From 1950 to 2010, Census tract data indicates there has been a steep population decrease in the City of Detroit. The population loss began in the center of Detroit, which in the first map can be seen as the area with the highest population density. However, as time progressed the city’s population density continued to diminish. By 1980, there were such significant population losses in sections of the city that the population density was recorded as zero in one area, which is east of southbound I-75 and south of I-94. By 2010 this area did not show population growth, and the city’s overall population continued to decrease. 

While the maps above provide a strong visual indication of  Detroit’s population loss, the line graph below shows the steady decline in  population density. According to the chart, there were 13,330 people per square mile in Detroit in 1950, and by 2010 that number had decreased to 5,144.