Real Growth Still Eludes Us
For Michigan to truly succeed we most grow in population as a state. It’s that simple. With the release of the latest U.S. Census data this week, you may see headlines about the growth in this Michigan city or that Michigan region. But as a state our population remains stagnant while other states grow.
In short, we’re losing. Our population is merely shifting around instead of bringing in more people and more growth and all the positives that come with that – more business, more jobs, more ideas and creativity, and more revenue. Michigan’s population has remained around 10 million for nearly 20 years now, but if we had experienced the same growth as the rest of the nation we should be around 14 million.
Here’s an excerpt from a Detroit News article posted today about the new U.S. Census data:
Michigan’s fastest-growing counties in 2018 were in the metropolitan regions of Detroit and Grand Rapids, according to yearly county population estimates released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Meanwhile, populations elsewhere in the state particularly around Genesee County and in the Upper Peninsula were largely stagnant or declining.
Overall, the year-over-year county population estimates suggest Michigan is largely reshuffling its population, rather than bringing in many new residents. It’s a trend all but certain to cost the state representation in Congress following the 2020 census.
“Millennials are looking for walkable, densely packed cities with all the amenities with restaurants and places to drink beer and all that,” said Kurt Metzger, a demographer and director emeritus of Data Driven Detroit.
The SaveMICity initiative strives to change the trend of Michigan’s stagnant population by raising awareness that as a state we’re not investing in what attracts people. And that is vibrant, desirable places. People are going to areas that have invested in things that matter – infrastructure, walkability, education, emergency services, parks and public transit.
Our state’s system for funding our communities is broken in that it doesn’t track with the economy and the state has continually diverted promised revenues away from our communities. Unless we fix these problems, Michigan will continue to be on the losing end of population growth.
Anthony Minghine is the deputy executive and COO of the Michigan Municipal League and frequent speaker with the SaveMICity initiative. He can be reached at aminghine@mml.org.