Demographic Profile of Senior in Wayne County, Michigan

Poverty Trends
Table 13 allows for a finer analysis of the region’s poor seniors. While there are pockets
of poverty in all communities, 98 percent of the poor live in the three communities of
Detroit, Hamtramck and Highland Park. The economic status of seniors differs greatly
from community to community. Highland Park has by far the highest rate of poverty in
Table 13. Ratio of Income to Poverty in Region 1-A by Community, 1999
Region
Total Persons
65+
Persons Less than _ % of Poverty
50 75 100 125 150
Region 1-A Total 110,917 6,300 10,684 19,299 26,533 33,004
Detroit city 95,695 5,779 9,829 17,762 24,511 30,423
Grosse Pointe city 887 4 11 17 30 48
Grosse Pointe Farms city 1,730 18 18 25 25 43
Grosse Pointe Park city 1,326 8 8 25 36 60
Grosse Pointe Shores 661 13 21 21 29 33
Grosse Pointe Woods city 3,039 19 58 85 101 124
Hamtramck city 2,606 174 250 471 670 828
Harper Woods city 2,694 65 116 192 284 399
Highland Park city 2,279 220 373 701 847 1,046
Percent by Ratio to Poverty
Region 1-A Total 5.7 9.6 17.4 23.9 29.8
Detroit city 6.0 10.3 18.6 25.6 31.8
Grosse Pointe city 0.5 1.2 1.9 3.4 5.4
Grosse Pointe Farms city 1.0 1.0 1.4 1.4 2.5
Grosse Pointe Park city 0.6 0.6 1.9 2.7 4.5
Grosse Pointe Shores 2.0 3.2 3.2 4.4 5.0
Grosse Pointe Woods city 0.6 1.9 2.8 3.3 4.1
Hamtramck city 6.7 9.6 18.1 25.7 31.8
Harper Woods city 2.4 4.3 7.1 10.5 14.8
Highland Park city 9.7 16.4 30.8 37.2 45.9
the region with one-third (30.8 percent) of its seniors falling below the poverty threshold,
and almost half falling below 150 percent. One of ten seniors in Highland Park lives on
an annual income that is less than half the poverty threshold. While Hamtramck has the
second highest share of very poor seniors (6.7 percent), Detroit surpasses it for overall
poverty (18.6 vs. 18.1 percent, respectively). Both cities have a third (31.8 percent) of
their seniors living below the150 percent threshold. Harper Woods falls well behind the
others with 14.8 percent below 150 percent, while none of the five Grosse Pointes even
approaches 6 percent.
The Census Bureau’s special tabulation also provides counts of persons 60+ at or below
150% of poverty by community within Region 1-A (see Table 14). While the counts add
little to the discussion, they do serve to reinforce the way need is distributed in the region.
Detroit accounts for 92.4 percent of all seniors at or below 150%, with Highland Park and
Hamtramck accounting for another 5.5 percent. Such concentrations make more refined
geographic analysis that follows critical for determining targeting of diminishing service
dollars and programs.
A Demographic Profile of Seniors in PSA 1-A 14