Detroit business statistics show an 11-county economy with 5,427,528 people, more than 530,000 businesses, 2.04 million annual jobs, and $276.5 billion in 2023 Gross Regional Product. The region also contains nine Fortune 500 companies, while Detroit’s city labor market and household credit indicators show a more uneven recovery.
Contents
- Regional business base
- Major companies and revenues
- Population, output, and household conditions
- Affordability and tax climate
- Detroit employment and unemployment
- Industry employment changes
- Household credit and property taxes
Regional business base
The Detroit Regional Chamber Regional Overview describes the Detroit region as a dynamic 11-county area encompassing more than 300 municipalities. Its business base includes more than 530,000 businesses and nine Fortune 500 companies. The region also includes 34 educational institutions and has a population of 5.4 million people.
The more precise 2024 population figure was 5,427,528. Over the past 10 years, the region’s population increased 0.5%. Growth varied substantially by county: Livingston County grew 7%, Monroe County grew 4%, and Oakland County grew 2%. Genesee County declined 3%, Lenawee County declined 2%, and Wayne County declined 1% over the same period. These figures describe the 11-county region rather than Detroit city alone.
The Detroit Regional Chamber Business Climate reports that nine of Michigan’s 18 Fortune 500 companies are located in the Detroit region. Together, those companies generated more than $464 billion in revenue in 2023. That concentration gives the region a large corporate base alongside its smaller businesses, professional practices, creative firms, manufacturers, and service providers.
Major companies and revenues
The Detroit Regional Chamber Business Climate’s 2025 Fortune 500 list ranks General Motors No. 18, with 2024 revenue of $187.4 billion. Ford Motor Company ranked No. 19 with $185.0 billion. Penske Automotive Group ranked No. 141 with $30.5 billion, while Lear Corporation ranked No. 189 with $23.3 billion.
Other listed public companies include Ally Financial at No. 255 with $16.4 billion in 2024 revenue; BorgWarner at No. 307 with $14.1 billion; DTE Energy at No. 337 with $12.5 billion; Autoliv at No. 407 with $10.4 billion; and Masco at No. 478 with $7.8 billion. The rankings and revenue measurements refer to the 2025 Fortune 500 list and company revenue for 2024.
The same Detroit Regional Chamber Business Climate source lists major private companies by 2024 revenue. Penske Corp. ranked No. 1 with $44.0 billion, followed by Atlas Oil Co. at No. 2 with $7.7 billion and Walbridge at No. 3 with $5.9 billion. Illitch Holdings ranked No. 4 with $5.1 billion, and Barton Malow ranked No. 5 with $4.5 billion.
| Private-company rank | Company | 2024 revenue |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Penske Corp. | $44.0 billion |
| 2 | Atlas Oil Co. | $7.7 billion |
| 3 | Walbridge | $5.9 billion |
| 4 | Illitch Holdings | $5.1 billion |
| 5 | Barton Malow | $4.5 billion |
| 6 | Plastipak Holdings | $3.4 billion |
| 7 | H.W. Kaufman Group Inc./Burns & Wilcox | $3.2 billion |
| 8 | Victory Automotive Group | $3.1 billion |
| 9 | Piston Group | $3.1 billion |
| 10 | McNaughton-McKay Electric | $2.8 billion |
The remaining companies in the private-company ranking were Plastipak Holdings at No. 6 with $3.4 billion, H.W. Kaufman Group Inc./Burns & Wilcox at No. 7 with $3.2 billion, Victory Automotive Group at No. 8 with $3.1 billion, Piston Group at No. 9 with $3.1 billion, and McNaughton-McKay Electric at No. 10 with $2.8 billion.
Population, output, and household conditions
The Detroit Regional Chamber Regional Overview measured Gross Regional Product at $276.5 billion in 2023. Annual employment reached 2.04 million in 2024, while the region’s unemployment rate was 4.5% in 2024. Median household income was $72,574 in 2023.
Education and household hardship indicators add context to those output and employment totals. Among people ages 25 to 64, 47% had an associate degree or higher in 2023. The poverty rate for all ages was 13.8% in 2023. These measures apply to the Detroit region as defined by the 11 counties, not solely to the city.
For businesses that depend on local customers, workers, and institutions, the regional scale is significant: the area combines 5,427,528 residents in 2024 with 34 educational institutions and more than 300 municipalities. The modest 0.5% population increase over the prior decade masks the different growth patterns among Livingston, Monroe, Oakland, Genesee, Lenawee, and Wayne counties.
Affordability and tax climate
The Detroit Regional Chamber Business Climate reports a Detroit region cost-of-living index of 103.3 according to C2ER, with the region ranked 13th among peer regions for affordability. A separate city entry in the comparison list gives Detroit, Michigan, a cost-of-living index of 100.6. The regional and city measures should not be treated as the same geography.
The peer comparison includes St. Louis at 89.5, Indianapolis at 89.8, Charlotte at 91.6, Minneapolis at 92.0, Cleveland at 92.6, Nashville at 93.2, Atlanta at 94.7, Austin at 95.7, Tampa at 97.3, Pittsburgh at 98.5, Dallas at 98.3, and Baltimore at 100.3. Higher-index locations included Phoenix at 105.3, Philadelphia at 106.2, Denver at 110.0, Chicago at 117.6, Seattle at 144.6, Boston at 148.5, and San Francisco at 163.7.
Michigan ranked 14th among states for overall tax climate. Its component rankings were ninth for corporate tax climate, 14th for individual income taxes, 12th for sales taxes, 28th for property taxes, and 26th for unemployment insurance tax. Michigan’s personal income tax rate was 4.25%, and its corporate income tax rate was 6.0%, according to the Detroit Regional Chamber Business Climate.
Detroit employment and unemployment
Detroit city labor figures from the City of Detroit Economic Indicators Report show more volatility than the broader regional annual rate. Detroit’s unemployment rate was 7.4% in April 2024 and reached nearly 14% in July 2024. It averaged 10.4% in the fourth quarter of 2024; another report figure gives a fourth-quarter average of 10.3%.
For longer comparisons, the city’s unemployment rate averaged 7.2% in 2023, which was 1.2 percentage points lower than its 2019 average. The annual rate rose to 9.1% in 2024, then reached 10.8% in March 2025 before ticking down to 10.3% by December 2025. The labor force declined by 5,300 residents in the fourth quarter of 2024, while the December 2025 labor force stood 2.8% above its 2019 level.
The report notes that Detroit’s labor force had been increasing since late 2022, creating upward pressure on unemployment. This helps explain why a larger available labor force can coincide with a higher measured unemployment rate: the unemployment measure reflects people seeking work, not only the number of jobs already filled.
Industry employment changes
Detroit’s industry data show gains in several job groups during the second quarter of 2024. Blue-collar industry employment increased 4.1%, adding nearly 2,000 jobs. Construction employment increased by 530 jobs, or 7.1%. Blue-collar employment was 0.7% higher than a year earlier, but only 550 jobs above its fourth-quarter 2021 level.
Lower-education services employment increased by 3.3%, or 1,800 jobs. Leisure and hospitality accounted for more than 90% of those gains. Administrative and support services moved in the opposite direction, losing another 100 jobs after losing 3,400 jobs over the prior seven quarters.
Higher-education services employment increased by 900 jobs in the second quarter of 2024. Public administration added nearly 600 jobs and reached its highest employment level since early 2014. Finance and insurance employment rose by 570 jobs and was 470 jobs higher than a year earlier. Professional, scientific, and technical services declined by 350 jobs.
The second-quarter 2025 figures show additional movement. Blue-collar industries gained roughly 2,600 jobs, including an 860-job increase in construction. Public administration and management of companies together recorded 610 job gains. Lower-education service employment rose by 2,100 jobs.
By the second quarter of 2025, leisure and hospitality employment exceeded its 2019 level by 660 jobs, and administrative and support services also exceeded its 2019 level by 660 jobs. However, administrative and support services had shed just over 3,400 jobs since the end of 2022. The City of Detroit Economic Indicators Report therefore presents recovery alongside continuing sector-specific losses.
Household credit and property taxes
As of the end of December 2025, 4.8% of Detroit’s outstanding debt was in some stage of delinquency, according to the City of Detroit Economic Indicators Report. In the fourth quarter of 2025, the share of balances 90 or more days delinquent was 12.7% for credit cards, 5.2% for auto loans, 9.6% for student loans, and 0.9% for mortgages.
| Debt category | Balances 90+ days delinquent, Q4 2025 |
|---|---|
| Credit cards | 12.7% |
| Student loans | 9.6% |
| Auto loans | 5.2% |
| Mortgages | 0.9% |
These are separate debt-category measures for the fourth quarter of 2025, while the 4.8% figure covers outstanding debt in some stage of delinquency at the end of December 2025. They should not be combined into a single household delinquency rate.
The report also states that Detroit’s property-tax cumulative collection rate in tax year 2025 performed similarly to tax year 2024. No percentage is supplied for that comparison, so the result is best described as a reported similarity rather than a quantified change.