Photo: Lrgjr72 · CC BY-SA 4.0Homes in Pontiac cost about 1.6 years of local pay, but renters are stretched more than prices suggest
More affordable than 71% of U.S. towns, #153 of 701 in Michigan. Up 0.7% in a year, 49% 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
In dollars, Pontiac is one of the least expensive places in Michigan. But the grade compares costs with what households in the area earn, and Detroit-area incomes are lower too ($77K, against $74K for the typical U.S. town). Property tax takes 1.03% of a home’s value a year (Michigan: 1.25%), and 55% of renters pay 30% or more of income for housing.
In dollars
- $135Ktypical home, 49% below the Michigan typical homeZillow, September 2026
- $1,240a 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
- 1.6 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$77K, Detroit-area income
- 17%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 55%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across Michigan: 50%Census 2020–24
- 22%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
The short version on homes in Pontiac
The least expensive town in its area
All four neighboring towns with a Zillow value cost more than Pontiac. The closest is Waterford Township at $275K; Lake Angelus tops the list at $1.75M. Vs. neighbors ↓
Owning can cost less than renting
With 20% down at the calculator’s rate, the typical Pontiac home runs about $830 a month with tax and insurance. A two-bedroom rents for about $1,240. Can I afford it? ↓
Homes haven’t kept up with new residents
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Pontiac gained 2,091 residents while 263 new homes were permitted: about 8 new residents per new home, against 1.2 across Michigan. New homes ↓
About half of Pontiac rents
53% of households rent their home, 12,408 in all, against 27% across Michigan. Renting ↓
A burst of building in 2024
Pontiac permitted 112 new homes in 2024, 64% of them in buildings with two or more homes, against about 16 in a typical year of the past decade. 2025 came in at 66. New homes ↓
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 Pontiac’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Pontiac is more affordable than 71% of U.S. towns, #153 of 701 in Michigan. The share of households paying 30%+ for housing pulls the grade down most; home prices hold it up.
Prices here have kept pace with Michigan: up 27.4% in five years, against 24.4% statewide (Zillow).
Up 27.4% in five years
About the same pace as Michigan (24.4%).
Show as a table
| January | Pontiac | Michigan |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $53,000 | $142,000 |
| 2018 | $63,000 | $153,000 |
| 2019 | $73,000 | $164,000 |
| 2020 | $82,000 | $173,000 |
| 2021 | $97,000 | $192,000 |
| 2022 | $108,000 | $215,000 |
| 2023 | $114,000 | $228,000 |
| 2024 | $121,000 | $238,000 |
| 2025 | $131,000 | $250,000 |
| 2026 | $135,000 | $259,000 |
| September 2026 | $135,000 | $264,000 |
A typical Pontiac home worth $50K in October 2016 is worth about $135K today.
Zillow Home Value Index: the typical value of all homes (middle third), smoothed and seasonally adjusted, through September 2026.
A seller's market
Supply is tight — about 3 months of homes for sale at the current pace. Buyers should expect competition on well-priced homes.
Under ~4 months of supply favors sellers; over ~6 favors buyers.
Redfin Data Center, all residential sales, May 2026.
A typical home costs 1.6 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Pontiac’s own median, or type yours.
That covers a typical Pontiac home, with $159K to spare.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,240 a month here, $410 more than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Pontiac’s typical property tax (1.03% 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 $1,240
Renters already here pay a median of $1,063, 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.
66 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 66 new homes in Pontiac in 2025, all single-family houses, worth about $9.4 million to build. That's 1.1 per 1,000 residents, slower than across Michigan (2.3). Over the past 10 years, Pontiac has permitted 259 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Pontiac gained 2,091 residents while 263 new homes were permitted: about 8 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) | 11 | 11 | 0 | $1.6 million |
| 2025 | 66 | 66 | 0 | $9.4 million |
| 2024 | 112 | 40 | 72 | $12.9 million |
| 2023 | 18 | 18 | 0 | $2.9 million |
| 2022 | 4 | 4 | 0 | $573,000 |
| 2021 | 5 | 5 | 0 | $716,000 |
| 2020 | 6 | 6 | 0 | $859,000 |
| 2019 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $429,000 |
| 2018 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $429,000 |
| 2017 | 12 | 12 | 0 | $1.8 million |
| 2016 | 30 | 30 | 0 | $4.1 million |
| 2015 | 8 | 8 | 0 | $894,000 |
| 2014 | 26 | 26 | 0 | $3.8 million |
| 2013 | 93 | 16 | 77 | $8.9 million |
| 2012 | 25 | 25 | 0 | $2.1 million |
| 2011 | 26 | 26 | 0 | $2.5 million |
| 2010 | 37 | 37 | 0 | $3.6 million |
| 2009 | 38 | 38 | 0 | $3.7 million |
| 2008 | 44 | 44 | 0 | $4.3 million |
| 2007 | 74 | 74 | 0 | $7.2 million |
| 2006 | 109 | 109 | 0 | $10.5 million |
| 2005 | 140 | 140 | 0 | $13.9 million |
| 2004 | 186 | 186 | 0 | $16.4 million |
| 2003 | 213 | 213 | 0 | $16.9 million |
| 2002 | 186 | 186 | 0 | $15 million |
| 2001 | 237 | 237 | 0 | $17.7 million |
| 2000 | 215 | 210 | 5 | $15.4 million |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Property tax runs below the Michigan norm
The median bill is $1,257 (Michigan: $2,904), 1.03% 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 Pontiac
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.
Pontiac vs. its neighbors
Of the 5 towns here with a Zillow value, Pontiac has the lowest. Bloomfield Township has no Zillow value, so it is in the table only.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pontiac | B+ | $135K | $122K | 1.03% | $1,240 |
| Auburn Hills | C− | $277K | $245K | 1.20% | $1,650 |
| Bloomfield Township | D | — | $605K | 1.31% | $2,030 |
| Waterford Township | C+ | $275K | $251K | 1.08% | $1,440 |
| Lake Angelus | – | $1.7M | $1.1M | 0.95%+ | $1,640 |
| Sylvan Lake | C− | $370K | $391K | 1.27% | $1,460 |
“—” under Zillow: Zillow publishes no value for that town, so it’s left blank rather than mixed with Census figures. “—” under Cost: not graded (too little Census data, or under 1,000 residents). “+”: the Census reports the tax bill only as $10,000 or more, so the rate is at least that.
Questions about the cost of living in Pontiac
Is Pontiac expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Pontiac costs less than 71% of U.S. towns: a B+ for cost of living, #153 of 701 in Michigan. The typical home costs 1.6 years of the median household income of the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metro area ($77K).
How much does a house cost in Pontiac?
About $135K, Zillow’s typical value for September 2026, up 0.7% in a year. The Michigan typical home is $264K.
What salary do you need to live in Pontiac?
To buy the typical home with 20% down at 6.3%, about $35,000 a year, keeping the payment (about $830 a month with tax and insurance) at 28% of income. To rent a two-bedroom at 30% of income, about $50,000.
How much is rent in Pontiac?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,240 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $1,063 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Pontiac?
The median bill is $1,257 a year, 1.03% of the median home value (Michigan: $2,904, 1.25%), from the Census 2020–24.
Are home prices in Pontiac going up?
Barely: up 0.7% in the past year and 27.4% in five years, against 24.4% across Michigan (Zillow).
Neighbors talk housing
What Pontiac 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.