[North 42]

Which metro area in the state do you think has the best chance to be the 3rd to hit the 1 million mark?

I personally think that it would be Lansing, but I certainly wouldn’t count Ann Arbor out of the race. I realize this will probably be a long ways out, but eventually I’m sure that it will happen.

[djmilf]

None.

Detroit MSA 4.3 is million.
Grand Rapids is MSA is 1.9 million.
Lansing MSA is 540 thousand.
Flint MSA is 404 thousand.
Ann Arbor MSA is 370 thousand.

Only Grand Rapids MSA held it's own this past decade, the others listed above all lost population.

All other communities are rather far away from the 1 million mark.

[North 42]

Grand Rapids MSA population is more like 1.09M, not 1.9M, and did all of the other cities really lose population in the past decade? If so, I’m sure those trends won’t last forever and one will eventually hit the 1M mark eventually.

Looks like Lansing grew 16.6% since the 2010 census, so my bet is on Lansing getting there first.

[jackmichigan]

We can only hope that it never happens. We already have enough people in Michigan...and far too many in the U.S. and in the world.

[mjlo]

Originally Posted by North 42

Looks like Lansing grew 16.6% since the 2010 census, so my bet is on Lansing getting there first.

Lansing has grown more like 2% since 2010 I believe.

[Coldjensens]

Marquette. Global warming and drought are going to drive everyone north.

[North 42]

Originally Posted by mjlo

Lansing has grown more like 2% since 2010 I believe.

Huh, Wikipedia shows 16.6% growth from 2010, I thought that seemed really high.

[Nattering Heights]

There are many factors. Michigan is likely to gain population from many states hit by climate change. Large metropolises will be limited by locally available food as rising fuel prices reduce freight. The covid saga swings a wrecking ball through everything. How many eventually die of incompetent or fraudulent medical advice or treatment is a hanging question.

Mackinaw City, St. Ignace, and Sault Ste. Marie are located at straits, like Detroit. I don't expect them to ever reach a million, but they probably will move up the list of Michigan cities.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

Marquette. Global warming and drought are going to drive everyone north.

I already mentioned to some family that they need to look as far north as possible for property in the UP or northern Wisconsin right now. Prices will be going up dramatically in the coming years as more people leave the western US due to constant climate disasters.

[michigan91]

The United States is projected to grow by nearly 79 million people in the next 4 decades, from about 326 million to 404 million between 2017 and 2060.

https://www.census.gov/content/dam/C...o/p25-1144.pdf

Those 79 million people will have to go somewhere. The US geographic center of population has been moving west for a long time, and Michigan has been floundering for decades. For the past half-century, most new population growth has been in the western states and the sunbelt. Some of these millions of people will more likely than not end up in Michigan.

Right now, it's looking like that growth will be pretty evenly distributed around the country, but it's hard to say what is going to happen. Michigan has a lot of room to grow as long as that growth is managed. When you think of Michigan with 15 million people, think of Michigan with a city like Chicago or Toronto. Too many people hear population growth and think that it means the same kind of unsustainable growth that we've seen since WWII. No one wants the lower peninsula to become one gigantic suburb, a la Florida.