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Earlier this month, we broke down the population per Michigan county using U.S. Census data from 1990 through 2022.
The data -- which shows that Wayne, Oakland and Macomb continue to be the state’s most populous counties -- also showed how the population increased or decreased over three different periods: between 2000-2010, 2010-2020, and 2020-2022.
The state of Michigan’s overall population has been above 10 million since at least 2020.
We’re breaking down all that data in graph form below. ‘Tis the Data Drop way!
First: Michigan’s most populous counties
As aforementioned, the state’s most populous counties are right in the heart of Metro Detroit. As of 2022, those three counties continued to have the most residents within Michigan by a landslide.
Some counties, like Kent and Genesee, still had significant populations as of 2022, but the numbers begin to trail off after that.
Here’s a graph of the 14 most populous Michigan counties in 2022:
Before we get into increasing and decreasing population numbers, let’s take a look at Michigan’s Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties over the years.
The graphs below show the number of residents living in each of the three counties across several years between 1990-2022.
Population growth
The highest percentages of population growth occurred between 2000-2010, with Clinton and Livingston counties both recording increases above 15%. Several more counties had double-digit percentage increases during that time frame, and only Ottawa County had a double-digit increase between 2010-2020.
No counties saw double-digit increases between 2020-2022 -- which isn’t all that surprising, given it was only a two-year difference.
Here’s a look at the counties with the largest percentages of population growth for the three separate time frames.
2000-2010:
2010-2020:
2020-2022:
Population decline
What goes up must come down ... so they say. While some Michigan counties saw their populations rise over the years, others saw their population sizes decrease, even if only slightly.
When looking at data from the same three time frames, Luce County experienced the largest percentage of population decline in a decade, dropping 19.5% between 2010-2020. Multiple counties saw double-digit percentage declines between 2000-2010 and 2010-2020.
Here’s a look at both time frames.
The declines between 2020-2022 were fairly small in comparison. Wayne County saw the largest percentage decline during that time, losing 2% of its population. Beyond Menominee County, though, any other counties with recorded declines had seen decreases smaller than 1%.
County-by-county data
Here’s a look at the population numbers for every Michigan county across several years between 1990-2022.
The table is ordered alphabetically by county, and the arrow at the top right allows you to scroll through additional pages. You can also use the search function to see data for a specific county.
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