These are the 5 Michigan counties which lost the most people last year. Rankings are based on census estimates of total population change (not % change) from July 1, 2020 to July 1, 2021.
#5 Genesee County
The only surprising thing here is that the county holding scandalized Flint city is only the 5th fastest shrinking and not the first fastest. Over the year, the county’s population dropped by 1,440 people (about 0.35%). Most of that population drop was due to a higher death rate than birth rate, but there was also net outward migration of 331 people.
The most common economic sectors by number of employees in the county are manufacturing and health & social care.
#4 Washtenaw County
Washtenaw is a surprising member of this list because over the decade from 2010-2020, it was the 5th fastest growing county in Michigan. Most likely, the decline over the past year is due to the University of Michigan going remote during Covid. The importance of the university to the county is evident in the fact that the most common job sector is education. I would expect Washtenaw to flip back to positive population growth either this year or next year.
#3 Oakland County
Oakland lost 2,391 people last year (out of more than 1.25 million). This is a reversal from the 2010-2020 growth the county saw of 6% (72,033 people gained during the decade).
The most important employer sector in the county by far is manufacturing, with most people working in management roles.
#2 Macomb County
This Detroit suburb county lost 3,557 people last year (out of 870,893 initially). The most common job type of residents is an office administrative type job (non-managerial) in the manufacturing sector.
#1 Wayne County
The home county of Detroit was the biggest loser last year, and it lost 15,409 people. Most of that loss was due to net outward migration (15,156) while part (383) was due to more deaths than births.
The most common job type here is the same as in Macomb: office administrative (non-managerial) jobs in the manufacturing sector.