A new report by Detroit Future City (DFC), supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, examines the data and challenges facing Detroit’s African-American middle class.

Anika Goss, executive director of DFC writes that this report, Growing Detroit’s African-American Middle Class, emerged from their work with the 139 Square Miles report in 2017 which showed that nearly 75 percent of Detroit households had an income of less than $50,000, whereas nationally only 30 percent of U.S. households earn less than $50,000.

The report defines middle class as households earning between $46,100 and $115,300 per year. DFC said this highlights the need to grow and support Detroit’s middle class as it is central to the city’s success.

DFC’s data shows that nearly 80 percent of middle-class households in Detroit are African-American individuals or families.

“Understanding and defining Detroit’s African-American middle-class population was a heavy but important lift. It is a personal narrative about families, choices, opportunity and decisions,” Goss writes.

Data highlights:

• Currently Detroit has a small share of middle-class households, 25 percent, as many have moved to the suburbs.

• Among the 50 largest U.S. cities Detroit has the lowest share of total middle-class neighborhoods but the sixth highest share of middle-class African-American neighborhoods.

• The report shares that white middle-class households are more likely to live in a middle-class neighborhood than African American middle-class household. For instance, 75 percent of white middle-class households live in a middle-class neighborhood while 33 percent of African-American middle-class households live in a middle-class neighborhood.

The report provides recommendations aimed at increasing the number of middle-class households in the city by 33,800, which would align with the share of the region’s middle-class households and be transformative for the city.

DFC engaged with focus groups to learn what would make middle-class neighborhoods attractive and some of the perceived challenges.

Challenges at play:

• Detroit’s cost of living is considered high due to higher property taxes and high car insurance rates. DFC shares that Detroit has the highest car insurance rates in the state.

• The quality of Detroit’s schools was cited as a concern by focus group participants.

• Blight and vacant buildings in neighborhoods are an issue. DFC shares that Detroit’s middle-class neighborhoods have a vacancy rate of 15 percent.

• Detroit has experienced a decline in home ownership which has disproportionately affected African-Americans, dropping from 52 to 43 percent between 2000 and 2017.

DFC’s recommendations include:

• Improving educational attainment and workforce outcomes to provide equitable opportunities.

• Developing strategy around recruiting African-American middle-class professionals to specific Detroit-based professions to help close the economic gap.

• Creating desirable middle-class neighborhoods while also keeping tabs on near-middle-class neighborhoods in the coming years.

As the report states, “Detroit has a rare but important opportunity to intentionally plan for inclusive growth. However, as illustrated in this report, growth is not only based on attracting people to Detroit or creating jobs. Growing Detroit must be based on an aspirational view of a city that offers economic opportunity for everyone.”

Want more?

Read the full report.