Dearborn is Henry Ford's hometown and the heart of the company he built — Ford's world headquarters, its Rouge plant, and the sprawling Henry Ford museum and Greenfield Village all sit here in Wayne County, just west of Detroit. It's also one of the great Arab American communities in the United States, home to the Arab American National Museum and a food scene — bakeries, shawarma, and Lebanese restaurants along Warren and Michigan Avenues — that draws people from across the Midwest.
At a glance
State millage data currently shows about 50.9 to 52.9 mills for a primary home. 2 school districts cover the community, so the parcel and PRE status decide the final bill.
Practical directory
Common home and paperwork paths
Start with the Michigan guide that matches the job. For a parcel, bill, permit, or recorded document in Dearborn, confirm the final answer with the local or county office shown farther down this page.
- Delinquent property tax Get help before the redemption date Find the foreclosing unit, exact payoff, assistance programs, counseling, and legal-help paths.
- Utility shutoff or past-due bill Work the utility-help sequence Call the provider, apply for emergency relief, use 2-1-1, and ask about household protections.
- Essential home repair Find repair or weatherization help Match the repair, household, service area, and rural status to programs that may actually fit.
- Home and estate Handle a home after someone dies Keep the property stable, find the deed and authority to act, and choose the right estate or title path.
- Manufactured home Transfer or repair the home title Start with the Secretary of State path for a sale, missing title, lien, or legal affixture to land.
- Permits and repairs Check a permit or contractor Find who enforces the work in Dearborn, what to put in writing, and where to check a license.
Who handles what
Send the question to the right office
Start local for a parcel, tax bill, permit, or housing rule. Move to the county or a district when the record or service covers more than one community.
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Assessment, PRE, current tax bill, or Board of Review
Dearborn assessor or treasurer
Start with the Dearborn office shown on the assessment notice or tax bill. The assessor handles value and exemptions; the treasurer handles the current summer or winter bill.
Michigan property-tax basics -
Rental registration, building permit, or code problem
Dearborn building, rental, or code office
The enforcing agency can be the municipality, county, or state, and electrical, mechanical, and plumbing work may go to different places.
Find the official permit jurisdiction ↗ Michigan homeowner guide -
Marriage license, local record, deed, or delinquent tax
Wayne County offices
The clerk, register of deeds, and county treasurer handle different parts of this work. The county page separates them for you.
Open the official Wayne County site ↗ Getting married in Michigan -
Private well, septic system, local health, or trial court
County, district, or court finder
A health district or court can serve more than one community. The county page links to the official statewide finders.
Find the local health department ↗ Michigan well and septic guide
The practical stuff
Buying, owning, or selling in Dearborn
The seller's tax bill may not be your tax bill.
2025 property-tax snapshot
- Primary home (PRE)
- 50.8704 mills - 52.9112 mills
- Other property / non-homestead
- 66.6894 mills - 70.9112 mills
- School districts available
- 2 in Dearborn
One mill means $1 per $1,000 of Taxable Value. Rate rows come from the official 2025 Michigan Treasury report. Last reviewed July 12, 2026.
What these local words mean
- Primary home (PRE)
- A home you own and live in as your main home. PRE stands for Principal Residence Exemption and can lower the school operating tax.
- Non-homestead
- Property that is not treated as the owner's main home, such as a rental, vacation home, or second home.
- Assessor
- The local office that estimates and records property values and exemptions.
- Treasurer
- The local office that collects property tax payments and can confirm bill timing.
Michigan homebuyer tax calculator
See the tax bill after you buy.
Where is the house?
Pick the county, city or township, and school district. We use the official 2025 tax rates published by Michigan Treasury.
Not sure of the school district? Check the property listing. It is usually under "Schools."
Need to double-check the exact parcel? Use the official state estimator at treas-secure.state.mi.us/ptestimator or call the local treasurer. Rates can change across city, township, village, and school district lines, so the exact parcel matters.
Why a buyer's property-tax bill can change after a sale
In Michigan, property tax isn't figured on what you paid — it's figured on the home's Taxable Value, with the local millage rates applied to that number. While one owner keeps the home, Proposal A caps how fast that Taxable Value can climb. When the home sells, the cap usually comes off — this is called uncapping — and the Taxable Value resets toward the State Equalized Value, or SEV, which tends to run about half of a home's market value.
That reset is the part that catches buyers: a longtime owner may have been paying on an old, capped number, so the year after you buy, yours can jump to the new one — and your first full-year bill can land well above what the seller was paying. In Dearborn, your rate can vary by parcel. The school district tied to the property matters, and 2 school districts cover Dearborn. For a primary home with PRE, Michigan's main-home exemption, rates currently run about 50.9 to 52.9 mills. Without PRE, non-homestead rates run about 66.7 to 70.9 mills. The calculator above turns those local rates into your actual number.
If this will be your main home, make sure that PRE is filed with the local assessor — it can lift up to 18 school-operating mills off the bill. Rentals, vacation homes, and second homes stay on the higher non-homestead rate.
The tax reset is the big one, but it isn't the whole checklist. It's also worth checking whether the address sits in a floodplain, and whether you'll owe a city income tax where you live or work. The buying-a-home guide walks through the rest.
School districts in this area
Dearborn City School
Primary home (PRE) 50.8704 mills · non-homestead 66.6894 mills
Westwood Community
Primary home (PRE) 52.9112 mills · non-homestead 70.9112 mills
Local rules and costs to check
Note-sized practical catches tied to Dearborn: taxes, property rules, permits, local costs, or other things worth checking before you decide.
Local check
Can you park on the street overnight? Often not
Many metro Detroit suburbs restrict overnight street parking, and snow emergencies can bring stricter temporary bans.
Local check
Why is car insurance so expensive around here?
Michigan auto insurance is still expensive, and metro Detroit addresses can move rates by hundreds of dollars a month.
Local check
Can you run an Airbnb here? Your city or township decides
Michigan leaves short-term rental rules to each city or township, so Airbnb and Vrbo rules can change from one community to the next.
Local check
In Michigan, you get two property-tax bills a year — not one
Most Michigan property owners get separate summer and winter tax bills, with local rules deciding what lands on each bill.
Stories & local context
Get to know Dearborn
A few local rules are worth checking before you buy. Short-term rentals depend on city ordinance, car insurance runs high across Metro Detroit, and overnight street parking is often restricted. The notes below cover each one, along with Michigan's two-bill property tax cycle.
Featured local story
Fair Lane: the Dearborn estate Henry Ford lit with his own river
Henry and Clara Ford's Fair Lane estate ran on its own hydroelectric powerhouse — its cornerstone laid by Thomas Edison — and powered part of Dearborn besides.
Read the story →-
Henry Ford Moved Thomas Edison's Actual Laboratory to Michigan — Brick by Brick
Henry Ford moved Thomas Edison's actual Menlo Park laboratory to Michigan, brick by brick, and had a frail Edison relight his lamp there in 1929.
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The Rosa Parks bus, Lincoln chair, and Kennedy limousine are in Dearborn
The Henry Ford pairs nationally significant artifacts with Greenfield Village, a landmark open-air museum of nearly 100 buildings, structures, and objects.
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The World's First Airport Hotel Was Henry Ford's Idea
The Dearborn Inn, conceived by Henry Ford and designed by Albert Kahn, opened in 1931 as the world's first airport hotel — and reopened, restored, in 2025.
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Dearborn: a center of Arab American life
Dearborn is central to one of the country's largest Arab American communities and is home to the first and only U.S. museum devoted to recording the Arab American experience.
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Carhartt Started in a Detroit Loft in 1889
Carhartt, the rugged workwear brand, started in a small Detroit loft in 1889 and is still family-owned and based in metro Detroit today.
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The Line Down the Middle of the Road Was a Michigan Idea
Michigan transportation officials credit Wayne County road commissioner Edward Hines with conceiving the highway centerline in 1911.
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Hines Park: seventeen green miles through the western suburbs
Edward Hines Drive strings 25 parks along the Middle Rouge from Dearborn through Dearborn Heights, Westland, and Livonia to Northville — western Wayne County's shared backyard.
Nearby places
The closest Michigan Porch pages to Dearborn. Open one to read it, or put it side by side with Dearborn — tax rates, school districts, and city income tax.
Compare Dearborn with a neighbor →Next steps
What to check next for Dearborn
Use the county office map for records and services, or follow the home path that matches what you are doing now.
- County Open Wayne County See the county page for other cities, townships, villages, local notes, and the county-wide tax snapshot. Open county page →
- Homeowner Keep the house on track Use one calm directory for tax notices, insurance, contractors, permits, records, and repairs. Open homeowner guide →
- Seller Plan the Michigan closing Walk through disclosure, title, transfer tax, PRE rescission, and the records worth keeping. Open seller guide →
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