TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — New census data shows that Detroit’s population dropped 25 percent in the last decade, with the city losing more than 237,000 people.
A significant drop was expected, but U.S. Census Bureau statistics released Tuesday caught some experts off-guard.
The data shows Detroit’s population fell from 951,270 in 2000, to 713,777 in 2010. State demographer Ken Darga says that’s “considerably lower“ than the Census Bureau estimate released last year.
The data reflects the exodus of city residents to the suburbs and the auto industry’s steady decline. The Motor City’s population peaked at 1.8 million in 1950, when it ranked fifth nationally.
Gov. Rick Snyder says the numbers “clearly show how crucial it is to reinvent Michigan“ and that the state can no longer “cling to the old ways of doing business.“