The Decline of Detroit, Documented

Detroit filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy one week ago today, becoming the largest city in America to do so. In 1950, Detroit’s population was 1,849,568. In 2010, the U.S. Census measured it at 713,777. That’s a mind-boggling drop of more than 1.1 million people (61.4%) over 60 years.

Interesting historical note: Detroit’s population grew even faster than it has declined: in just 20 years, between 1910 and 1930, the population increased by 1.1 million, jumping from 465,766 to 1,568,662.

The loss o...