Demographics
As of the 2000 census2, there were 951,270 people, 336,428 households, and 218,341 families residing in the city. The population density was 6,855.1 people per square mile (2,646.7/km²). There were 375,096 housing units at an average density of 2,703.0 units per square mile (1,043.6/km²). In 2006, Detroit's population was estimated to be 871,121, a decline of 8.4 percent since 2000.
During the twentieth century, the city experienced tremendous growth - then rapid population decline. The city's population increased more than sixfold during the first half of the twentieth century, fed largely by an influx of Eastern European and Southern migrants — both white and black — who came to work in the burgeoning automobile industry. However, since 1950 the city saw a major shift in its population to the suburbs. The city population dropped from its peak in 1950 with a population of 1,849,568 to 886,675 in 2005. This is in part attributed to the construction of an extensive freeway system during the 1950s and white flight from the 1960s onward on account of concerns over crime, and court-ordered busing. The city's population ranking among American cities dropped from fourth in 1950 to eleventh in 2006.
As of 2000, the city of Detroit was 12.26 percent white, 82.70 percent African American, 0.33 percent Native American, 0.97 percent Asian 0.03 percent Pacific Islander, 2.54 percent from other races, and 2.32 percent from two or more races. 4.96 percent of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. The city's foreign-born population stood at 4.8 percent.
There were 336,428 households out of which 33.9 percent have children under the age of 18 living with them, 26.7 percent were married couples living together, 31.6 percent had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.1 percent were non-families, 29.7 percent of all households were made up of individuals and 9.2 percent had someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.45.
There is a wide age distribution in the city, with 31.1 percent under the age of 18, 9.7 percent from 18 to 24, 29.5 percent from 25 to 44, 19.3 percent from 45 to 64, and 10.4 percent who are 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 89.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.5 males.
The median household income in the city was $29,526, and the median income for a family was $33,853. Males had a median income of $33,381 versus $26,749 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,717. 26.1 percent of the population and 21.7 percent of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 34.5 percent of those under the age of 18 and 18.6 percent of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
The Detroit suburbs in Oakland County, Macomb County, and northwestern Wayne County are predominantly white. Of the African-Americans who live in the metropolitan area, about 70 percent live within the Detroit city limits. Metro Detroit's ethnic communities are diverse and include descendants of the French founders, as well as Germans, Poles, Jews, Italians, Scots, Armenians and Greeks who settled during the city's early twentieth century industrial boom. Metro Detroit has the largest concentration of Belgians outside of Belgium; Cadieux Street on the city's east side north of Grosse Pointe constituted the heart of one of the few distinctly Belgian neighborhoods in the U.S. during the early- and mid-twentieth century. In Detroit and the metro area, there is a large Chaldean population and a large concentration of Arab Americans in Dearborn. A significant number of Albanians have settled since the 1970s. Mexicantown, on the southwest side of the city of Detroit, is the historical center of a small but growing Hispanic community.
(Source: Wikipedia.org)
