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City cost of living 2026

Cost of living in Ann Arbor, MI

The Ann Arbor, MI metro area (373,875 people) ranks #53 of 149 for prices among the U.S. metro areas we cover. Here's what it costs to live there.

By Data reviewed Data: Census ACS, BEA, BLS, NOAA, IRS, FEMA (methodology)

New York, NY: price level 112.6Los Angeles, CA: price level 113.6Chicago, IL: price level 103.6Dallas, TX: price level 103.1Houston, TX: price level 98.6Miami, FL: price level 114.2Washington, D.C.: price level 108.9Atlanta, GA: price level 100.1Philadelphia, PA: price level 102.6Phoenix, AZ: price level 103.3Boston, MA: price level 108.3Riverside, CA: price level 106.4San Francisco, CA: price level 115.6Detroit, MI: price level 100.3Seattle, WA: price level 111.1Minneapolis, MN: price level 104.8Tampa, FL: price level 100.9San Diego, CA: price level 111.9Denver, CO: price level 105.8Orlando, FL: price level 101.4Charlotte, NC: price level 97.3Baltimore, MD: price level 104.5St. Louis, MO: price level 95.1San Antonio, TX: price level 94.7Austin, TX: price level 98.1Portland, OR: price level 105.4Sacramento, CA: price level 106.7Pittsburgh, PA: price level 94.7Las Vegas, NV: price level 100.2Cincinnati, OH: price level 95.4Kansas City, MO: price level 92.5Columbus, OH: price level 95.5Indianapolis, IN: price level 95.7Cleveland, OH: price level 93.9Nashville, TN: price level 96.3San Jose, CA: price level 110.4Virginia Beach, VA: price level 97.9Jacksonville, FL: price level 99.5Providence, RI: price level 101.8Milwaukee, WI: price level 96.9Raleigh, NC: price level 98.2Oklahoma City, OK: price level 90.4Louisville, KY: price level 93.1Richmond, VA: price level 97.9Memphis, TN: price level 92.2Salt Lake City, UT: price level 100.9Birmingham, AL: price level 91.6Fresno, CA: price level 102.2Grand Rapids, MI: price level 95.5Hartford, CT: price level 102.7Buffalo, NY: price level 95.8Tucson, AZ: price level 96.9Tulsa, OK: price level 89.2Rochester, NY: price level 97.0Omaha, NE: price level 91.9Honolulu, HI: price level 111.0Greenville, SC: price level 93.3Bridgeport, CT: price level 106.9New Orleans, LA: price level 92.6Knoxville, TN: price level 92.6Sarasota, FL: price level 102.4Albuquerque, NM: price level 95.5Bakersfield, CA: price level 100.9McAllen, TX: price level 85.9Albany, NY: price level 99.6Allentown, PA: price level 100.0Baton Rouge, LA: price level 90.8Worcester, MA: price level 102.5El Paso, TX: price level 89.9Columbia, SC: price level 93.7Charleston, SC: price level 101.0Cape Coral, FL: price level 102.3Lakeland, FL: price level 97.1Boise, ID: price level 98.4Oxnard, CA: price level 110.5Dayton, OH: price level 92.7Stockton, CA: price level 105.1Greensboro, NC: price level 92.9Colorado Springs, CO: price level 100.7Little Rock, AR: price level 89.4Provo, UT: price level 98.2Des Moines, IA: price level 91.7Daytona Beach, FL: price level 99.4Poughkeepsie, NY: price level 109.4Madison, WI: price level 97.3Winston-Salem, NC: price level 92.0Akron, OH: price level 93.4Ogden, UT: price level 100.3Wichita, KS: price level 88.9Palm Bay, FL: price level 100.0Syracuse, NY: price level 95.7Augusta, GA: price level 91.9Durham, NC: price level 97.6Harrisburg, PA: price level 98.7Jackson, MS: price level 89.0Fayetteville, AR: price level 91.4Spokane, WA: price level 100.3Toledo, OH: price level 91.5Chattanooga, TN: price level 91.5New Haven, CT: price level 104.6Reno, NV: price level 101.0Portland, ME: price level 101.9Port St. Lucie, FL: price level 100.2Huntsville, AL: price level 93.1Pensacola, FL: price level 97.7Lexington, KY: price level 92.9Killeen, TX: price level 91.1Springfield, MO: price level 88.6Santa Rosa, CA: price level 107.8Wilmington, NC: price level 96.4Fort Wayne, IN: price level 92.6Vallejo, CA: price level 108.5Santa Barbara, CA: price level 108.8Salinas, CA: price level 109.0Savannah, GA: price level 95.2Manchester, NH: price level 105.7Ocala, FL: price level 95.2Asheville, NC: price level 96.5Naples, FL: price level 103.2Myrtle Beach, SC: price level 93.6Anchorage, AK: price level 105.4Spartanburg, SC: price level 91.1Fayetteville, NC: price level 92.0Trenton, NJ: price level 103.2Eugene, OR: price level 101.6Fort Collins, CO: price level 101.1Ann Arbor, MI: price level 100.9Greeley, CO: price level 100.2Gainesville, FL: price level 96.7Clarksville, TN: price level 90.9Boulder, CO: price level 105.2Columbus, GA: price level 89.3Crestview, FL: price level 97.0Sioux Falls, SD: price level 90.6Olympia, WA: price level 103.7Norwich, CT: price level 100.4Bremerton, WA: price level 105.6Fargo, ND: price level 90.9Bend, OR: price level 103.6Daphne, AL: price level 94.7Prescott, AZ: price level 98.3Hilton Head Island, SC: price level 98.0Burlington, VT: price level 100.9Panama City, FL: price level 97.3Jacksonville, NC: price level 92.1Punta Gorda, FL: price level 100.5Billings, MT: price level 93.5The Villages, FL: price level 85.4Cheyenne, WY: price level 96.5

Hover over or tap a dot to see its value.

Price level of the 149 metros we cover
See all 149 cities

Price level, from cheaper to pricier.

Salary to match $75k
$80,300
vs. an average-priced, no-income-tax area
Median rent
$1,554
per month · need $62,160 income
Median home
$395,300
need about $114,683 to buy

Compare Ann Arbor with your city

See what you'd need to earn in Ann Arbor to keep your lifestyle, after taxes and local prices. The calculator starts from Detroit, MI, which sends the most households here of the metros we cover (IRS, 2022–2023), at about its median household income. Pick your own city and salary.

Equal salary in Ann Arbor: $72,800

Compare any two of 149 U.S. metro areas. All cities

To keep the same lifestyle, you need about $72,800 in Ann Arbor, MI to match $75,000 in Detroit, MI ($2,200 less), after 2026 taxes and local prices.

Single filer, W-2 salary. Both are in Michigan, so state income tax is the same; includes Detroit resident tax $1,786 (inside city limits).

Take-home in Detroit
$56,870
24.2% total tax
Take-home in Ann Arbor
$58,656
21.8% total tax
Prices in Ann Arbor
+0.6%
vs Detroit (BEA 2024)
Renting: change after selected costs
-$1,886
per year, after taxes, rent and power; excludes food, transport, healthcare, child care and moving costs

See the full Detroit to Ann Arbor report

What things cost in Ann Arbor

Price level by category (U.S. = 100)
Below the U.S. average Above the U.S. average At the U.S. average
Overall100.9
Housing125.3
Goods93.7
Utilities98.2
Other services99.6

The vertical line marks the U.S. average (100). BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 for the metropolitan area.

Taxes in Ann Arbor

On a $90,000 salary (about the area's median household income), a single filer keeps $68,571 after 2026 federal tax ($10,970), Social Security and Medicare ($6,885) and Michigan income tax ($3,574).

Housing

MeasureAnn Arbor area
Median rent$1,554/mo
Median home value$395,300
Median property tax$5,827/yr
Monthly cost to own the median home (20% down)$2,676
Median household income$90,523

Climate and jobs in Ann Arbor

In the Ann Arbor area the average January low is 16°F and the average July high 84°F, and the area has about 12 days a year at 90°F or hotter. Unemployment averaged 4.3% in 2025, the same as the U.S. rate (4.3%), and the median wage across all jobs was $55,380 a year, 9% above the U.S. median.

Climate in the Ann Arbor area: NOAA 1991–2020 normals
Climate1991–2020 average
January low16°F
July high84°F
Days 90°F or hotter12 a year
Precipitation38 in a year
Snowfall61 in a year
Jobs and pay in the Ann Arbor area compared with the U.S. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Jobs and payMetro areaU.S.
Unemployment rate, 2025 average4.3%4.3%
Median wage, all jobs (May 2025)$55,380$50,980
Wage and salary jobs (May 2025)219,730155.5 million

Climate: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020 averages at the Ann Arbor University of Michigan station (USC00200230). Weather varies across a metro area, especially with elevation and distance from the coast. Jobs: unemployment from BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics; wages and job counts from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, which count wage and salary jobs, not the self-employed; wages are before taxes. The 2025 average covers 11 months: October 2025 data were not collected during the federal government shutdown.

Retiring in Ann Arbor

A single retiree spends about $3,362 a month here if they own their home outright, or $4,134 renting, based on typical spending for households 65 and older (BLS 2024) adjusted for local prices. See where your budget goes furthest.

Where people move to and from Ann Arbor

Leaving Ann Arbor for… (households)
Detroit4,613
Chicago552
New York369
San Francisco240
Grand Rapids239
Boston234
Washington, D.C.234
Los Angeles227
Moving to Ann Arbor from… (households)
Detroit3,948
Chicago336
Grand Rapids228
New York191
Los Angeles188
Boston148
Washington, D.C.144
Toledo121

IRS county-to-county migration data, 2022–2023, aggregated to the 149 metro areas we cover.

Natural hazard risk

FEMA rates the Ann Arbor area among the highest for natural hazard risk (score 89.3 of 100), with expected losses of about $249 per resident per year. Disaster risk by county in Michigan.

Highest relative risks (national percentile)
Higher risk than most U.S. counties
Strong wind98
Tornado97
Cold wave93
Ice storm90
Riverine flooding90

The vertical line marks the middle of U.S. counties (50).

Frequently asked questions

What salary do you need to live in Ann Arbor?

To match the buying power of $75,000 in an average-priced area with no state income tax, you need about $80,300 in Ann Arbor. Renting the median home at 30% of income takes $62,160, and buying the median home with 20% down takes about $114,683.

Is Ann Arbor expensive?

The Ann Arbor metro area's price level is 100.9 (U.S. = 100), #53 of the 149 metro areas we cover, from most to least expensive. Its housing price index is 125.3, 25% above the U.S. average.

Are people moving to Ann Arbor?

Counting moves to and from the other 148 metro areas we cover, Ann Arbor had a net loss of about 2,304 households in 2022–2023 (IRS county migration data).

What is the weather like in Ann Arbor?

In NOAA's 1991–2020 climate normals for the Ann Arbor area (Ann Arbor University of Michigan weather station), the average January low is 16°F and the average July high 84°F. The area has about 12 days a year at 90°F or hotter and gets 38 inches of precipitation a year and about 61 inches of snow.

What are jobs and pay like in Ann Arbor?

The Ann Arbor metro area's unemployment rate averaged 4.3% in 2025, the same as the U.S. rate (4.3%). The median wage across all jobs was $55,380 a year in May 2025, 9% above the U.S. median of $50,980 (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

What natural disasters affect Ann Arbor?

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the area among the highest overall (score 89.3). The highest relative risks are strong wind, tornado, cold wave.

Compare Ann Arbor with other cities

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