The Metro: Why property taxes are preventing people from moving to Detroit

By: Sam Corey

14 May 2026 at 19:49

If you’re a leader in Detroit, your attention is trained on a big task: attract more people to the city.

That’s for good reason — with more people comes more tax revenue. With more revenue, Detroit can provide better social services, quicker Detroit Department of Transit buses, more paved roads, and working streetlights.

But the city is running into a problem when it comes to increasing its population: High property taxes.

Because property taxes are capped until a property is sold, homebuyers in Detroit neighborhoods that have become more desirable bear the burden of potentially very high taxes. As an example, hundreds of homes will see their taxes climb above $10,000. That’s according to an Outlier Media estimate of the city’s 2026 tax roll.

So what does it mean when the system rewards staying still and punishes moving in? What does that do to a city trying to grow?

Kevin Bain is the chief financial officer for Public Sector Consultants, and a former debt manager for the city of Detroit. He spoke with The Metro‘s Robyn Vincent.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

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