Demographic Profile of Senior in Wayne County, Michigan

elow that of 1-C at 11.3 percent, and well behind Region 1-B. In fact, Region 1-B
accounted for more than 1 of every 4 State seniors who lived alone.
Further Analyses of Region 1-A
In order to better understand the changes that have occurred in Region 1-A, the analysis
now addresses the region’s geographic components. Learning more about where the
losses (and gains) have occurred, as well as the characteristics of the persons who reside
in the region, will allow for a better understanding of these trends and a more focused
approach to service delivery.
Our sub-regional analysis is being conducted on two levels.
1. Community-level – An analysis of changes in the 60 and over population in each
of the 9 communities in the region.
2. Sector-level – An analysis is done by dividing the City of Detroit into the 10
Planning Sectors that were developed by the City Planning Department in 1997,
and have become the focus of all planning in the City. To extend the geography
region-wide, two other sectors have been developed – one made up of Hamtramck
and Highland Park; the other comprised of the five Grosse Pointes and Harper
Woods.
Population Trends
COMMUNITY ANALYSIS
Region 1-A has experienced a steady decline in its elderly population since 1970. The
decade of the 1990s represented the largest loss percentage loss, and second largest
numerical loss over this 30-year period. While the majority of the loss occurred in
Detroit, which accounts for 87 percent of the region’s population, all communities in the
region, with the exception of the smallest community in the region, Grosse Pointe Shores
village, experienced loss. As already documented in Table 3, the heaviest losses occurred
in the cohorts between 60 and 74 years of age.
While the analysis to this point has demonstrated a loss of the 60+ population in Region
1-A, resulting in a loss of State share, as well as a loss in the number and State share of
Minorities 60+, we still need to better understand the demographic and socioeconomic
characteristics of this population. In order to do that we turn to the 2000 Census and seek
to mine the applicable data. 5
5 The age categories that will be used for this analysis are dependent upon the tabulations offered by the
Census Bureau. As is the case with poverty calculations, many of the tabulations do not allow for the
complete universe of 60+ to be used. In most cases one is limited to universes of 65+ and 75+.
A Demographic Profile of Seniors in PSA 1-A 12