Detroit’s Dem mayor says he and Rashida Tlaib predicted Census ’undercount’
America’s "Motor City" now ranks 27th in population – after declining by more than 10% since 2010
There was a time, early in the 20th century, when U.S. auto-making capital Detroit ranked among the most populous U.S. cities, surpassed only by New York City, Chicago and Philadelphia.
Now, America’s "Motor City" ranks 27th – surpassed over the past decade by Oklahoma City, Boston, Portland (Oregon) and Las Vegas, according to the Detroit News.
But Mayor Mike Duggan, a Democrat, says he’s not buying the 2020 Census figures, which have contributed to Michigan losing a seat in the U.S. House and a vote in the Electoral College for the next presidential election.
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"It appears the Census Bureau has undercounted Detroit’s population by at least 10%," Duggan wrote on Twitter. "We will be pursuing our legal remedies to get Detroit an accurate count."
Duggan said he and Democratic U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Detroit predicted the negative Census results back in October, after they heard anecdotal reports from Census workers about alleged undercounts plus an earlier-than-expected shutdown of the Census data-collection process.
Downtown Detroit's skyline is seen, Nov. 11, 2009. (Reuters)
Tlaib did not comment on the Census figures on Thursday.
Detroit now has 639,111 residents, according to the Census data. The figure represents a 10.5% decline since 2010, the Detroit Free Press reported.
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While Detroit has declined, New York City has remained the nation’s most populous city, growing by 7.7% over the past decade to 8.8 million people, the data shows, while Chicago – despite persistent problems with crime – saw its population rise 2% over the past decade, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Chicago long ago yielded the No. 2 spot in population to Los Angeles, which saw its population rise by 2.8% since 2010, according to City News Service.