Health Care

The health care industry has deep roots in the Detroit region, and more than half of the health care-related businesses in the state of Michigan are located here. With more than 13,000 health care-related businesses and approximately 366,351 jobs in the region, the health care industry has an overall economic impact of $36 billion annually. The Detroit region is home to several destination medical centers known for ground-breaking research, pioneering technology and exceptional patient care.

Most have been locally, regionally, and nationally ranked as one of the 2022-2023 Best Hospitals by U.S. News and World Report for Adult and Children’s Specialties.

• University of Michigan Health- Ann Arbor (#1), Beaumont Hospital-Royal Oak (#2), and Beaumont Hospital-Grosse Pointe/Troy (#3), were ranked the three best hospitals in Michigan.
• University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital (#10 in the nation for pediatric cardiology and heart surgery) and Children’s Hospital of Michigan were ranked as the best children’s hospitals in Michigan.

With Eastern Michigan University, Michigan State University, Oakland University, Wayne State University, the University of Detroit-Mercy and the University of Michigan all in close proximity, the Detroit region is a national leader in cutting-edge research and development. Michigan ranks among the top in the nation in research and development spending.

• In 2018, Michigan ranked 6th in the nation for the total number of patents with 5,296. Only eight nations surpassed Michigan in U.S. patents granted that year. Source: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
• For fiscal year 2017, the National Institutes of Health awarded more than $677.4 million to Michigan to fund 1,410 research projects, of which $594.6 million was awarded to organizations in the Detroit region for 1,218 projects.
• In 2016, the University Research Corridor spent $2.3 billion in R&D expenditures and ranked first in the nation for advanced degrees conferred for medicine and biological science

The region is home to many institutions that partner with existing medical and technological development facilities. Students receive real world experience and access to cutting-edge tools and practices to advance the progression of innovation in the health care and life sciences fields when they begin their careers. In 2015, Michigan’s University Research Corridor, a partnership between the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Wayne State University, conferred more advanced degrees in the medicine and biological science fields than any peer university cluster in the country.

The Detroit region is talent-rich with professionals who have world-class training in engineering and the experience working with exotic materials and high-precision tooling demanded by the health care industry. The same skills Michigan workers used to put the world on wheels help health care businesses thrive.

In 2018, the Detroit region had notable achievements for its talent pool, including:

• The Detroit MSA is the 10 largest health care workforce in the nation.
• The Detroit MSA is forecast to gain more than 36,000 health care related jobs over the next 10 years.
• The average annual wages and salary in the Detroit MSA for health care is $53,671.

The Detroit region has the highest concentration of engineering talent in the nation and employs more industrial and mechanical engineers than any other metro area.