Last Wednesday, the U.S. Census released new data that tell us a lot about demographic trends in the city of Detroit. In a series of insightful reports, the Detroit News breaks down those data. Here is what they found:
- Detroit's population is still declining, but at a much slower rate than in recent decades. "Detroit’s population was at 680,281 in 2014, down an estimated 8,459 residents from 2013, according to the data. That’s a smaller loss than the previous year’s drop of 12,784," write Louis Aguilar and Christine MacDonald for the Detroit News.
- For the first time in over half a century, Detroit is showing statistically significant gains in the number of white residents. "The new data, paired with the recent estimates of small gains, suggests an increase of more than 14,000 whites since 2010," reports The News. The city's white population is now at 10.2 percent, increasing by 1.3 percentage points from 2013 to 2014. The city's black population (79.1 percent) and Latino population (7.2 percent) both showed small, statistically insignificant declines in 2014. The data suggest that the influx of whites has helped slow the overall decline in the city's population.
- Detroit is the poorest big city in the U.S. The median household income for a family of four in the city is a paltry $25,769, and 39.3 percent of all Detroiters live below the poverty line.
Read more in the Detroit News:
"Detroit's white population up after decades of decline"
"Census bureau: Detroit is poorest big city in U.S."
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.