“New census figures for the Midwest U.S. state of Michigan show dramatic population declines. Michigan was the only state in the 2010 census to lose people. Its biggest city, Detroit, once the fourth largest in the nation, is now the 18th largest. That’s due in part to an exodus created by massive job losses in the automotive industry. Here’s a look at what the numbers mean for a city and region struggling through a housing and employment crisis.
With the loss of approximately 500,000 automotive jobs in the region during the past decade, Southeast Michigan Council of Governments Executive Director Paul Tait expected the 2010 census numbers to show some decline in Detroit’s population. “We expected much more around 750,000 people and it dropped down to just under 714,000 people. The magnitude of that surprised us.”
The population of the so-called Motor City is at its lowest in more than a century. More than 230,000 people left the city in the past decade. That 25-percent decline is one of the biggest on record for an urban area with a population of more than 100,000.
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The dramatic exodus from a city that was once a symbol of America’s manufacturing boom has staggering implications for Detroit. Mayor David Bing said the low census figures will cost the city and the state of Michigan more money.
“Every person that is counted in the census brings approximately $10,000 to Detroit over the next decade for schools, roads, hospitals, and social service programs like Medicaid. We are in a fiscal crisis and we have to fight for every dollar. We can not afford to let these results stand.”
Census figures questioned
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But the city is unlikely to attract enough jobs to once again see 2 million people filling the streets of Detroit, the population of the Motor City during its peak in 1950.”
The city lost almost 65% of its population over the past ~60 years, primarily because of the loss of good manufacturing jobs. That just might have some effect on a city’s economy, don’t you think?
