Issues

Since the 1990 census, the population of Detroit has slowly declined to make the city the 11th largest in the United States. The metropolitan area covers over 2000 square miles while the city itself covers about 139 square miles. Detroit sits at 581 feet above sea level and in some parts by driving south it is possible to enter the country of Canada. Being known for the large automobile plants within the area, Detroit has been dubbed the Motor City and the select amount of international industries located in the city gives employment to just over 2 million metro Detroiters.

Since 1990, the population of Detroit has declined from 1,027,974 to 834,116 and if the current trend continues, by 2010 the estimated population would reach 822,000 citizens.

The total population of Detroit can be split into several different classes which include White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, and other various races. Even though they were not included in their separate group, the Muslim population in the metro area of Detroit has been estimated to be between 100,000 and 300,000.

Total Population	834, 116
One Race	823, 160
White	83, 387
Black or African American	692, 952
American Indian or Alaskan Native	2, 444
Asian	9, 240
Race not listed	35, 137
Two or more Races	10, 956
Hispanic or Latino (of any race)	51, 625

 

While the educational level of those under the age of 25 is unknown, the educational levels of the population over 25, which is 506,895 persons, have been recorded by the Census Bureau. Nearly 76% of the population over 25 years holds a high school diploma and nearly 49% of those high school graduates hold a college degree.

Population 25 years and over	506,895
Less than 9th grade	34,409
9th to 12th grade, no diploma	88,837
High school graduate (includes equivalency)	180,751
Some college, no degree	114,798
Associate's degree	30,954
Bachelor's degree	37,153
Graduate or professional degree	19,993

 

Even though Detroit is a major factory based city, out of its total population of those 16 and older, a little over 1/4 is not in the labor force which is 274,965 of its citizens. Much of this may be attributed to those in the retirment age range which is about 277,845 people.

Employment status of those 16 years of age and older:

In labor force	343,376
Civilian labor force	343,376
Employed	267,254
Unemployed	76,122
Armed Forces	0
Not in labor force	274,965

 

Detroit's total population by age shows that there may be hope for the city in the future for an expanding population. This is because those aged 24 and younger make up about 1/3 of the total population which means that as this generation grows older and has children, that amount should be enough to produce a growth spurt for the area.