Canton Now Wayne County's Fourth-Largest Town

Canton Township officially has 18.1 percent more residents, with a head count of 90,173, than it did in 2000, when 76,366 people were counted, according to the 2010 U.S. Census. Figures were released Tuesday, but township officials said they expect to be analyzing the data in the days ahead.

Township Clerk Terry Bennett announced the figures at the end of Tuesday’s meeting of township trustees. She said the increase makes Canton the 11th-most-populated community in the state.

In simple terms, 90,173 residents is a good indicator that Canton’s housing, schools, public safety and business climate are drawing people in, said Canton Township Supervisor Phil LaJoy.

In terms of taxes, Bennett said, “It means the hole isn’t going to be as big.” She and LaJoy acknowledged that Wayne County’s overall loss of nearly 250,000 residents is going to hurt as far as funding county services, such as road maintenance and improvements. Wayne County is responsible for more than 250 miles of Canton’s 373 miles of roads.

Canton is now the fourth-largest municipality in Wayne County, leapfrogging ahead of Westland with its 84,094 residents.

Detroit, which lost a quarter of its population, remains Wayne County’s largest city at 713,777, followed by the city of Dearborn with 98,153 and Livonia with 96,942 residents (a loss of more than 4,000 people).

Bennett said she’s still exploring the 2010 census to get a full picture of Canton Township’s demographics, though she said the community is clearly more diverse than it was a decade ago.

State Rep. Dian Slavens (D-21st District), who represents most of Canton and a portion of Van Buren Township (where the population grew by more than 22 percent to 28,821), deferred making any specific comment regarding the numbers. The figures will be used to adjust legislative districts, but how those lines will be drawn is not yet clear.

The city of Plymouth added 110 residents, for a population of 9,132, while Plymouth Township lost 273 residents and stands at 27,524.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect the correct number of additional residents in the city of Plymouth.