DMACS

Publication

Immigration enforcement fears are reshaping daily life for Michigan immigrants, U-M study finds

May 19, 2026

A new report documents widespread immigration enforcement fears among immigrant Michiganders in Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids and Ypsilanti.

A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement badge with the words 'ICE' in the background

News

Detroiters cautious about government use of AI, U-M survey finds

Mar 24, 2026

Many Detroiters are still making up their minds about potential government use of artificial intelligence, with 41% of city residents reporting neutral views or uncertainty on whether AI's benefits to society outweigh its risks.

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State & Hill

DMACS marks 10 years of listening to Detroiters for shared impact

Dec 8, 2025

The Detroit Metro Area Communities Study (DMACS) celebrates 10 years of amplifying Detroiters’ voices—over 5,000 participants have helped shape conversations, drive investments, and inspire change.

Street with Detroit skyline in the background

Publication

U-M survey finds link between Detroiters’ intention to vote, optimism about the city

Oct 28, 2025

Detroiters who view the city as headed in the right direction are more likely to vote in the Nov. 4 election than those who think the city is on the wrong track, according to a survey from the University of Michigan’s Detroit Metro Area Communities S...

News

DMACS Detroit election study widely reported

Sep 24, 2025

The survey by the Detroit Metro Area Communities Study about Detroiters’ Top Household Challenges Ahead of the 2025 Mayoral Election received wide media attention. The survey was conducted in conjunction with Outlier Media. In an interview with Michi...

News

Survey shows top challenges Detroiters want new mayor to address

Sep 17, 2025

New findings from a University of Michigan survey of Detroiters showing the top challenges households face in their daily lives and how they would like city leadership to respond have implications for Detroit's mayoral election in November.

News

Cost is leading factor in Detroit's higher-than-average rate of uninsured homeowners

Jul 14, 2025

About 38% of Detroit homeowners without mortgages report being uninsured, nearly twice as high as the national average of 19.5%, a new University of Michigan survey shows. Cost was the most frequently cited reason for Detroit homeowners to forgo home...

In the Media

Ostfeld highlights attitudes in cities with high-immigrant populations

Oct 14, 2024 Michigan Public

Speaking with Michigan Public, the Ford School's Mara Ostfeld discusses results from her recent research on public opinion in Michigan on immigration policy. Ostfeld stated, “U.S.-born residents living in cities with a higher proportion of foreign-bo...

News

Survey shows Detroiters’ top priorities for city officials going into election

Sep 30, 2024

Crime and safety tops the list of priority issues that Detroit residents want to see city officials address going into the November 2024 election, according to a survey conducted by the University of Michigan in partnership with Outlier Media. Thirty...

Word cloud with issues most important to Detroiters

Publication

Lack of trust in political system main reason some Detroiters won't vote

Jul 31, 2024

Distrust in the political system is the most commonly cited reason that eligible voters in Detroit say they don't plan to vote in November, according to a University of Michigan survey. The survey, fielded by U-M's Detroit Metro Area Communities Stud...

American Flags and Pins on White Background

Publication

Detroiters’ perceptions of their neighborhoods shifted after Strategic Neighborhood Fund investments

Jul 22, 2024

A study drawing on survey data from the past five years shows that while neighborhood satisfaction fell across Detroit as the pandemic unfolded, neighborhoods that had received targeted infrastructure improvements proved more resilient. The survey da...

News

Cost of living tops Detroiters’ priorities for US government

Jul 8, 2024

With Michigan poised to be a pivotal state in the 2024 presidential election, Detroiters have weighed in on their priorities for the U.S. government. Cost of living and inflation is the issue Detroiters mentioned most when asked about the top issues ...

News

Michigan metro areas divided on views on legal immigration, U-M survey shows

Jun 27, 2024

Immigration consistently shows up as the most important problem facing the U.S. in national public opinion polls, but less information has been available to understand how Michiganders view immigration. With Michigan poised to be one of the most infl...

Photo of an American flag backed by a gray sky

News

Survey shows how Detroiters’ mental health has changed since pandemic

May 30, 2024

Detroiters’ mental health-related symptoms have improved and largely stabilized since the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a University of Michigan report. While the negative impacts of the pandemic on people’s mental health are well docum...

Photo of building with sign that reads, "How are you really?"

News

Detroit residents' trust in police shaped by history of police contact

Mar 5, 2024

Detroit residents who have had any type of contact with police are more critical of police than people who have no contact with police, according to a survey of Detroit residents from the University of Michigan. U-M’s Detroit Metro Area Communities S...

News

Detroit's 16% unemployment rate driven by labor force rebounders - DMACS study

Jun 30, 2023

Sixteen percent of Detroit residents in the labor force were unemployed as of March 2023, according to the latest survey from the University of Michigan's Detroit Metro Area Communities Study. The latest unemployment estimate essentially holds s...

News

Staff honored by their Ford School peers for selflessness, integrity, and jubilance

Jun 29, 2023

Congratulations to the three recipients of the 2023 Staff Recognition Awards! Amy Flanagan from Student & Academic Services, DMACS Project Lead Sharon Sand, and Kirby Jewell from the Business and Grants Office received their accolades at the annual F...

News

DMACS to study impact of Strategic Neighborhood Fund in Detroit

Jun 12, 2023

The University of Michigan’s Detroit Metro Area Communities Study (DMACS) was recently contracted by Invest Detroit, a nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution, to look at the relationship between community investment and overall trends ...

Photo of homes in Detroit's Chaldean Town neighborhood

News

Detroiters' views on reparations connected to perception of racial wealth gap, other inequality

Mar 29, 2023

Detroiters' perceptions of the racial wealth gap, the legacy of slavery and other forms of racial inequity are strongly connected to their support for reparations and policies that address racial inequity. Overall, 63% of Detroit residents suppo...

Detroiters Reparations Racial Inequality March 2023 policy brief image

Publication

75% of unemployed Detroiters expect to return to work soon as unemployment rate drops

Dec 11, 2022

As more Detroiters return to work amid the pandemic recovery, the greatest declines in unemployment have been for residents of color and people with low incomes—although those groups continue to experience higher-than-average unemployment rates. ...

News

Detroiters say quality K-12 schools is top policy priority for November elections

Nov 3, 2022

Detroit residents say the quality of K-12 schools is their top priority for the November elections, followed closely by inflation, affordable housing, affordable health care, and crime. That's according to a new representative survey of Detroiter...

News

Candidate support for reparations would mobilize Detroit voters

Nov 2, 2022

While most Detroiters intend to vote in the November midterm election, those who are uncertain about voting or unlikely to vote could be motivated to cast a ballot by a candidate's support for reparations, according to a new survey from the Universit...

In the Media

Branche-Wilson breaks down DMACS findings about financial health

Sep 12, 2022 Michigan Radio

A Detroit Metro Area Communities Study found that many Detroiters would struggle if faced with a $400 emergency. Afton Branche-Wilson, assistant director of community initiatives at Poverty Solutions, helped Michigan Radio summarize the findings. ...

In the Media

DMACS: Detroiters' financial recovery from COVID mixed

May 29, 2022 Axios Detroit

The economic recovery form the COVID-19 recession has been mixed for residents of Detroit, Axios reports, based on a recent Detroit Metro Area Communities Study survey. Axios quoted Lydia Wileden, a research associate who co-wrote the report, who...

News

Majority of Detroiters report stable, improved financial situation compared to year ago

May 16, 2022

Two years into the pandemic, 72% of Detroit residents say their financial situation has stabilized or improved compared to a year ago, and there's evidence that stimulus checks and the expanded Child Tax Credit played a role in reducing Detroiters' e...

News

Morneoff: Mix of factors contributed to census undercount in Detroit

Apr 6, 2022

Detroit is the largest American city to officially challenge its 2020 Census count. One of its pieces of evidence is a survey done by the Detroit Metroopolitan Ares Communities Study supporting its claims that the city’s population was undercounted. ...

Publication

Most Detroiters vaccinated in second half of 2021 were previously unsure about COVID-19 vaccines

Apr 6, 2022

DETROIT—Nearly a third of a random sample of Detroit adults who had not received any COVID-19 vaccinations in June 2021 obtained their first dose in the second half of last year, according to a new University of Michigan survey. Most of these ad...

News

U-M virtual series to explore racialized health, economic disparities stemming from COVID-19

Mar 29, 2022

The University of Michigan's Ford School of Public Policy is kicking off a virtual event series this week with a discussion about the local impact of safety nets on communities of color during the COVID-19 pandemic. Panelists at Friday's event, ...

Lightly styled graphic with text that says "COVID-19 reflections: A series on race, health, and economic justice"

News

Detroit parents less likely to vaccinate themselves than non-parents, leads to low youth vaccination rates

Mar 9, 2022

Just under half (49%) of Detroit parents and guardians of children under 18 reported at the end of 2021 that they had been vaccinated against COVID-19, compared to 75% of adults who do not live with children. These relatively low vaccination rat...

A nurse administers the COVID-19 vaccine to a teacher in Iowa (Credit: Phil Roeder / CC BY)

In the Media

Wileden discusses Detroit's unchanged unemployment rate

Feb 4, 2022 WXYZ Detroit

In a recent interview with WXYZ, Lydia Wileden, PhD candidate and research associate on the Detroit Metro Area Communities Study, answered questions about Detroit's unemployment rate, which has stayed at 20% over the last year. "We do see that a...