How Oakland and Wayne Compare with Other Million+ Population Counties Across Country

(Kurt Metzger, Dec. 15, 2022)

Oakland County, Wayne County, MI – There are 3,143 counties in the United States, but only 47 (1.5 percent) that have populations over one million. California accounts for 10 of the 47, followed by New York and Texas with 6 each and Florida with 5. Michigan has 2 counties on the list – Oakland (1,270,017) and Wayne (1,774,816), as do Arizona, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Thirty-one states, and the District of Columbia, do not make the list.

I thought it would be interesting to look at a number of demographic variables and see how Oakland, and Wayne, measure up against their peers.

I selected the following variables:

Total Population
Persons of Color
Population Born in State of Residence
Foreign Born Population
Educational Attainment (Persons 25 and over with a College Degree)
Median Household Income
Percent of Population in Poverty

Total Population

The largest county in the country is Los Angeles, with a population of 9,829,544. The smallest in the million+ club is Honolulu County at 1,000,890. Oakland County ranks 33^rd and Wayne County ranks 19^th.

Persons of Color

This measure of diversity represents the share of the population that is not white, non-Hispanic. Bronx, New York has highest share at 91.4 percent, while Allegheny, Pennsylvania has the lowest – 24.0 percent. Wayne County ranks 32^nd at 51.6 percent, while Oakland County ranks 46^th at 31.2 percent.

Population Born in State of Residence

This variable is a measure of population attraction (especially at the state level), in that it looks at the share of population that was born outside of Michigan and chose Oakland or Wayne County as their current residence. The highest share, 75.9 percent, is present in Wayne County, while Clark County, Nevada had the lowest share of 25.0 percent. Oakland County ranked 6^th at 70.7 percent.

Foreign-Born Population

As birth rates and population growth have slowed dramatically over recent years, the need to attract immigrants has taken on added importance. Counties with high shares of immigrants tend to experience higher rates of population and economic growth. Miami-Dade County, Florida ranks #1 with a foreign-born share of 53.6 percent. Allegheny County, Pennsylvania comes in last at 6.4 percent. Michigan’s relatively low share is reflected in the low rankings of our county representatives, as Wayne County ranks 45^th at 9.6 percent and Oakland County ranks 43^rd at 12.2 percent.

Educational Attainment (Persons 25 and over with a College Degree)

Whether we look at the work of Business Leaders for Michigan or the Detroit Regional Chamber, low shares of college graduates tend to be Michigan’s Achilles heel. Locally, Amazon cited the low share of college graduates in the Detroit metro area as one of the reasons they passed us over for their second headquarters location. Fairfax County, Virginia took first place as almost two-thirds (64.9 percent) of their residents 25 years and over had at least a Bachelor’s degree. Bronx, New York came in last at a mere 23.0 percent. Coming back to Michigan we find Oakland County ranks 12^th at 50.5 percent, while Wayne County ranks 43^rd at 27.2 percent.

Median Household Income

Income is closely tied to educational attainment. Santa Clara, California rose to the top at $141,562 (Fairfax County was a close second). As the educational data predicted, Bronx, New York came in 47^th with a median household income – $43,011 – just 30 percent of Santa Clara’s. While Oakland County’s median was $86,523, placing it in 15^th place, Wayne County’s median of $52,605 beat out only the Bronx, placing it in 46^th place.

Poverty

The inverse of income is poverty. In 2021, the poverty threshold for a family of four was $33,130. Coming in 1^st, with the lowest share of poverty, was Nassau County, New York at 5.8 percent. The highest poverty rate of 26.4 percent was found in Bronx, New York. Oakland County’s rate of 7.7 percent tied it for 6^th lowest with Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Wayne County’s rate of 19.6 percent placed it 45^th, just ahead of Bronx and Philadelphia counties.

For more stories about data, including voter turnout, dog names and breeds by city and more, visit the Data-Based Stories Archives on Oakland County Times. Thanks to Data Expert Kurt Metzger for this work!