This post breaks down the top locations of out-migrants and in-migrants by race, age, educational attainment and income from years 2006-2010 and 2007-2011 (depending on the data). As you will see, there are certain groups that are much more likely to leave Wayne County.Wayne County has lost a large share of its residents to out-migration. The high out-migration is reinforced by the chart above, which shows the ratios per category for those coming into Wayne County, compared to those leaving. African Americans had the largest disparity; for every one African American who moved into Wayne County, 27 left. The age group of 60-69 had the smallest disparity; for every one person that age who moved in, two left.

  Of the top 10 destination counties for out-migrants, seven of them were in Michigan. In total, 13,417 residents left Wayne County to move elsewhere. For White in-migrants to Wayne County, only four of the top sources were other Michigan counties. In total, 897 White in-migrants moved to Wayne County between 2006 and 2010.  Five of the top 10 destinations for Latino out-migrants were other Michigan counties, with Kent County ranking first with a total of 273 people; in total there were 682 Latinos that left Wayne County between 2006 and 2010. Only three of the top 10 sources of in-migrants were in Michigan. The county that provided the most in-migrants (238) was Cook County, Illinois. Cook County is the home of Chicago, which is a major entry point for Latinos into the Midwest. The Cook County numbers were 41.5 percent of the Latino population that entered Wayne County between 2006 and 2010.  A large number of African Americans left Wayne County for areas immediately around it—Oakland, Macomb and Washtenaw Counties. Far fewer African Americans moved into Wayne County. This is consistent with the substantial increases in African Americans throughout the inner suburbs of Detroit, which commentators suggest is driven by the search for better schools and safer communities. Of the top 10 locations African American in-migrants left to move to Wayne County from, only three counties were in Michigan (St. Clair, Alger, and Ottawa counties) from 2006 to 2010. In total there were seven counties in Michigan in which African Americans migrated to Wayne County from. There was a total of 197 African American residents who moved from Dakota County, Minnesota, to Wayne County; this location had the most African American in-migrants come from one place during this period. This location represented 22 percent of the total African American population that moved into Wayne County between 2006 and 2010.
  For the three charts above and the three below, only certain age groups were examined to show the movement of families, young people and the elderly. We wanted to see if the assumption that the elderly would have a higher rate of out-migration, as they typically move to retirement communities, was true. It was not. For all age groups represented above, Oakland and Macomb counties had the highest number of Wayne County residents move within their boundaries. Of the three groups, children were the largest (5,375), followed by young adults (1,309). Only a total of 258 Wayne County residents from the 60-69 year old age group moved to those two counties.

  Few children between the ages of 5 and 17 moved to Wayne County from elsewhere in the state. There were 32 in-migrants from Ottawa County and 30 children from Ingham County. Those between the ages of 25 and 30 from within the state of Michigan represented larger in-migration numbers. For example, 326 residents moved from Washtenaw County to Wayne County, 91 from Genesee County, 82 from Ingham County and 53 from Kent County.  Wayne County is losing many residents of all education levels to the out counties and beyond. Of those with bachelor’s degrees, from 2007 to 2011, 1,566 went to Oakland County and 256 went to Macomb County; in total 3,417 residents with bachelor’s degrees left Wayne County. Oakland and Macomb counties also received the highest number of Wayne County residents with less than a high school degree and a graduate or professional degree.  At each educational level, immigrants represented just a fraction of out-migrants. There were 424 residents with a bachelor’s degree from outside Wayne County that moved in. There was a net total of 272 people with a graduate or a professional degree who moved to Wayne County and 499 people without a high school diploma who moved in. A Michigan county ranked number one for each education level represented here, in terms of residents leaving to move to Wayne County.  Three times as many residents who made $150,000 a year moved out of Wayne County than moved to it. Of those who left between 2007 and 2011, 253 residents went to Oakland County and another 209 went to Wake County, North Carolina. In total there were 1,869 residents who earned $150,000 or more and left Wayne County between 2007 and 2011. When examining the in-migrants, more (228) moved from Washtenaw County than any other county. Clark County, Nevada ranked second on that list with a total of 105 residents leaving there for Wayne County. Overall, 644 people who earned $150,000 a year or more moved to Wayne County.