Issue brief (PDF): Detroiters' Top Household Challenges Ahead of the 2025 Mayoral Election
New findings from a University of Michigan survey of Detroiters showing the top challenges households face in their daily lives and how they would like city leadership to respond have implications for Detroit's mayoral election in November.
Safety or crime tops the list, with 17.7% of Detroiters saying it's one of the top three major challenges faced by their households, followed by neighborhood conditions (16.4%), employment (15%), housing (14.9%), transportation (14.2%), schools (12.5%) and gettingv the food they need (12%).
That's according to a representative survey of Detroit residents conducted by the Detroit Metro Area Communities Study at U-M in partnership with Outlier Media.
An issue brief released today from DMACS, with support from U-M's Poverty Solutions, offers analysis of the survey results to see what Detroiters say would make a difference in addressing the challenges they face.
"Detroiters' needs and priorities should shape the agenda for the city's new leadership. Going into the election, the survey data offer insights into the day-to-day challenges that are most pressing for Detroiters," said Celia Fan, DMACS data manager, who co-authored the issue brief with Mara Cecilia Ostfeld, faculty lead of DMACS.
Among Detroiters who listed crime and safety as one of their household's major challenges, fewer than half (47.1%) said greater police presence would make them feel safer. They identified a range of alternative investments that could improve safety, including stronger gun control (4.6%), better street lighting (4.5%), fewer vacant properties (4.4%), and more support for neighborhood associations and block clubs (3.9%).
For people concerned with neighborhood conditions, the most frequently cited needs were: neighborhood maintenance (17.7%) like more consistent garbage clean up and better upkeep of streets, alleys and vacant lots; preventing neighborhood dumping (17.5%); and fewer vacant and blighted structures (16.6%).
Among Detroiters facing challenges related to employment, three-quarters said they have not been able to find a job and one-quarter said they are dissatisfied with their current job. Insufficient pay was the most pressing issue, cited by 87.8% of people facing employment challenges who can't find a job and 64.8% of people who are dissatisfied with their current job.
The survey found affordability is at the heart of Detroiters' housing challenges. Among those who identified housing as a major challenge, 72.7% reported difficulty finding a home to buy that meets their family's needs and budget, 65% pointed to problems paying rent, 63.2% said they have trouble covering utility costs 63.2% and 60.9% mentioned they struggle to keep up with home maintenance.
For Detroiters who highlighted transportation as a major challenge, 77% reported that purchasing or maintaining a vehicle posed a major challenge and 69.3% cited the high cost of car insurance. By contrast, 47.8% of those who said transportation was a major challenge mentioned unreliable bus or rail schedules, 41.4% pointed to infrequent public transportation service and 38.2% identified insufficient routes.
Detroit residents who cited school as a major challenge said they want more options, safer environments and smaller class sizes.
"While school-related concerns and getting the food they need ranked lower on the list of challenges that Detroiters face, these are still areas where residents see opportunities for city leadership to make improvements," Ostfeld said.
