For this post another look at the population makeup of Southeastern Michigan is examined, this time by ethnicity. The maps below show that majority of the ethnic groups examined in this post-Arab and Hispanics or Latinos-were located in Wayne County, particularly in and around Detroit, as of 2011. It is important to note, however, that there was a presence of these ethnic groups throughout the seven-county region too. The only other areas with a high a percentage of these ethnic groups beyond the Detroit-Dearborn area was Pontiac in Oakland County and Sterling Heights in Macomb County.

The information shown throughout this post was obtained from the 2011 American Community Survey, based on five year estimates.

The Arab population in the seven county region was heavily concentrated in Dearborn in 2011, which is in Wayne County. According to the American Community Survey, about 40 percent of the Dearborn population was of Arab ancestry; in Wayne County 4.2 percent of the population are of Arab ancestry. When taking a closer look at the Dearborn population, it can be seen that those with a Lebanese ancestry made up a large portion of the population in northeast Dearborn, as did those with an unclassified ancestry and an “other” Arab ancestry. There was also a smaller presence of Syrians and Armenians throughout the area.

A similar concentration of Arabs could also be found in Hamtramck in 2011. According to the Hamtramck Ethnic Enclaves map, the Arab population within the city is more concentrated in the eastern half. Other ethnic groups present in Hamtramck include those of Bangladeshi, Yugoslavian and Polish decent.

In Sterling Heights, those with a Chaldean, Iraqi and Lebanese decent made majority of the city’s Arab population. About 43 percent of the city’s population is foreign born.

While the above mentioned cities had relatively high concentrations of Arabs as of 2011, there was also a smaller concentration of Arabs (5-20 percent) around Sterling Heights, the Farmington Hills-West Bloomfield areas in Oakland County, and the Wayne and Washtenaw County borders

For the Hispanic-Latino ethnic group, Southwest Detroit had the heaviest concentration, where this group represented about 47 percent. A closer look at the Hispanic population in Southwest Detroit shows that majority of the Hispanic residents were of Mexican decent, as of 2011; those of Spanish decent were the least represented.

In Pontiac, there were areas where over 25 percent of the population is of a Hispanic or Latino background.

People of Hispanic or Latino decent were widely distributed across the region. Outside of Detroit, a few Downriver communities and portions of Pontiac, Hispanic or Latino residents appeared to represent between 0 and 10 percent of an area’s population.