Detroit's Population Grows For 3rd Straight Year

The numbers aren't huge, but it's still worth noting that Detroit, which saw an exodus of people for decades, is now gaining population.

Detroit’s population grew in 2025 for the third consecutive year, gaining 5,060 residents, Crain's Detroit Business reports, citing newly released estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. In 2024, the city added 6,971 residents.

The city’s population grew 0.8 percent last year to 649,095. Grand Rapids was the only other city in Michigan to add more than 1,000 people.

Detroit grew faster than other large cities generally did. The average population growth in cities with 250,000 or more residents was 0.2 percent in the Midwest and Northeast, 0.3 percent in the West, and 0.5 percent in the South.

The Detroit News reports:

Data released in March showed that the populations of Oakland County and Macomb County grew from 2020 to 2025, while Wayne County lost more than 20,000 residents. The fastest-growing county in the state was in west Michigan's Kent County, which gained more than 16,700 residents during that five-year period.