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Researchers say areas in Detroit were undercounted during the 2020 Census

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan addresses a ceremony honoring 15 Detroit entrepreneurs in Detroit in January.
Carlos Osorio
/
AP
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan addresses a ceremony honoring 15 Detroit entrepreneurs in Detroit in January.

Wayne State and the University of Michigan found an undercount in their audit of Detroit’s 2020 Census. Using postal service data and their own canvassing efforts researchers found the official count was off by more than eight percent in ten surveyed neighborhoods. The Census reported nearly 640-thousand people living in Detroit down nearly 11-percent from 2010.

“The U.S. government has inflicted an inequity of monumental proportion on the people of the city Detroit,” said Mayer Mike Duggan.

The Census determines the number of Congressional seats and the flow of more than 675-billion dollars in federal programs. Duggan says the audit will help the city appeal its results through the U-S Department of Commerce. He says if that fails the city plans to sue in federal court.

Eli Newman is assistant news director and editor. He works with the WKAR news and digital content teams to facilitate the creation of meaningful and thought-provoking multimedia news content for WKAR Public Media.