Census: West Bloomfield Sees Small Population Decrease

West Bloomfield's population fell from from 64,860 in 2000 to 64,690 in 2010, a decrease of 170 people, or approximately 0.3 percent of the city's population, U.S. Census Bureau numbers released Tuesday show.

In West Bloomfield, the white population fell 6.9 percent from 2000 to 2010, while the African American population rose 120 percent. The Asian population increased 6.8 percent from 2000 to 2010, while the Hispanic or Latino population increased 13.1 percent.

Elsewhere in the area, the census data shows Oakland County's population had a slight increase of 0.6 percent, with a 36 percent increase in African Americans, 37 percent increase in the Asian population and a 6 percent decrease in the white non-Hispanic population.

Livingston County's population increased by 15 percent, from 157,000 in 2000 to almost 181,000 in 2010. Macomb and Washtenaw counties each saw a rise of almost 7 percent, from 780,000 in 2000 to 841,000 in 2010  and 323,000 in 2000 to 345,000, respectively.

Wayne County was hit with a nearly 12 percent decline in residents. Its change was affected in large part by the steep decline in the population of Detroit, which fell almost 25 percent since 2000 to 713,777.

"Detroit's population loss is the largest of any city in the past 10 years, excluding New Orleans, which was affected by Hurricane Katrina in 2005," said Lisa Niedert, data services manager at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research Population Studies Center in Ann Arbor.

The population for the state of Michigan also decreased, down 0.5 percent to 9,883,640 residents.

It was mixed bag for some of the state's largest communities. Rochester Hills and Dearborn saw increases of 3.2 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively. Populations fell in cities such as Farmington Hills, down 2.9 percent since 2000, and St. Clair Shores, which showed a 5.4 percent decrease.

What the census data means

The census is released every 10 years as a way to gauge the population across the country. The government uses the data to redraw political boundaries and allocate federal dollars.

Whether counties and communities gained or lost population, southeast Michigan is losing political clout and federal funding, according to Xuan Liu, manager of the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) data center. SEMCOG represents seven counties: St. Clair, Macomb, Oakland, Livingston, Wayne, Washtenaw and Monroe.

About $300 billion is allocated annually through the federal government, he said. "With the 2.7 percent decline we're seeing for the region, that could have a significant impact on the funding we get," he said.

Wayne County had a "much more severe" population loss than anywhere else in the region, losing 12 percent of its population, Liu said. Having just gotten the numbers, he could not comment on race data for the region, and said income data won't be released until the end of the year.

The change in Wayne County's population was affected in large part by the change in population of the city of Detroit, which fell almost 25 percent since 2000.

"Detroit's population loss is the largest of any city in the past 10 years, excluding New Orleans, which was affected by Hurricane Katrina in 2005," said Lisa Niedert, data services manager at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research Population Studies Center in Ann Arbor.

Erica Raleigh, a research analyst with Data Driven Detroit, said there are some bright spots for Michigan in the 2010 census data, including the high increase in Livingston County, which is part of the Detroit Combined Statistical area.

"Any increase higher than 10 percent in the Detroit area is just fantastic," Raleigh said. "I'm really excited about the 15 percent increase in Livingston County. It's uplifting to know that people are moving into that area."

The state's shifting demographics

Overall, however, Michigan experienced a 3 percent decline in white population and a 1.3 percent decrease in the black population.

"Percentage-wise, there were large increases in the Asian and Hispanic populations, each gained about 35 percent," Liu said. He said the actual numbers of those populations was smaller, so the large percentages don't necessarily mean much larger numbers. But 2010 census numbers show "the state is more diverse."

Age data is also limited to the population over age 18, because the numbers will be used for redrawing legislative boundaries. 

"They're only concerned about who can vote," Liu said.

Because Michigan lost population among those 18 and older, he said, the state will lose a Congressional seat.

The census is released every 10 years as a way to gauge the population across the country. The government uses the data to redraw political boundaries. It is also used to allocate federal dollars.

Come back to Patch for updates and complete reports.