The U.S. Census Bureau released new data showing the population of adults 65 and older is increasing, while the population of people 18 and younger is decreasing.  

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The population of adults age 65 and older rose by 3.1% (to 61.2 million) while the population of those under 18 decreased 0.2% (to 73.1 million) from 2023 to 2024, the data shows.

Lauren Bowers, chief of the Census Bureau’s Population Estimates Branch, says those changes affect communities of color most among the 4.4 million people who live in cities like Detroit, Warren and Dearborn.  

“The data in 2024 is showing that the non-Hispanic white population is the only population in the Detroit metro area where younger adults are outnumbered by older adults,” she said.

Bowers says nationally, the number of older adults and children 18 and younger now are similar. 

Other headlines for Monday, July 14, 2025:

• Seventeen nonprofits, businesses and community groups working to reduce food waste will receive support through the state-funded NextCycle Michigan initiative.
• The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) says federal funding cuts could strip 300,000 Medicaid recipients of their health insurance. Medicaid is the largest insurer in the state, covering one in four residents. Health department director Elizabeth Hertel says the cuts will also affect her agency’s efforts to protect public health.
• A city building in Dearborn was renamed last week in honor of Dearborn’s first Arab American councilmember, Suzanne Sareini. Sareini served as a council member six terms, from 1989 to 2013. The city’s senior housing building — formerly called the Hubbard Manor East — will now be called the Suzanne Sareini Manor.
• The Detroit Documenters, a program which trains and pays people to attend city meetings, is hosting a photo documenting workshop this week. Cydni Elledge, senior photographer and editor at Outlier Media, will lead the workshop, set for 2 p.m. on Tuesday, July 15.

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.

The deer herd in Michigan is estimated to be two million strong. In southeast Michigan, that number has been growing.

There were more than 58,000 deer-vehicle crashes reported in Michigan in 2023, according to Michigan State Police. That’s an average of 158 per day.

There is a growing coalition of cities and townships in metro Detroit that have taken action to curb deer populations in their communities. Farmington Hills is one of the cities leading this effort, with the city council recently approving organized deer culls. The resolution, which allows sharpshooters to shoot and kill deer in suburban areas where overpopulation is a problem, also includes safety provisions and directs harvested venison to be donated to food banks.

Bryan Farmer, deputy director of the city of Farmington Hills Special Services Department, joined The Metro to talk more about the resolution. Then, Cervid and Wildlife Interactions Unit Supervisor at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Chad Stewart, joined the conversation to help us understand what’s behind the deer uptick in metro Detroit’s suburbs.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

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The 2024 Mackinac Policy Conference became all about how to increase Michigan’s population.

After that conference, politicians, demographers and economists were theorizing about how to increase the state population. Last December, newly released data from the U.S. Census Bureau showed that Michigan increased its population by about 57,000. And last month, we got word that Detroit also increased its population by 6,800 residents. 

What should we make of these numbers? Are they too small to celebrate? Or, is the state and its largest city on a path to continue the trend?

Metro Producer Sam Corey spoke with Citizens Research Council President Eric Lupher at the 2025 Mackinac Policy Conference last week to learn more.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

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