LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – According to U.S. Census Bureau data, there’s been a population change between April of 2020 and July of 2022. Even with the northern and Upper Peninsula population growing, the rest of the state appears to be in a population decline.

Because of this, Michigan’s Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer has created a commission to study the population loss and come up with ideas on how to grow the state. While she was on Mackinac Island during the Mackinac Policy Conference in the beginning of June, she announced a 28-member “Growing Michigan Together Council” to develop policy recommendations to combat the population decline with ideas like building on the state’s manufacturing legacy being part of the governor’s answer to the problem.

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The council has an advisory body within the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity and 21 of the voting members are appointed by the governor including four members of the legislative branch of state government and people from the private sector, labor, workforce development and talent, infrastructure, non-profit, philanthropy, and education. The remaining seven non-voting members include state government workers from the budget office, treasury and other departments as well as two government appointees with a background in economics and demography.

They’ll be studying the population decline and giving recommendations concerning how to attract more workers, especially younger ones, into the state.

Overall, between April 2020 and July 2022, Michigan lost about 43,000 residents with about 40% of the villages, townships and cities seeing population declines. Detroit and Ann Arbor saw an approximate 3% decline in their populations with Detroit losing about 18,000 people and Ann Arbor losing 4,555. Nine of the state’s ten most populated cities have seen declines over the past two years.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, who disagrees with the federal data, had tweeted in May about the Census numbers. He said, “The U.S. Census Bureau has become a complete national clown show…The only people in America who could conclude that Detroit’s population is decreasing is the Census Bureau. Maybe it’s time to move the Census Bureau under the U.S. Postal Service so it will be run by people who actually have some clue about who is living where in America.”

Nevertheless, the Census Bureau data shows that less than half of communities gained population between April 2020 and July 2022. Those who did include northern Michigan’s Roscommon and west Michigan’s Kent county, with the largest increase being in Springdale Township in Manistee County which had a growth of 1,093 residents (29% increase). Other faster-growing locations include the village of Mecosta, Manton, Dundee, New Haven, Caledonia, and Lyon Township (Oakland county).

The biggest rates of decline were in Chippewa County in Kinross Township with a net loss of approximately 650 residents (9%). Others in decline include Highland Park, Ypsilanti, Coldwater, Madison Township, Houghton and Bloomer Township.

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Locations with a net loss of more than 1,000 residents include Ann Arbor, Clinton Township, Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Detroit, Farmington Hills, Flint, Grand Rapids, Livonia, Redford Township, Southfield, St. Clair Shores, Sterling Heights, Troy, Warren, Waterford Township, and Westland.

What could account for the shift? There are many reported factors including the state having more deaths than births and others who are moving out of state. But where are they moving to? According to an analysis by Forbes Homes, Florida is topping the list. In addition to moving to the Sunshine State, Michiganders are also flocking to Texas, Indiana, Illinois and Ohio.

According to the Lansing-based Citizens Research Council of Michigan, a Michigan-based nonprofit focusing on health, looking at the state ranking of population growth from 2000 to 2020, Michigan ranks next to last. The report also says “Michigan’s population declined in both 2020 and 2021, due to higher mortality, lower birth rates, and a steep drop in international migration” and as of the 2020 Census, Michigan had fallen from 8th to the 10th most populous state.

Eric Lupher, president of the Lansing-based Citizens Research Council, says, “We’re not trending the right way. The decisions we’re making now, the actions we take or don’t take, are going to affect future generations. And it’s vitally important we get our arms around this and do something about it.”

Just exactly who will be doing something about it and what will be done will define Michigan’s future. However, instead of having that future defined by the people and the businesses of the state, Governor Whitmer wants to have the government be the leader in driving Michigan’s population upswing while at the same time continuing to be the leader in welcoming new LGBTQ+ residents to the state and pushing abortion rights which halts future population growth.