Detroit leads in loss of residents

[Allan]

Thursday, June 24, 2004

Detroit leads in loss of residents

Black families make up most of 40,000 who've left since '00

By George Hunter / The Detroit News

Detroit is losing more residents than any other large city in the country, according to estimates released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The city's population has dropped since 2000 from 951,270 to 911,402 -- about 4 percent -- the biggest loss of any U.S. city with 100,000 or more residents.

Meanwhile, some outlying suburbs have seen large population increases during the same period.

Middle-class African American families make up the largest percentage of those leaving Detroit, because they believe the city is not doing enough to improve services and residential areas, said Kurt Metzger, research director for the Center for Urban Studies at Wayne State University.