Nov 21, 2023 - News

Four takeaways on economic equity from Detroit Future City

Annalise Frank

Illustration of measuring tape measuring a dollar bill — Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Nonprofit Detroit Future City recently released new stats for its economic equity dashboard showing capital access has improved while the city's job market and life expectancy have fallen.

What they're saying: "While there have been improvements, the majority of the indicators show that systemic inequities were only exacerbated by the pandemic. We need to counteract the disproportionate impact on Black Detroiters, with proportionally impactful investments in addressing these deep economic and racial disparities," DFC CEO Anika Goss said in a press release.

Here are four takeaways from the data update:

The ratio of middle-class homes isn't growing — it fell by 7,090 households, or 27% to 26%, between 2019 and 2021.
The capital available to help grow small businesses is up 101% (per small business job) between 2018 and 2021.
The life expectancy at birth in Detroit was 69 as of 2021, compared with 76 for Michigan.

Life expectancy for Black residents was 68, compared with 76 for white residents.

Of the U.S.'s 100 biggest cities, Detroit was third from last for its share of residents over the age of 25 with a bachelor's degree — 18%, compared with 35% in the U.S. overall.

Editor's note: This story was updated with corrected data from Detroit Future City reflecting that the amount of small-business capital grew 101% per small business job (not 41 percentage points).

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Four takeaways on economic equity from Detroit Future City

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