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 2018 – 2019 Best Hospitals by U.S. News and World Report for Adult and Children’s Specialties.

• University of Michigan Hospitals, Beaumont Hospital Royal Oak-Troy, and DMC Harper University Hospital, all based in the Detroit region, were ranked the three best hospitals in Michigan.
• University of Michigan Hospitals ranked 5th in the top 20 hospitals in the nation.
• Michigan’s best children’s hospitals are DMC Children’s Hospital of Michigan in Detroit and UM’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor. Ranked at 3rd and 10th in the nation for pediatric specialties.

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 December of 2018, 2,771 industry-sponsored clinical trials were actively recruiting patients in Michigan. Michigan was the 9th state with the most clinical trials. Source: CenterWatch.
• 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.

2016: Beaumont Hospitals broke ground on a $160-million expansion that will include a five-story patient tower and expansion of the emergency and critical care departments. 

2017: Henry Ford Hospital broke ground on a 187,000-square-foot cancer pavilion. The project is expected to cost approximately $155 million. 

2018: DMC’s Children’s Hospital of Michigan has completed the six-story $155-million patient tower. The new complex was constructed to expand neonatal and pediatric intensive care beds. 

2019: Beaumont is set to build a $40-million mental health hospital in Dearborn with Universal Health Services. Construction will begin early 2019 on Oak Boulevard near Southfield Freeway.