Business Climate

Business Climate

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 10 of Michigan’s 19 Fortune 500 companies which generated a combined revenue of over $378 billion in 2021. The Detroit region also offers low cost of living compared to other peer regions. In addition, Michigan ranks 12th among states for overall tax climate.

Fortune 500 Companies

RankCompanyHQ City2021 Revenue ($M)
22Ford Motor CompanyDearborn$136,341
25General MotorsDetroit$127,004
142Penske Automotive GroupBloomfield Hills$25,554
186Lear CorporationSouthfield$19,263
239DTE EnergyDetroit$15,369
244BorgWarnerAuburn Hills$14,838
282Rocket CompaniesDetroit$13,175
345Ally Financial Detroit$10,690
413MascoLivonia$8,375
421AutolivAuburn hills$8,230
Source: Fortune Magazine, 2022

Largest Private Firms

Company2021 Revenue (billions)
Penske Corp.$37,000
Lineage Logistics LLC$4,000
Ilitch Holdings Inc.$3,800
Barton Malow Holdings LLC $3,341
Moroun Family Holdings$3,323
Plastipak Holdings Inc. $3,248
Piston Group$2,855
H.W. Kaufman Group Inc./Burns & Wilcox$2,800
Walbridge$2,262
LaFontaine Automotive Group$2,004
Source: Crain’s Detroit Business, 2023

Cost of Living

According to the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER), the Detroit region’s cost of living is only 103.0. Compared with other major metropolitan areas throughout the United States, the Detroit region is a very affordable place to live.

Cost Of Living Index For Select Metro Areas, 2021 Average Data

Metro AreaIndex
Memphis, TN84.9
St. Louis, MO87.1
Columbus, OH91.5
Cleveland, OH93.7
Buffalo, NY94.4
Minneapolis, MN102.9
Detroit, MI103.0
Baltimore, MD103.8
Pittsburgh, PA103.4
Atlanta, GA105.0
Dallas, TX107.7
Philadelphia, PA109.8
Denver, CO113.5
Chicago, IL123.3
Seattle, WA152.7
Boston, MA153.2
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA158.1
San Francisco, CA194.1
Manhattan, NY255.0
Source: C2ER, 2021 Annual Average Data Report

Taxes

According to The Tax Foundation’s State Business Tax Climate Index, Michigan ranked 12th among states for overall tax climate. The Index is designed to show how well states structure their tax systems. Michigan also ranked 20th for its corporate tax, 12th for individual income taxes, 11th for sales taxes, and 25th in the property tax category.

Michigan Personal Income Tax Rate: 4.25%
Michigan Corporate Income Tax Rate: 6.0%

2023 State Business Tax Climate Index

StateOverall RankCorporate Tax RankIndividual Income Tax RankSales Tax RankProperty Tax RankUnemployment Insurance Tax Rank
Michigan12201211258
Missouri113212674
Texas14477373812
Washington28378492225
Wisconsin27313871531
Georgia32835312835
Massachusetts343611134650
Illinois363813384443
Ohio37394136613
Minnesota454343293134
Source: Tax Foundation
Research & Data

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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