Detroit’s emergence from a record municipal bankruptcy in December heralded a fresh start for a city of 688,700 that had 1.8 million residents in 1950. As boosters work to lure new tax-paying residents, the cost of insurance for an indispensable car lurks as a budget-eater beneath the promise of low-cost housing, Bloomberg News reported today. Detroit, ridden by crime, blight and poverty, has the five most expensive zip codes in the U.S. for auto insurance, according to CarInsurance.com. They produced average annual rates of about $5,000, 29 percent more than the highest average premium in New York City. New York’s median household income of $52,259 is twice Detroit’s, according to the U.S. census.
