A Detroit Local Expert’s Guide to the 10 Best Budget-Friendly Neighborhoods to Rent

I'm Tim, your ApartmentHomeLiving.com Local Expert for Detroit, Michigan. My family and I have lived in metro Detroit since the late 1990s. While raising our children here, we've seen the city and metro area experience a renaissance, with tens of billions of investment dollars poured into the city, resulting in a booming downtown area and growth in many surrounding areas. One of our sons attended school in Detroit and is a Detroit resident today, so we enjoy the city's sights, sounds, and tastes.

Detroit is famously the home of America's automotive industry and musical genres ranging from Motown to techno to Detroit trap. It has also been a major influence in the development of Gospel and hip-hop. Industry and artistry define Detroit, contributing to its vibrancy and speaking to its challenges.

Many Detroit neighborhoods have become increasingly expensive in recent years, though almost all still have affordable pockets. However, most Detroit neighborhoods are pretty affordable, though prices increase wherever redevelopment occurs.

Every time I blink, another former auto plant or office building becomes part of a loft or other rehab projects as part of the tremendous economic upswing of the last twenty years. However, Detroit remains a city in transition, suffering some of America's highest crime rates, so my list of ten affordable neighborhoods includes vibrant hotspots where new development abounds and others still waiting for a cash infusion.

State Fair

Among the Detroit neighborhoods witnessing redevelopment is the State Fair, though much of the development to date has been commercial. As the name implies, the neighborhood is home to the former Michigan State Fairgrounds. Centrally located with easy access to I-75, Woodward, and 8 Mile Road, the State Fair Grounds are being redeveloped, including a recently opened Amazon sorting center and warehouse that now employs more than 1,200. Other projects are underway in the neighborhood, so I anticipate housing prices increasing in a neighborhood with many small single-family homes and a suburban feel.

The residents of State Fair enjoy nearby 281-acre Palmer Park, where woodlands, bike and hiking trails, a disc golf course, a fitness zone, and tennis courts keep everyone moving.

Grixdale Farms

Located immediately south of the State Fair neighborhood and across Woodward Avenue from Palmer Park, Grixdale Farms' northern border is 7 Mile Road. Notably, the neighborhood's western border, the stretch of Woodward Avenue between 6 and 7 Mile, became the first mile of concrete highway in the country back when motorcars were relatively new.

Like its northern neighbors, Palmer Park is a popular destination for Grixdale Farms residents. Much of Grixdale Farms consists of 1920s and 1930s-era homes, so you will find many smaller, charming brick homes. However, there are substantial numbers of vacant lots, especially north of Golden Gate Avenue. The area's schools earn a B- rating from Niche.com, while the public schools only achieve a C- rating.

Palmer Park

The Palmer Park neighborhood sits immediately north of Palmer Park, whereas the Palmer Park Apartment Building Historic District is to the south. The historic district is a unique collection of 1920s apartment buildings in varying architectural styles, whereas Palmer Park is home to many professional Detroiters whose stately brick and stone homes always make for an enjoyable evening walking tour. Many homes were designed by well-known architects, including the only Frank Lloyd Wright-designed building in the City of Detroit.

University District

The University of Detroit Mercy sits nine miles west of downtown Detroit, at the southeast corner of Livernois and McNichols. The University District's southern border is McNichols Avenue, across from the university, with 7 Mile Road is the northern border. With the Detroit Golf Club sitting across from its eastern border, the area is quieter, with pre-WWII single-family homes, duplexes, and several multi-story apartment buildings, many student-occupied. The neighborhood enjoys a vibrancy due to the school and the Avenue of Fashion, the portion of Livernois on the district's western border, you will find one of the country's top concentrations of Black-owned businesses.

Fitzgerald

The Fitzgerald neighborhood, sometimes called Fitzgerald Marygrove, is immediately west of the University of Detroit and includes the former Marygrove College campus, whose grounds now serve various community and other functions. The area is part of the Live6 or Uptown movement, which takes advantage of the neighborhood's many existing resources and revitalizes the area.

Like other Detroit neighborhoods with vacant lots, an effort completed in 2018 led to the opening of the 2.5-acre Ella Fitzgerald Park, which offers play space, a playground, and a basketball court for neighborhood kids.

Bagley

The second-to-last stop on Detroit's north side is the Bagley neighborhood, the 1960s home to Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, and Gordie Berry. Most of Bagley lies west of the University District, while Wyoming Avenue defines its western border. Bagley Elementary and the University of Detroit Jesuit High sit within the neighborhood, and the Bagley Streetscape project and the Avenue of Fashion provide a shopping district that includes outdoor live performances, mainly in the summer, of course.

Martin Park

Half the Martin Park neighborhood is immediately south of the University District and east of the University of Detroit Mercy. The New Martin Park District Association uses the slogan, One Big Family, to emphasize the role everyone plays in building and maintaining the community. Once home to Gladys Knight, Martha Reeves, Jackie Wilson, and others, Niche.com indicates it has average public schools, though it earns an A- rating for ethnic and economic diversity. Like other neighborhoods around the University of Detroit Mercy, Martin Park benefits from the many businesses catering to the students and faculty who live in the area.

Midtown Detroit

People sometimes use the term Midtown to refer to a specific Detroit neighborhood; for others, Midtown means multiple neighborhoods clustered around Wayne State University and the Art District. I use the broader definition that covers the entire university area, including the Center for Creative Studies, which offers the many opportunities of an urban university setting. The main thoroughfare through Midtown is Woodward Avenue' the QLine trolley travels as far west as Grand Boulevard and east to Congress Street, so it goes through downtown and nearly to the Detroit River.

The world-class Detroit Art Museum is among my favorite spots. Besides an impressive collection and traveling exhibits, it also hosts the Detroit Film Theatre, which shows international and artistic films, and each February, we enjoy their showing of Oscar-nominated short films and documentaries. The Michigan Science Center and the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit are also within blocks of one another, offering additional opportunities for families. Of course, various shops and restaurants abound, including Baobob Fare, a James Beard finalist serving East African cuisine that has tickled my taste buds more than once.

Grandmont

Grandmont is in northwest Detroit. Neighborhood definitions vary, but I'll include the area bordered by I-96, M39, Grand River Avenue, and Greenfield Road, so it is surrounded by heavily trafficked roads and is bisected by another one, Schoolcraft. The recently renovated Douglas Ramsay Memorial Playground, a nearly 6-acre park with a playground, basketball courts, and baseball diamonds, is at the neighborhood's north end on the grounds of Edison Elementary School. It is the only public open space in the Grandmont neighborhood. Based on its connection to numerous major highways and roads, Grandmont has easy access throughout metro Detroit though the bus system does not serve it well.

Littlefield

Littlefield, which differs from Littlefield Community, is in southwestern Detroit, just north of Grand Avenue. It is south of I-96 to Lyndon Street, with Wyoming as its eastern boundary and Schaefer Highway to the west. Parts of Littlefield and surrounding areas are industrial, particularly to the southeast. As one of the smallest neighborhoods in Detroit, is has numerous vacant lots and experiences many of the challenges facing other Detroit neighborhoods.