Detroit population rises after decades of decline, census bureau estimates

America's Northeast and Midwest cities are rebounding slightly from years of population drops — especially Detroit, Mich., which grew for the first time in decades — though the south still dominates the nation's growth, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates released Thursday.

Michigan's largest city, had seen an exodus of people since the 1950s. Yet the estimates released Thursday show the population of Michigan's largest city rose by just 1,852 people from 631,366 in 2022 to 633,218 last year.

It's a milestone for Detroit, which had 1.8 million residents in the 1950s only to see its population dwindle and then plummet through suburban white flight, a 1967 race riot, the migration to the suburbs by many of the Black middle class and the national economic downturn that foreshadowed the city's 2013 bankruptcy filing.

"It's a great day. It's a day we've been waiting for for 10 years," Mayor Mike Duggan told The Associated Press. 

"The city of Detroit has joined the communities in America that are growing in population according to the Census Bureau. For our national brand, it was critically important for the Census Bureau to certify us as growing."

Modest reversals of population declines also were seen last year in other large cities in the nation's Northeast and Midwest, while  the census estimates showed 13 of the 15 fastest-growing cities in the U.S. were in the south — eight in Texas alone.

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The population bump in Detroit is the continuation of slow and steady progress and confidence in the city. The NFL draft set a new attendance record after more than 775,000 fans flooded downtown Detroit last month for the three-day event.

That's far removed from where Detroit sat following its December 2014 exit from the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.

About $7 billion in debt was restructured or wiped out by the bankruptcy and $1.7 billion was set aside to improve city services.

Duggan took office in January 2014 and set about tackling the city's massive blight problem. More than 25,000 houses have been razed, mostly with federal funding, and 15,000 have or are being renovated. About 4,500 vacant houses remain, many still to be torn down or renovated, according to the city.

"As we remove blight, more and more people are moving into the good houses," Duggan said. "Right now, it doesn't seem like we can build apartments fast enough."

Duggan also credits auto manufacturers and other companies bringing back jobs as aiding population growth across the city.

But how many people actually live in Detroit and how they're counted has been a source of friction between the city and the Census Bureau. In September 2022, Detroit sued the Census Bureau over population estimates from 2021 that showed it lost 7,100 residents.