Demographic Profile of Senior in Wayne County, Michigan

Executive Summary
A Demographic Profile of Seniors in Wayne County:
Implications for Funding and Service Delivery
Background
The following three reports present demographic changes occurring in the senior
population in Wayne County, as revealed by an analysis of census data. In an effort to
better plan service delivery in times of diminishing resources, this analysis was designed
to:
1. Understand the demographic changes occurring within the senior population in
the county as a whole, as well as in the two service areas, PSAs 1-A and 1-C, that
serve the elderly;
2. Understand how these changes compare to Michigan as a whole, as well as the
other 14 regions in the State; and
3. Develop a detailed geographic analysis of the senior distribution within the
county and each of the service areas.
Key findings centered on the following topics:
• Calculation of the area agencies’ standing on the key funding formula factors
relative to the other 14 regions in the state;
• Analysis of other census data related to the demographic, socioeconomic and
housing characteristics of the area agencies’ senior population;
• Development of detailed profiles of seniors by community and sector within PSA
1-A’s service area, and by community in PSA 1-C’s service area;
• Mapping of selected variables by community and sector; and, in the case of PSA
1-A,
• Mapping of service provider locations, by selected categories, in order to study
alignment of service needs with provider resources.
Key Findings
While the individual reports explore the senior population on a number of dimensions,
this summary is only intended to summarize the major demographic findings that
describe recent trends and highlight areas of need.
Population shifts within the State of Michigan in general, and within the inner core of the
Detroit metropolitan area specifically, have resulted in a steady decline in Wayne
County’s share of state seniors over the last 40 years, from 33 to 20 percent. This decline
of 13 percentage points has not been experienced evenly throughout the county. Trends
Executive Summary to Senior Analysis
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