Demographic Profile of Seniors in PSA 1-A - Detroit Area Agency on ...

accounted for 1.4 percent. While not <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong> the count <strong>of</strong> m<strong>in</strong>orities, 3,014 elderly
(2.0 percent) identified themselves as Lat<strong>in</strong>o/Hispanic.
The racial/ethnic composition <strong>of</strong> the elderly differs from that <strong>of</strong> the general population.
The elderly population tends to be much more heavily White, non-Hispanic – 27 vs. 16
percent, and trails <strong>in</strong> all m<strong>in</strong>ority categories. In spite <strong>of</strong> the large decrease <strong>in</strong> White, non-
Hispanic elderly <strong>in</strong> <strong>Detroit</strong> over the last decade (just over 50 percent), their share <strong>of</strong>
<strong>Detroit</strong>’s elderly population (19 percent) was almost double their representation <strong>in</strong> the
total population (10.5 percent).
Table 5. Racial Distribution <strong>of</strong> Region 1-A’s Total and 60 Years+ Populations, 2000
Total Population 60+ Population
Number Percent Number Percent
Total Population 1,052,946 147,806
M<strong>in</strong>ority Population 863,835 82.0 106,499 72.1
African-American 796,952 75.7 101,816 68.9
Native American 3,406 0.3 435 0.3
Asian & PI 13,076 1.2 1,045 0.7
Other Race 24,668 2.3 1,080 0.7
Multi-Race 25,733 2.4 2,123 1.4
Lat<strong>in</strong>o/Hispanic 48,410 4.6 3,014 2.0
White, non-Hispanic 171,630 16.3 39,880 27.0
Poverty Trends
Measurement <strong>of</strong> trends <strong>in</strong> the elderly poor have been complicated by the way age-related
poverty data were tabulated by the Census Bureau <strong>in</strong> the 2000 Census. Rather than
break<strong>in</strong>g out the 55-64 year age cohort <strong>in</strong>to two groups – 55-59 and 60-64 – allow<strong>in</strong>g for
tabulations <strong>of</strong> the 60 and over population (as done <strong>in</strong> 1980 and 1990), the Census Bureau
chose to keep it as one. Table 6 shows the distribution <strong>of</strong> poverty by age groups from the
2000 Census. It is clear that Region 1-A’s poverty rates far exceed those <strong>of</strong> any other
region <strong>in</strong> all age categories. The poverty rate for the total population <strong>in</strong> Region 1-A
stands at 24.9 percent, more than double that <strong>of</strong> the next highest, Region 7, at 12.1
percent. This 2:1 ratio essentially holds for the 65+ cohort (17.4 vs. 9.4 percent), but
drops slightly <strong>in</strong> the 75+ cohort – 17.8 vs. 10.4 percent. The largest ratio exists for 65-74
year olds – 2.8:1 (17 percent for Region 1-A and 6.1 percent for Region 4).
Due to 2000 Census tabulation issues, the only way to approximate the tabulation for 60+
is to perform an allocation based on population share. 3 Utiliz<strong>in</strong>g this estimation method
we f<strong>in</strong>d that the poverty rate for seniors <strong>in</strong> Region 1-A fell slightly to 17.8 percent from
3
In order to approximate the 60-64 year cohort <strong>in</strong> poverty, an allocation was performed based on each
region’s share <strong>of</strong> total population 55-64 years represented by the 60-64 subgroup. Each share was then
applied to the number <strong>of</strong> poor <strong>in</strong> the 55-64 year range, with the result be<strong>in</strong>g an estimate <strong>of</strong> poor between 60
and 64 years.
4