Northville Township Population Rises, City Population Decreases

Northville Township's population rose by 35 percent, according to numbers released by the U.S. Census Bureau Tuesday. The 2010 figures for the township show a total population of 28,497, up from about 21,000 in 2000.

And in the city, the population fell by 7.57 percent. According to the 2010 figures, the city's current population is 5,970. That is down from the 2000 census numbers which had the city population at 6,459.

Here are some other changes based on a comparison of figures from the 2000 and 2010 censuses.

1. City sees greater racial diversity. The number of people who reported that they were white alone decreased by 4 percent. The city's black and Asian populations each grew by about 1 percent.
2. Township's Asian population increases. The township's Asian population made up about 4 percent of the total population in 2000 and is currently up to 11.3 percent.
3. Percentage of black and white populations decline in township.While the number of whites in the community increased from 18,787 in 2000 to 23,580 in 2010, the percentage whites make up of the total population is down by about 7 percent. Blacks made up 4.4 percent of the township population in 2000 and now amount to 3.6 percent.
4. The number of Hispanics in the city and township went up slightly. In the city the self-identified Hispanic population grew from 106 to 133, or by .6 percent. In the township, there was also a .6 percent change in the Hispanic make-up of the total population. Numerically, that means the Hispanic population went from 372 in 2000 to 671 in 2010.
5. Number of "housing units" grows in the township, declines in city. According to census figures, the number of housing units in the township went from 8,480 in 2000 to 12,236 in 2010. In the city, housing units fell from 2,801 in 2000 to 2,767 in 2010. A housing unit, by census definition, includes owner- and renter-occupied dwellings.
6. Despite increased number of new housing units in the township, number of vacant homes doubles. The number of vacant housing units was reported at 361 in 2000 but has grown to 716 in 2010.
7. Number of vacant housing units also rises in the city. In 2000 the number of vacant housing units went from 81, or 2.9 percent of the total housing units, to 171 in 2010, or 6.2 percent.
8. Wayne County population decreases by more than 11 percent. The county saw a loss of 240,578 residents from 2000 to 2010. The number of vacant housing units doubled from 2000 to 2010 in the county.
9. Oakland County population grows slightly. The county's population grew by about 8,000 from 2000 to 2010. The current total population for Oakland County is about 1.2 million.