Woods home is up 18.8% in five years, against 24.4% statewide (Zillow).
Up 18.8% in five years
Slower than Michigan (24.4%).
Show as a table
| January | Harper Woods | Michigan |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $67,000 | $142,000 |
| 2018 | $79,000 | $153,000 |
| 2019 | $91,000 | $164,000 |
| 2020 | $99,000 | $173,000 |
| 2021 | $113,000 | $192,000 |
| 2022 | $129,000 | $215,000 |
| 2023 | $136,000 | $228,000 |
| 2024 | $140,000 | $238,000 |
| 2025 | $148,000 | $250,000 |
| 2026 | $154,000 | $259,000 |
| September 2026 | $150,000 | $264,000 |
A typical Harper Woods home worth $63K in October 2016 is worth about $150K today.
Zillow Home Value Index: the typical value of all homes (middle third), smoothed and seasonally adjusted, through September 2026.
Too few sales to read the market
Only 14 homes sold in May 2026, the latest month in Redfin’s figures: too few to describe the market or quote a median sale price.
A typical home costs 2.1 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Harper Woods’s own median, or type yours.
That covers a typical Harper Woods home, with $104K to spare.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,620 a month here, $560 more than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Harper Woods’s typical property tax (2.18% 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 $1,620
Renters already here pay a median of $1,351, 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.
31 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 31 new homes in Harper Woods in 2025, all single-family houses, worth about $11.4 million to build. That's 2.1 per 1,000 residents, about the pace of Michigan as a whole. Over the past 10 years, Harper Woods has permitted 34 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Harper Woods gained 1,256 residents while 2 new homes were permitted: about 628 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) | 3 | 3 | 0 | $1.1 million |
| 2025 | 31 | 31 | 0 | $11.4 million |
| 2024 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2023 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2022 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $312,000 |
| 2021 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $285,000 |
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2019 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $138,000 |
| 2018 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2017 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2016 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2015 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2014 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $113,000 |
| 2013 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2012 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2011 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2010 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2009 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2008 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2007 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2006 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2005 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $348,000 |
| 2004 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2003 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2002 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2001 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
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 $3,433 (Michigan: $2,904), 2.18% 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 Harper Woods
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.
Harper Woods vs. its neighbors
Of the 4 towns here with a Zillow value, Harper Woods has the 2nd-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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harper Woods | C+ | $150K | $157K | 2.18% | $1,620 |
| Detroit | B+ | $75K | $84K | 1.67% | $1,230 |
| Grosse Pointe Woods | C− | $354K | $342K | 1.82% | $1,910 |
| Eastpointe | B− | $152K | $142K | 1.82% | $1,580 |
Questions about the cost of living in Harper Woods
Is Harper Woods expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Harper Woods costs more than 65% of U.S. towns: a C+ for cost of living, #514 of 701 in Michigan. The typical home costs 2.1 years of the median household income of the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metro area ($77K).
How much does a house cost in Harper Woods?
About $150K, Zillow’s typical value for September 2026, down 1.2% in a year. The Michigan typical home is $264K.
What salary do you need to live in Harper Woods?
To buy the typical home with 20% down at 6.3%, about $45,000 a year, keeping the payment (about $1,060 a month with tax and insurance) at 28% of income. To rent a two-bedroom at 30% of income, about $65,000.
How much is rent in Harper Woods?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,620 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $1,351 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Harper Woods?
The median bill is $3,433 a year, 2.18% of the median home value (Michigan: $2,904, 1.25%), from the Census 2020–24.
Are home prices in Harper Woods going up?
No: down 1.2% in the past year and 18.8% in five years, against 24.4% across Michigan (Zillow).
Neighbors talk housing
What Harper Woods 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.