Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 75/100
B
Median home value$316,700
Detroit $249,700
Median rent$1,526/mo
Detroit $1,207/mo
Cost-burdened households15%
Detroit 29%
Berkley
Oakland County15,149 residentsBerkley School District
78
B+
Suburbgrade score
2nd of 54 Detroit suburbs. Strong on employment & income and amenities, held back by cost of living.
78
Detroit median 58
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Berkley yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 78 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Berkley is like to live in, by category
Bars show Berkley against Detroit. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 82/100
B+
Within-state proficiency87th pct
Detroit median 46th pct
Student–teacher ratio16.6
Detroit median 16.8
Graduation rate96%
Detroit median 87%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 65/100
C+
Housing cost index108
Detroit 100
Eff. tax rate1.29%
Detroit 1.27%
Local sales tax6.00%
Detroit median 6.00%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 79/100
B+
Mean commute22.0 min
Detroit 26.0 min
Under 30 minutes68%
Detroit 61%
Transit stops / sq mi15
Detroit median 7.8 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 83/100
A−
Restaurants & cafés93
Detroit median 59 · within 2 miles
Groceries8
Detroit median 6 · within 2 miles
Parks134
Detroit median 61 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 85/100
A−
Median household income$116,239
Detroit $76,664
Unemployment2.2%
Detroit 6.4%
Professional occupations61%
Detroit 43%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
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No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Berkley yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Berkley on cost of living
Berkley's weakest grade is C+. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbCost of livingOverall
Pontiac12 mi from BerkleyB+ 44 D Madison Heights4 mi from BerkleyB+ 65 C+ Mount Clemens17 mi from BerkleyB+ 44 D Hamtramck10 mi from BerkleyB+ 46 D Westland16 mi from BerkleyB+ 55 C− Wixom18 mi from BerkleyB 62 C Cost-of-living index composed in-house from housing cost, utilities, effective property tax and local sales tax · Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Effective property tax: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Berkley
Is Berkley, MI a good place to live?
Berkley scores 78 out of 100, 2nd of 54 Detroit suburbs. It is strongest on employment & income and weakest on cost of living. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Berkley expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades C+. The median home is $316,700, 27% above the Detroit median, and the effective property tax rate is 1.29%. $1,526/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Berkley?
Schools grade B+. The districts serving Berkley sit at the 87th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 96% graduation rate and a 16.6 student–teacher ratio. Berkley is served by Berkley School District. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Berkley?
The mean commute is 22.0 min, with 68% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 23% working from home. Transit density is 15 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Berkley?
Within two miles there are 8 groceries, 93 restaurants and cafés and 134 parks, which grades A− on amenities.
Are the homes in Berkley old or new?
The median home in Berkley was built in 1949 — older than the Detroit median of 1968. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 94% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.