According to a study released by the Census Bureau that analyzed housing data across more than 170 cities across the country that have a population of at least 150,000, and Detroit is officially on the list of loneliest cities in the country. The study defined loneliness as the prevalence of one-person homes in each city, with higher rates of one-person homes meaning that the city was more lonely, at least according to the parameters of the study.
Where did Detroit rank on the list of loneliest cities in America?
Well according to the Census Bureau, Detroit has a total of 243,243 households in the city, and of those households about 100,946 of them are considered one-person homes, which is equal to about 42.5% of all households! This means that nearly half of all the households in Detroit are lived in by one person alone, which is exactly why Detroit has appeared on this unfortunate list. That being said, the study also broke down male versus female one-person households as well, and Detroit was the #14 loneliest city in America for men with around 23% of men living alone, while for women Detroit did not make the list, meaning that it is not one of the top 30 loneliest cities for women in the country.
With this in mind, there was another city in Michigan that did rank in the top 30 loneliest cities in the country for women, but it wasn’t Detroit, it was Grand Rapids.
Why does Detroit have so many one-person households?
Well, honestly, there could be a study specifically meant to find this out in the case of Detroit, but given what the data of the Census Bureau’s study suggests, it seems it’s a mixture of multiple factors. The housing issue in Detroit has been an ongoing problem for quite some time, but amongst the multiple factors, you could certainly point to housing costs around Detroit rising quickly in recent years and younger couples taking more and more time now before deciding to invest in larger properties.
If you are interested in seeing what are some of the other loneliest cities in America according to this study, you can find the full list here!