The Detroit population grew for a third straight year. A city that has been losing residents for decades is making a come back. In 2025 the Motor City gained about 5,000 new residents according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In 2024 Detroit had nearly 7,000 new residents.
The total population in 2025 is about 649,095. Grand Rapids was the only other city to add more than one thousand people.
The Census shows that Detroit also grew at a faster pace than other major cities that had 250,000 residents or more.
Additional headlines for Thursday, May 14, 2026
GLWA raises rates for water, sewage
In July of 2026, Detroiters will be paying higher water and sewer bills. The Great Lakes Water Authority voted to increase water rates by 5.8% and sewer rates by 4.26% earlier this year. This mimics an increase they did in 2025.
This increase worsens the affordability gap, where some residents can’t afford the high costs. There are pushes for a statewide water affordability plan from different coalitions backed by the People’s Water Board Coalition. This plan would connect water bills to the household income in the hopes of creating a stable and equitable revenue source.
Sports
NBA The Detroit Pistons face elimination on the road tomorrow after suffering a tough loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers yesterday in Game 5 of their series. Last night’s game went into the overtime and the Pistons struggled to overcome some late runs that ended with the game score 117—113.
The Pistons will have to win tomorrow’s game to bring it back to Detroit for a win or go home Game 7.
Tomorrow’s game will be at the Rocket Arena. Tip off is at 7:00 p.m.
MLB The Detroit Tigers face loss against the Mets yesterday in the score 2-3. The is the second straight loss to the Mets keeping the home team at the bottom of the American League Central Division.
‘Sons of Detroit’ documentary screening
Detroit Arts Institute is showing a screening of Son of Detroit. It is a film about the Motor City told through the lens of one unique family. Director Jeremy Xido returns to Detroit after 20 years to reconnect with the Black family who raised him as he confronts societal and racial struggles.
The screening is on Sunday, May 17 at the Detroit Institute of Art. For more information go to dia.org.
Listen to the latest episode of the “Detroit Evening Report” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Highland Park is an odd shape—a trapezoid to be exact. Its borders include West McNichols Road on the north side, railroad tracks along the eastern edge, alleys behind Tennyson and Tuxedo streets to the south, and the Lodge freeway forming part of its western boundary.
Highland Park is a trapezoid with an area of less than 3 square miles
These have been Highland Park’s city limits since officials incorporated it 1918.
That’s how it managed to avoid becoming part of Detroit, which had already annexed most of the surrounding land.
Leaders and residents wanted autonomy
Jeff Horner is a professor at Wayne State University‘s Department of Urban Studies and Planning. He says Detroit wanted to absorb Highland Park even before the latter became a city.
“Highland Park was not open to the idea of being absorbed,” Horner says. “They wanted to have some local autonomy.”
Jeff Horner is a professor in Wayne State University’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning
Michigan’s Home Rule law in 1909 made it difficult for one city to annex another. That same year, Henry Ford finished building his Model T factory in Highland Park. It was the first Ford plant to use an assembly line. Horner says the city’s population exploded.
“From the 1910 U.S. census to the 1920 census, the population of the city grew by over 1,000% from about 4,500 to about 45,000,” Horner says. “That is remarkable growth.”
Auto industry drove growth
Highland Park kept growing until 1930, peaking at almost 53,000 people. Marsha Battle Philpot grew up in the city and has written about its history. She says Henry Ford’s offer of $5 a day to work on his assembly line drew thousands of people from across the country.
“This was an astronomical sum in those days,” she says. “Maybe an average person might make $5 a month”.
The city’s population steadily declined through the 1930s and 1940s. But it was still relatively prosperous. Philpot says the schools were among Michigan’s best in the 1950s and 1960s.
“Even our elementary schools had swimming pools,” Philpot says. “It was really an extraordinary place to live.”
But good schools were not enough to keep people from leaving the city decade after decade. Ford eventually closed its Highland Park factory, which is now a Michigan historical landmark. Chrysler moved its headquarters, established in 1925, from Highland Park to Auburn Hills. The city’s tax base evaporated. It had so much trouble paying its bills its streetlights were repossessed. State-appointed emergency managers ran the city and the school district for much of the early 2000s, closing the McGregor Library and the high school. Glenda McDonald, Highland Park’s mayor since 2022, says those decisions hit young people especially hard.
“Children need a place to go, and literacy is a very important part of our children’s learning,” the mayor says. “It kind of put a very bad taste in people’s mouths.”
Lansing takes over
McDonald says emergency management didn’t solve Highland Park’s long-term financial problems. One was literally bubbling under the surface: leaky water pipes, some more than 100 years old. The city incurred tens of millions of dollars in debt to the Great Lakes Water Authority. Each side sued the other with the city accusing GLWA of overcharging residents who were too poor to pay for water. The legal dispute pushed Highland Park to the brink of financial ruin.
Glenda McDonald is the mayor of Highland Park
In 2023, the state intervened again, this time giving the city $100 million to pay its debt and fix its water infrastructure. McDonald says workers are now replacing every lead water line in town.
“We’re working with the state, we’re working with GLWA, and hopefully we’ll continue moving forward that way,” McDonald says.
Had the state not thrown Highland Park that lifeline, the city likely would have filed for bankruptcy. The financial crisis raised a question: would Highland Park be better off becoming part of Detroit? The mayor demurred.
“Blasphemy,” she says.
Legal hurdles, local pride make merging difficult
For one local government to absorb another, state law requires residents of both communities to vote in favor of it after weighing the pros and cons. Stephanie Leiser directs the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy at the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy. She says uniting Detroit and Highland Park could reduce bureaucracy.
“You can eliminate some layer of management there,” she says. “They don’t need to have an additional mayor and a clerk and all of those things.”
Stephanie Leiser directs the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy at the University of Michigan.
But Leiser says there’s not a ton of evidence that it would help Highland Park financially.
“They’re not going to save money necessarily on like plowing the roads, picking up trash, or maintaining the infrastructure,” she says.
Leiser says Highland Park’s finances are in better shape than they were when officials were considering bankruptcy in 2023. But it still has challenges, such as high property taxes.
Highland Park has some of Wayne County’s highest millage rates
In 2025, the city’s millage rate for principal residences was 63.221. That’s $63.22 for every $1,000 of a home’s taxable value. The non-homestead rate as over 79 mills. Rates for industrial and commercial personal property were over 57 mills and 67 mills respectively.
Former Highland Park Councilman Ken Bates says the city’s millage rates and pervasive poverty make it hard to attract new investment.
“We have to look into the future as to what will help Highland Park become sustainable,” he says. “What kind of industry should we count on?”
Ken Bates has lived in Highland Park since 2000. He served on the city council from 2018-22.
Bates says city leaders need a plan and the expertise to implement it.
“If not, it’s just you maintaining the status quo year after year,” he says. “You’re just one disaster away from financial calamity.”
Bates says Highland Parkers are fiercely loyal to their community and that most want to remain a city within a city. Resident Michael Williams, Sr. admits he wouldn’t rule out becoming part of Detroit.
“We would get more popularity, probably more services,” Williams says.
But other residents, like Kim McDade, don’t see the benefit of giving up Highland Park’s identity.
“Highland Park needs to be given a chance to continue to build,” McDade says. “Our mayor is doing a great job in doing some things and making connections with the right people.”
Mayor Glenda McDonald says the city’s greatest strength is its people.
“They’re resilient, they’re loving, they’re kind, and we take care of each other,” she says. “I know a person on every single street.”
The mayor says that resilience defines Highland Park more than its shape on a map.
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WDET strives to cover what’s happening in your community. As a public media institution, we maintain our ability to explore the music and culture of our region through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
DTE Energy is requesting another large rate increase, just weeks after its last increase was approved. The Detroit utility is asking for another $474 million to pay for infrastructure improvements. The Michigan Public Service Commission approved a DTE rate increase of $242 million dollars in February.
If granted, the new proposed hike would add roughly 10% to the average resident’s utility bills. DTE filed the new request on Tuesday. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel says she will intervene in the case.
Additional headlines for Wednesday, April 29, 2026
Detroit Regional Chamber releases poll
The Detroit Regional Chamber has released a new poll showing the current state of primary races in the state.
The survey, conducted by the Glengariff Group, shows Congressman John James leading all other Republican candidates running for governor in Michigan. Perry Johnson and Mike Cox are second and third, respectively. In the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate, Congresswoman Haley Stevens leads the race, with Abdul El-Sayed and Mallory McMorrow following.
And just a reminder: a poll shows a snapshot in time. It does not indicate future events. Michigan’s primary elections take place on August 4.
Highland Park CSO charges examined
The city of Highland Park says it’s calling for a closer examination of its combined sewage overflow costs. The city says it’s joining with other suburbs and the Great Lakes Water Authority to form a task force. The purpose will be to find out why overflow rates are 10 times more than expected. Highland Park is requesting an adjustment of $1.5 million for this year’s combined sewage overflow charges. The task force is scheduled to meet in Dearborn on May 8th.
No word on Gordie opening
Metro Detroiters are still waiting for the Gordie Howe International Bridge to open – and there’s no word on when that might happen.
U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra tells the Detroit News that there are still issues that need to be worked out in the agreement between the two countries before the new span can begin operations.
President Trump threatened months ago to stall the opening of the bridge. Canada paid the full cost of construction. Michigan is set to get a share of revenue generated by the bridge, once Canada’s costs are covered.
Gas prices jump (again)
Gas prices in metro Detroit continue to rise quickly. The average for a gallon of regular gas is now $4.25. That’s up 6 cents from Tuesday.
The price is 45 cents per gallon more than just a week ago. Analysts say crude oil prices remain high because of the war in Iran, but refinery problems here in the Midwest are adding to the steep price increases.
Pistons try to stave off playoff elimination
The Detroit Pistons face playoff elimination if they don’t win tonight. The team plays the Orlando Magic in game five of a best of seven series tonight. Orlando leads the series three games to one.
The Pistons finished the regular season with the best record in the NBA’s Eastern Conference, but they’ve failed to carry that dominance into the playoffs.
Game five takes place tonight at 7 p.m. at Little Caesars Arena. The game will not be televised. You can watch it on Prime Video or listen to it on WWJ radio.
Listen to the latest episode of the “Detroit Evening Report” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.
Support local journalism.
WDET strives to cover what’s happening in your community. As a public media institution, we maintain our ability to explore the music and culture of our region through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
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