Summary

Michigan's population rose to 10,112,620 in mid-2004, according to new estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau on December 22, 2004.  This figure is 0.3% higher than Michigan's estimated population for 2003 and 1.8% higher than its population in the 2000 Census.  The 30,000 residents added to Michigan's estimated population in the past year represent continuation of a pattern of slow but fairly steady growth dating back to the mid-1980's.  

Michigan continues to be the 8th largest state in the U.S., with nearly 1.3 million more residents than 9th ranked Georgia. 

The nation as a whole grew by an estimated 1.0% from 2003 to 2004, and by 4.3% from April 2000 to mid-2004.  The fastest growing states in percentage terms have been Nevada, Arizona, Florida, Texas, and Georgia.  Areas growing more slowly than Michigan from 2000 to 2004 include Kansas, New York, Massachusetts, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Ohio, West Virginia, North Dakota, and the District of Columbia.

Michigan's share of the U.S. population peaked at 4.4% in 1970, and then dropped rapidly in the 1970's and even more rapidly in the early 1980's.  However, since the mid-1980's, it has dropped by only about two hundredths of a percentage point per year.  Michigan had 3.53% of the nation's population in April 2000, and an estimated 3.44% in July 2004.

There are three reasons why Michigan has grown more slowly than the U.S. as a whole since 2000:

·    46% of the difference is explained by a net loss of residents to other states;

·    33% of the difference is explained by a lower rate of immigration from other countries;

·    21% of the difference is explained by a lower rate of natural increase. 

This lower rate of natural increase is largely an indirect effect of the fact that Michigan receives less than its share of international immigrants, since first-generation immigrants tend to have somewhat higher birth rates than the native-born population.  Thus, the direct and indirect effects of lower rates of immigration from abroad may account for roughly half of the gap between Michigan's growth rate and that of the U.S. as a whole.

Population Data for Michigan and the U.S.: 1960 - 2004 (excel file)

Components of the Difference Between Michigan's and the United States' Rates of Population Growth: 2000 - 2004 (excel file)

Updated 12/22/04