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The Metro Detroit basement-risk data

Name: Metro Detroit Basement Risk Index
Creator: Basement Risk Check
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Two open datasets behind the Basement Risk Index, free to download, reuse, and cite under CC BY 4.0.

Basement Risk Check · Updated June 2026 · Methodology

116communities scored across Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties

13,400+documented water-in-basement reports in the City of Detroit

~1,100census-tract neighborhoods behind the community scores

2open datasets, CSV and JSON, CC BY 4.0

What this data is, and is not: Detroit's score blends the city's real 311 water-in-basement records with housing data. All suburban scores are modeled from U.S. Census housing age and are labeled modeled, they are not observations of flooding. Every figure is drawn from the public sources listed below.

Download the data

Metro Detroit Basement Risk Index:116 communities, ranked, with BRI score, pre-1960 housing share, median home value, and scoring basis.

CSV JSON Methodology

Detroit Basement-Flood Equity by ZIP:28 Detroit ZIP codes: documented water-in-basement rate per 1,000 homes, with median household income and demographics.

CSV JSON The analysis

What is in the index

Column	Description
`rank`	Rank by Basement Risk Index, 1 = highest modeled risk among the 116 communities.
`community`	Community name (city, village, or township).
`bri_score`	Basement Risk Index, 0 to 100. Relative structural basement-flood exposure, metro median about 36.
`pct_homes_pre_1960`	Share of homes built before 1960 (U.S. Census ACS), the largest driver of basement-water risk here.
`median_home_value_usd`	Median owner-occupied home value (U.S. Census ACS), shown to demonstrate risk tracks age, not wealth.
`scoring_basis`	How the score was produced. Suburbs are modeled from housing data; Detroit also blends in City 311 records.
`profile_url`	Link to the full public community report.

Full column definitions, method, and limitations ship with each download as a data dictionary, and the full method is published on the methodology page.

Preview: the 10 highest-risk communities

#	Community	BRI	Pre-1960	Median value
1	Pleasant Ridge	100	94%	$393,900
2	Grosse Pointe	96	88%	$379,400
3	Grosse Pointe Park	96	88%	$445,100
4	Detroit	92	78%	$66,700
5	Hamtramck	91	80%	$103,100
6	Grosse Pointe Farms	88	86%	$409,200
7	Huntington Woods	87	87%	$457,600
8	Ferndale	85	78%	$218,000
9	River Rouge	83	74%	$49,200
10	Berkley	82	79%	$275,100

See the full 116-community ranking, the interactive risk map, or the 2026 findings writeup.

Sources and license

U.S. Census American Community Survey (ACS) 2022 5-year estimates (housing age, year built, home value, tenure); City of Detroit Improve Detroit / 311 water-in-basement service requests, 2023 to present; U.S. Census TIGER/Line boundaries. The index is an honest hybrid weighted mainly on housing age; Detroit additionally reflects more than 13,400 documented 311 reports as of June 2026. Released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.

Cite as: Basement Risk Check, “Metro Detroit Basement Risk Index,” basementriskcheck.com/data (accessed [date]).

Look up your own community

Find any metro Detroit neighborhood on the interactive Basement Risk Index map.

Open the map →

For journalists and local sites

This data is free to use and cite. We are glad to provide a custom cut for any community you cover: [email protected].