Michigan’s population, throttled by a long recession, is slowly rebounding, particularly in western counties such as Kent and Ottawa.

But the tepid growth, just over 44,500 to 9.93 million residents in 2016, is up only 0.5 percent over the state’s 2010 population. Twenty-eight counties added population and 55 lost, according to 2016 population estimates from the U.S. Census.

Only six states saw weaker growth (West Virginia, Illinois, Vermont, Connecticut, Maine and Rhode Island) while many have grown by more than 0.5 percent every year since 2010.

The growth band of Michigan runs from Macomb and Oakland counties west to Lake Michigan. But the gains in Oakland and Macomb – nearly 78,500 – are almost completely offset by neighboring Wayne County’s loss of more than 71,000. The three counties comprise 39 percent of the state’s population, with about 3.86 million residents.