According to the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER), the Detroit region’s cost of living is 103.3 Compared with other major metropolitan areas throughout the United States, the Detroit Region ranks 13th among other peer regions in terms of affordability.
The Detroit region offers companies of all sizes and all industries one of the best business climates in the nation.
The region is home to 9 of Michigan’s 18 Fortune 500 companies which generated a combined revenue of over $464 billion in 2023. The Detroit region also offers low cost of living compared to other peer regions. In addition, Michigan ranks 14th among states for overall tax climate.
2024 Fortune 500 Companies
| Rank | Company | HQ City | 2023 Revenue |
| 17 | Ford Motor Company | Dearborn | $176.2B |
| 19 | General Motors | Detroit | $171.8B |
| 146 | Penske Automotive Group | Bloomfield Hills | $29.5B |
| 174 | Lear Corporation | Southfield | $23.5B |
| 257 | Ally Financial | Detroit | $16.0B |
| 258 | BorgWarner | Auburn Hills | $15.9B |
| 318 | DTE Energy | Detroit | $12.7B |
| 484 | Autoliv | Auburn Hills | $10.5B |
| 466 | Masco | Livonia | $8.0B |
2024 Largest Private Firms
| Rank | Company | HQ City | 2023 Revenue ($M) |
| 1 | Penske Corp. | Bloomfield Hills | $43.0B |
| 2 | Barton Malow Holdings LLC | Southfield | $6.5B |
| 3 | Walbridge | Detroit | $6.0B |
| 4 | Lineage Logistics LLC | Novi | $5.0B |
| 5 | Illitch Holdings | Detroit | $4.3B |
| 6 | Moroun Family Holdings | Warren | $3.7B |
| 7 | Plastipak Holdings Inc. | Plymouth | $3.6B |
| 8 | H.W. Kaufman Group Inc./Burns & Wilcox | Farmington Hills | $3.3B |
| 9 | Piston Group | Southfield | $3.3B |
| 10 | McNaughton-McKay Electric | Madison Heights | $2.8B |
Cost of Living
Cost Of Living Index For Select Metro Areas, 2024 Average Data
| Rank | Metro Area | Index |
| 1 | Indianapolis, IN | 88.8 |
| 2 | St. Louis, MO | 89.1 |
| 3 | Charlotte, NC | 91.2 |
| 4 | Cleveland, OH | 91.4 |
| 5 | Minneapolis, MN | 93.6 |
| 6 | Atlanta, GA | 96.0 |
| 7 | Austin, TX | 97.4 |
| 8 | Tampa, FL | 97.6 |
| 9 | Pittsburgh, PA | 98.2 |
| 10 | Nashville, TN | 98.7 |
| 11 | Baltimore, MD | 100.4 |
| 12 | Dallas, TX | 101.7 |
| 13 | Detroit, MI | 103.3 |
| 14 | Philadelphia, PA | 103.3 |
| 15 | Phoenix, AZ | 106.3 |
| 16 | Denver, CO | 108.6 |
| 17 | Chicago, IL | 115.1 |
| 18 | Seattle, WA | 145.1 |
| 19 | Boston, MA | 145.9 |
| 20 | San Francisco, CA | 166.8 |
Taxes
According to The Tax Foundation’s State Business Tax Climate Index, Michigan ranked 14th among states for overall tax climate. The Index is designed to show how well states structure their tax systems. Michigan also ranked 9th for its corporate tax, 14th for individual income taxes, 12th for sales taxes, and 28th in the property tax category.
Michigan Personal Income Tax Rate: 4.25%
Michigan Corporate Income Tax Rate: 6.0%
2025 State Business Tax Climate Index
| State | Overall Rank | Corporate Tax Rank | Individual Income Tax Rank | Sales Tax Rank | Property Tax Rank | Unemployment Insurance Tax Rank |
| Michigan | 14 | 9 | 14 | 12 | 28 | 26 |
| Missouri | 13 | 4 | 20 | 24 | 11 | 5 |
| Texas | 7 | 46 | 1 | 36 | 40 | 30 |
| Washington | 45 | 47 | 15 | 50 | 25 | 44 |
| Wisconsin | 19 | 30 | 35 | 6 | 8 | 32 |
| Georgia | 26 | 12 | 31 | 23 | 34 | 24 |
| Massachusetts | 41 | 33 | 41 | 20 | 46 | 47 |
| Illinois | 37 | 42 | 13 | 38 | 41 | 43 |
| Ohio | 35 | 45 | 25 | 43 | 6 | 14 |
| Minnesota | 44 | 43 | 44 | 34 | 26 | 42 |
Learn about the region’s economics, workforce and talent, industry clusters and more.
For additional information, contact the Data and Research team.
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