Deep Dive into Dearborn Heights, MI: A Detroit Ring City
If you want to invest in rental property in Metro Detroit, but you aren’t sure which area you want to buy in, you’ve come to the right place.
In this Deep Dive series, we go through each of Detroit’s 185 cities and 290 neighborhoods in detail–including property prices, rental market trends, example investment homes, and street-by-street virtual tours–to help you decide where to purchase your next rental.
Today, we’re looking at Dearborn Heights, a middle-class city neighboring Detroit that’s long been popular with landlords.
Check out our video tour of the area to see why:
In short, this is an area where it’s easy to hit the 1% Rule–as long as you know where to look. And that’s exactly what we’re here to help you discover.
Keep reading for our detailed analysis of Dearborn Heights as a rental investment area. And make sure you stick around ‘till the end, because we’ll even tell you exactly which streets to focus on!
Now, let’s Deep Dive into Dearborn Heights.
Overview of Dearborn Heights, Michigan
Welcome to the Ring City of Dearborn Heights. (Not to be confused with the City of Dearborn, which we’ve also done a Deep Dive for.)
“What’s a ‘Ring City’?” You ask.
Excellent question!
Ring Cities like Dearborn Heights directly border the City of Detroit, like so:
These cities–like Dearborn Heights and neighboring Redford Twp–are the perfect sweet spot for rental investors.
That’s because Detroit’s real estate market is the reverse of most metropolitan areas (inner city properties = less expensive | suburban properties = more expensive), so it’s ideal to be close to Downtown without actually having a Detroit zip code.
Here’s an overview to show you what we mean:
This is a Class B, residential city that combines attractive housing stock with affordable prices and proximity to Downtown, all with a quiet, suburban feel.
Now, let’s take a closer look at the numbers to see what kind of rental investment potential there is in Dearborn Heights.
Housing Market Analysis
Both equity gains and cash flow increases have been strong here in the past few years–good news for buy and hold investors!
Sale Trends
As of July 2025, the average listing price in Dearborn Heights is $216,702, which is almost exactly double what it was back in March 2017 ($108,715):
Plus, the market here is fairly competitive. Listings go pending within 9 days, on average, and 43% sell for over asking price.
Want more info on specific investment opportunities in Dearborn Heights, Detroit, or Michigan? Contact us for a free consultation.
Rent Trends
The last time we did a Deep Dive into Dearborn Heights was in 2022, and back then, the average monthly rent was $1,350. Now, it’s $1,600.
Average sales prices have performed nearly as well:
Across the City of Detroit, the average rent is just $1,200/month, so this is also a good example of how Ring Cities often have better rental investment opportunities than Detroit proper–higher RTPs, better cash flow projections, and more potential for equity gains.
On that note, let’s look at some actual houses for sale in Dearborn Heights right now and run the numbers.
Investment Opportunities in Dearborn Heights, MI
As of July 2025, Zillow shows 107 homes for sale, and 108 for rent:
As you can see, there’s a noticeable difference in prices between the north and south halves of Dearborn Park:
- In the north, it’s hard to find anything under $200k, and some luxury properties sit at or near the $1M mark.
- In the south, single-family homes go for more like $150k-$200k, with rents ranging from $1,300-$1,700.
So the north part is more expensive than the southern part by about 25% for both rentals and sales. (Fun Fact: Dearborn Heights was originally 2 different townships, which were then joined together in 1960, hence the distinction.)
Definitely keep this in mind when doing your property search here!
Whilst the south will be easier for landlords to find cash-flowing units at reasonable prices, the north is better for long-term appreciation (if you can find a great deal!).
Example Investment Properties
Now, let’s compare the types of investment opportunities available here by looking at 1 property in the north, and 1 in the south.
- South Dearborn Heights: The Turnkey Rental
This 3 bedroom house is located in the southern half of Dearborn Heights, close to Van Born Road, which is one of the area’s main shopping thoroughfares.
It’s also 100% ready for a tenant to move in tomorrow, no work required. AND it’s just had a $9k price cut, so there’s likely some additional downward wiggle room there:
As you can see from Google Street View, Weddel Street is a tree-lined residential road with well-maintained houses and grassy sidewalks–no boarded-up houses here!
This is the difference between Detroit and its Ring Cities! These are lovely communities that tenants want to live in.
And with a Zestimated monthly rent of $1,775, the rent-to-price ratio looks promising for healthy cash flow:
Purchase Price: $156,200 (based on the Zestimate)
Repair Costs: $0
After-Repair Value: $156,200
Rent Zestimate: $1,775
RTP Ratio: 1.14%
Are you starting to see why landlords love Ring Cities like Dearborn Heights so much?
Just wait–there’s more.
- North Dearborn Heights: The Fixer-Upper
This is a very unique property, as multi-family units are pretty rare in north Dearborn Heights, but it does need some renovations to modernize throughout:
With a Zestimate of $211,300, this is a great opportunity to acquire 2x 2-bedroom apartments, each of which would rent for about $1,300/month.
So if you’re ready to roll up your sleeves and do the work to squeeze maximum value out of this place, here’s what the numbers could look like:
Purchase Price: $211,300
Repair Costs: $30,000
After-Repair Value: $241,300
Estimated Monthly Rent: $2,600
RTP Ratio: 1.08%
Plus, Zillow’s data shows this property has appreciated 101% over the past 10 years, so equity gains here are likely to be fairly healthy, too.
Area and Tenant Quality
Now that we’ve looked at the hard data, let’s move on to a more qualitative analysis of what attracts tenants to live in Dearborn Heights, including:
- Housing Stock Quality
- Tenant Quality
- Area Development
- Crime & Safety
In general, this city is characterized by quiet, residential streets, tree-lined sidewalks, and well-maintained homes. It has a reputation for being very family-friendly, and that’s reflected both in the housing stock and the type of residents it attracts.
Housing Stock
The average home in Dearborn Heights was built in 1959, and as with any older properties, that means they may sometimes come with issues like:
- Corroded or outdated cast-iron plumbing
- Asbestos in insulation, tiles, or ductwork
- Lead-based paint on walls or trim
- Deteriorated structural supports or framing
- Insufficient or absent insulation
- Aging systems: roof, HVAC, plumbing, and electrical
That being said, with 72% of homes being owner-occupied, most properties have been maintained to a good standard over time, so you won’t find any boarded-up windows here (as you might in some parts of Detroit proper).
88% of the housing stock in Dearborn Heights is single-family homes (SFHs), although you do find some apartments and condos in the north, alongside luxury $1M mansions. In the south, it’s almost exclusively SFHs, but you do get a mixture of architecture styles across both halves of the city: brick homes, timber frame ranches, 1930s bungalows, etc.
All in all, we’d score Dearborn Heights pretty high in terms of its housing stock from the POV of a rental investor who wants move-in ready quality with minimal repairs and maintenance needs.
Tenant Stock
Tenants will make or break your rental investment.
So, what kind of tenants can you expect in Dearborn Heights?
Here’s an overview:
Based on the general rule of “Rent should = 3x monthly salary”, most Dearborn Heights residents should be capable of paying rent consistently each month:
-
- Average Monthly Household Income: $5,086.25
- Average Monthly Rent: $1,600
- Income = 3.18x Monthly Rent
But, as the average household income is only about 3.2X the average monthly rent, it’s definitely something to keep an eye on, especially as rents appreciate over time.
Dearborn Heights attracts lots of families with its good schools, many parks, and quiet community feel. It’s also home to a large Muslim community, as well as many mosques and halal eateries.
In summary, this is a close-knit, Class B city that people like to live in. It’s always popular with Class B tenants, and as landlords you won’t struggle to find high-quality applicants here that can pay on time, consistently, and maintain your property with care.
Economic Development
Metro Detroit has been experiencing quite the shakeup lately. Ford’s revamping of Michigan Central Station spurred billions in additional investment, and has been attracting more and more automotive tech companies to the metro area.
Now, to be perfectly honest, Dearborn Heights is not exactly at the center of this transformation. But it is ideally placed for commuters to reach Downtown areas, and the city is actively working to keep improving the quality of life here so new residents are drawn to Dearborn Heights for years to come:
- Dearborn Heights’ Annual Action Plan includes projects designed at creating more affordable housing and public programs for lower-income residents, as well as general infrastructure updates.
- Detroit’s Restore 94 Project is also going to impact Dearborn Heights, with an update to 13 miles of I-94 that will improve safety and reduce traffic.
Crime and Safety
Most residents say that the police here are very responsive, and that they feel “pretty safe” on the streets of Dearborn Heights:
Compared to Metro Detroit as a whole, this is a relatively safe area.
Again, that’s one of the key differences between the City of Detroit and Ring Cities like Dearborn Heights, so dispel those Detroit myths from your mind!
Investment Report Card
Now let’s add all of this up and see how Dearborn Heights performs, using our very own rental investment Report Card:
To sum it up, we think Dearborn Heights is a solid Class B+ area that has tons of potential for buy-and-hold investments because of its:
- Solid Tenant Base: Long popular with families and with a strong community feel, it’s easier to find reliable tenants here than in the City of Detroit, for example.
- Good Property Stock: Well-maintained housing stock with excellent appreciation potential, although it’s not the cheapest–expect to pay at least $100k.
- High Rental Demand: This fueled rent price growth over the past few years, and will continue to do so, thanks to high home ownership rates and how desirable the area is.
Interested in starting your own property search in Dearborn Heights?
Here are our top picks for which blocks to buy on:
Streets to Focus On:
- Heyden Street & the Surrounding Blocks: Located in northern Dearborn Heights (the same street as Example Property #2 above), homes here typically easily meet the 1% Rule–selling for $150k-$200k and renting for $1,500-2,000. It’s a lovely street, lined with brick houses and neatly-mowed lawns, where you can feel the residents care about their neighborhood.
- Gertrude Street: In southern Dearborn Heights, Gertrude and the nearby streets are about 25% cheaper to buy and rent in than in the north, but still maintain a similar feel to the north. Expect sales prices of $100k-$200k and rents of $1,000-$2,000.
This isn’t an exhaustive list–honestly, pretty much all of the streets in Dearborn Heights tell a similar story. There’s a lot of potential for successful rental investing.
Which is why we think it’s a great option to explore if you’re looking to purchase your next Metro Detroit rental.
Stay tuned for our upcoming Deep Dives into other Metro Detroit neighborhoods. If you have a specific area in mind, leave a comment, and we’ll be sure to cover it in one of our next installments.
Want to explore investment properties in Dearborn Heights? Contact us for a list of our available units.