Nearly half of Hamtramck residents were born abroad: Michigan’s immigrant communities by city

Hamtramck: nearly half of residents were born outside the United States

Picture a summer evening on a front porch in Hamtramck: grandparents, parents and kids, and a conversation that moves easily between languages. In this small city nearly surrounded by Detroit, 46.7% of residents were born outside the U.S., by far the highest share among 101 Michigan places with 10,000 or more people, and more than six times the statewide figure of 7.2%.

Hamtramck is the standout, but it is not alone. Troy (30.9%), Dearborn (30.3%), Novi (29.2%) and Sterling Heights (28.0%) each have more than one foreign-born resident for every four people. Immigrants and their families are part of the everyday fabric of these cities: neighbors, coworkers, classmates and business owners, raising families and building community across generations.

What the data shows: metro Detroit’s suburbs are Michigan’s main immigrant hubs

Oakland County places make up 10 of the 25 highest foreign-born shares, including Troy, Novi, Farmington (22.1%), Rochester Hills (20.2%), Farmington Hills (19.6%), Auburn Hills (18.5%) and Wixom (17.1%). Wayne County adds Hamtramck, Dearborn, Dearborn Heights (24.5%) and Melvindale (22.5%), and Macomb County adds Sterling Heights and Warren (14.3%). At the county level, Oakland (13.3%), Washtenaw (13.1%) and Macomb (11.7%) have the highest foreign-born shares of Michigan’s 83 counties. See how those communities compare on our Oakland County page.

Outside metro Detroit, university communities and West Michigan stand out. Okemos (22.1%), Ann Arbor (18.6%), Haslett (12.0%) and East Lansing (11.5%) are home to or next to Michigan State University and the University of Michigan. In Kent County, Kentwood (19.2%), Wyoming (13.2%), Cutlerville (11.2%) and Grand Rapids (11.1%) all rank in the top 25. Sturgis (13.0%), in St. Joseph County, is a notable smaller city on the list.

A few results may surprise readers. Detroit is slightly below the state figure at 6.6%. And at the bottom of the ranking, Owosso and Alpena (0.9% each), Jenison (1.1%), Burton (1.2%) and Saginaw (1.4%) have very few residents born abroad. Of the 101 places, 37 are above Michigan’s 7.2%, 63 are below and one matches it.

Several of the most international places are also places full of families. Hamtramck has the second-highest share of households with children in our data (48.7%), and Dearborn (35.2%) and Novi (34.9%) are also in the top ten. Troy, Novi and Sterling Heights all have a larger share of married adults than the state’s 47.6%. These are descriptive overlaps in the data, not proof of any single cause.

Michigan’s 12 places with the highest foreign-born share

Alongside two family measures from the same ACS release, for context.

Michigan overall: 7.2% foreign-born, 27.1% of households with children, 47.6% of adults 15+ married.

How “foreign-born” is defined and measured

The Census Bureau defines the foreign-born population as anyone who was not a U.S. citizen at birth. That includes naturalized U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, refugees and asylees, international students and other temporary residents, and people without legal authorization. The Bureau does not publish estimates by legal status, and neither do we. People born in Puerto Rico, U.S. territories or abroad to American parents are counted as native-born.

Our figures come from ACS 2024 5-year estimates (2020 through 2024), table B05002, Place of Birth by Nativity and Citizenship Status, retrieved through the Census Reporter API. We divided the foreign-born population by total population for each of the 101 Michigan places with 10,000 or more residents. The household and marital columns in the table above come from tables B11005 and B12001 in the same release.

What this data cannot show

• No countries of origin here. This report does not break the foreign-born share down by birthplace, language or year of arrival, so it says nothing about which communities live in which city.
• It misses the second generation. U.S.-born children of immigrants are counted as native-born, so the full reach of immigrant families is larger than these percentages.
• Five-year averages smooth out recent arrivals. Rapid change since 2024 will not appear yet.
• Margins of error are wider for smaller places, so small gaps between similar suburbs should not be over-read.

Strengths, family life and culturally responsive care

Immigrant families often bring deep strengths into Michigan homes: multigenerational support, strong ties to faith and community, fluency in more than one language and culture, and a practiced ability to adapt. Picture a household where grandparents help with school pickups, parents juggle work across time zones with relatives abroad, and teenagers switch languages mid-sentence. That kind of family can be a remarkable source of resilience.

Like any family, these households also navigate their own transitions: partners adjusting at different speeds to a new place, children growing up between two sets of expectations, or adult children caring for aging parents. None of that is a problem in itself, and being an immigrant does not mean someone needs therapy.

For those who do want support, fit matters. Many people look for a therapist who respects their culture, faith and family structure, or who speaks their language. It is reasonable to ask any therapist directly how they approach cultural differences and whether sessions in your preferred language are possible. Community organizations can also help. In Dearborn, ACCESS (the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services), founded in 1971, lists behavioral health among its health and wellness services.

Iryna Morhunova-Sutton, LLMFT, works with individuals, couples and families online, anywhere in Michigan. Her approach is collaborative, and in her own words, her goal is to “meet you where you are, honor your story.” Video sessions can make it easier for family members living in different cities, or with demanding work schedules, to join. You can learn more about family therapy, how online therapy works in Michigan, or what to look for in our guide on finding the right therapist.

Update schedule

This report is refreshed when the Census Bureau releases new ACS 5-year estimates. See related findings in our report on households with children by city, or return to the Michigan hub.