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May 23, 2001State stats mirror trends seen in nationMedian age rises to 35.5; racial diversity also growing quicklyBy JOHN FLESHERThe Associated Press Michigan grew older and took small steps toward greater racial diversity in the 1990s. Most households were led by married couples, but alternative living arrangements had higher growth rates. Statistics from the 2000 census released Wednesday provide new insight into how the state's populace evolved over the past decade. Many of the demographic changes in Michigan mirrored those on the national level. "Michigan is fairly typical Middle America, pretty representative of the country as a whole with some minor differences," said Kurt Metzger, a Wayne State University demographer. The nationwide median age rose from 32.9 in 1990 to 35.3 last year, while Michigan's increased from 32.6 to 35.5. The share of U.S. households with married couples dropped nationally from 55.1 percent to 51.7 percent and in Michigan from 55.1 percent to 51.4 percent. But the state also bucked some wider trends. For example, while the number of married-couple households with children under 18 grew by 5.7 percent nationwide, the total fell in Michigan - although by less than 1 percent, from 874,878 to 873,227. Among other findings: - Michigan's middle-age and over-75 groups soared while young-adult numbers dropped. The school-age population also grew, but preschoolers declined. - Whites and blacks remain the predominant racial groups, but non-black racial and ethnic minorities grew sharply. Whites were 80.2 percent of Michigan's 9.9 million people and blacks 14.2 percent. Hispanics accounted for 3.3 percent and Asians 1.8 percent. But while the white population rate grew 2.7 percent and the black rate 9.4 percent, growth rates for Asian subgroups exploded. People of Asian Indian origin increased from 23,845 to 54,631, up 129 percent. Michiganians of Mexican descent jumped 59.6 percent, from 138,312 to 220,769. - Single-occupant and female-headed households had bigger growth rates than those with married couples and married-with-children households. - Households with unmarried partners living together increased 63 percent, although their share of total households rose only from 1.3 percent to 2 percent. The Census Bureau is expected to release statistics on same-sex homes later this year. - Of Michigan's 4.2 million housing units in 2000, 73.8 percent were occupied by their owners. In 1990, there were 3.8 million housing units, and the owner-occupancy rate was 71 percent. The state's location and weather likely influenced some demographic trends, Metzger said. Despite being on the Canadian border, Michigan is not a major immigrant gateway. That helps explain its relative shortage of minorities such as Asians and Hispanics in comparison with states such as California and Texas. Also, had Michigan attracted more immigrants, its population of children under age 5 might not have slipped 4.3 percent while the nationwide total rose 4.4 percent, Metzger said. Cold winters and often-cloudy skies were an incentive for many young adults to head south, he said. A 12 percent drop in the 20-34 age group helped push upward the state's median age. "One just has to be resigned to the fact that the climate factor will work against the Upper Midwest and some parts of the Northeast," said William Frey, a University of Michigan demographer. "States have to come up with ways to compensate." |