Motor City population declines 25%

DETROIT  Detroit's population plunged 25% in the past decade to 713,777, the lowest count since 1910, four years before Henry Ford offered $5 a day to autoworkers, sparking a boom that quadrupled the Motor City's size in the first half of the 20th century.

According to 2010 Census figures released Tuesday, the city lost, on average, one resident every 22 minutes between 2000 and 2010. Detroit officials plan to challenge the figures.

"Personally, I don't believe the number is accurate, and I don't believe it will stand up as we go through with our challenge," said Mayor Dave Bing, a Democrat.

"The Census has a history of undercounting residents in urban cities like Detroit. We were undercounted in 2000, and the Census estimate was again revised in 2007," Bing said.

Demographers were less optimistic the city could get the figures changed.

Shrinking Population trends in Detroit: Source: Census Bureau

"You can talk about undercounts, but it's going to be very difficult to prove and they are going to have to go to the courts," said demographer Kurt Metzger, director of Data Drive Detroit, a non-profit data research firm.

Census counts are crucial because the numbers are used to distribute more than $400 billion in federal funds to local and state governments each year and to make decisions about what community services to provide.

Fueled by the implosion of the domestic auto industry, the Motor City's 237,493-resident decline helped make Michigan the only state to experience a net population loss since 2000.

Overall, the state's population fell by about 54,000, a 0.6% decline at a time when the nation's population grew about 9.7%. Michigan's population in the decade peaked in 2006 and has been declining since, according to Census figures.

Metzger said he was shocked by Detroit's total — down from 951,270 in 2000 — saying he expected it to come in the 778,000 range.

He said a bad economy drove many people out, but so did falling home prices in the suburbs, which are now within reach of many lower-income Detroiters.

Other issues such as schools, safety and insurance and tax rates, which are higher in Detroit than in the suburbs, also fueled the move.

"They have chosen to vote with their feet," Metzger said.

Detroit experienced a bigger population drop in the 1970s when it lost 310,695 residents, but that was a smaller percentage loss, about 20%.

The Detroit City Council pledged to challenge the figures, saying tens of thousands of residents were likely missed in the count.

"There was a lack of participation" from residents, Councilman James Tate said. "We see apathy setting in with a lot of folks."

Detroit, once the USA's fourth-most-populous city, dropped from 10th in 2000 to 18th, below Midwestern neighbors such as Columbus, Ohio, and Indianapolis and southern cities such as Austin, Charlotte, Fort Worth and Jacksonville, Fla.

One Michigan resident to move out was John Bessette, 44, who grew up in suburban Detroit and moved to an exurb of Pittsburgh in August 2010 after commuting there for almost two years.

His company, Aim Construction, builds medical facilities and wanted to be located where that field was growing.

"With the economy, even before the bad times, everybody was tightening up their purse strings" in Detroit, he said.

"It was really a good time to go look at somewhere else."

Bessette and his family make the four-hour drive to Michigan about once a month to visit, he said.

Detroit isn't the only city in the region to lose residents. Chicago, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Cincinnati also logged their smallest headcounts in at least 100 years. Milwaukee and Toledo are at their lowest levels since 1940.

But on a percentage basis, Detroit's loss was most acute in the region. Detroit lost 25%, Cleveland lost 17%, and Cincinnati lost 10%, according to Census figures.

Detroit's percentage loss rivals the 29% drop in New Orleans, which was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Detroit's numerical loss was larger than New Orleans, which lost 139,834.

Other parts of Michigan fared better.

The seven counties surrounding Grand Rapids in western Michigan grew by 6.2%, and the northwest part of the state's Lower Peninsula around Traverse City grew 5.8%.

The state changed racially, too. The white population fell 2%, and the black population fell almost 1%. The Hispanic population rose 35%, though Hispanics constitute just 4.4% of the state overall. The state's Asian population rose 35%, making Asians 2.4% of Michigan residents.

Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to For more information about reprints & permissions , visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com . Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com