Detroit Demographics

"We have to have the most
excellent Jewish educational
system in the country, and
both for the experiential
education — informal —
as well as the synagogues, but
with special emphasis on our
day schools to create a long-
term funding mechanism so
we are not always looking
for the last dollar to provide
scholarships."

-Federation CEO Robert Aronson

Emotional Attachment to Israel

Extremely
26%

Very
29%

Not
Attached
12%

Somewhat
32%

16 June 8 • 2006

AN

Hand in Hand from page 15

into new households in the past
four years is 3 percent, the lowest.
• 58 percent of Jews in Detroit
were born here, a record amount,
but more Jews are planning to
move away in the next few years
(430 households "probably"
moving each year for the next
three years), compared to the 168
households who have moved into
the area each year in the last five
years.
• Approximately 24,000 Jews
live elsewhere in Michigan,
according to statistics gath-
ered by the Michigan Jewish
Conference in Lansing; but col-
lege student populations may
affect the totals. Ann Arbor has
the second largest population,
with 8,000 Jewish residents and
6,000 Jewish students, some
of whom may be Detroit resi-
dents when not at school. The
Lansing/East Lansing area has
2,100 Jewish residents and 2,500
Jewish students, many from
Oakland County.
Grand Rapids has 2,000 Jews,
Kalamazoo 1,500 and Flint
1,300. Benton Harbor, Muskegon,
Traverse City/Petoskey, Jackson,
Mt. Pleasant, Bay City, Midland,
Saginaw and Houghton all have
small Jewish populations.

Demographic Profile:

• In Metro Detroit, 24 percent
of Jews are 65 or older, ranking
it 11th in the country, behind 10
retirement communities in South
Florida.
• The median age for American
Jews is 39; but in Metro Detroit,
the median age is 47, up six years
from 1989.
• 27 percent of married cou-
ples with children younger than
17 living at home is the largest
group. The next largest group: 23
percent of all Jewish households
in Detroit are single persons 65
or older.
• There's a dearth of Jewish
adults between 30 and 39 years
old living in the Detroit metro-
politan area.
• 63 percent of Jews have a

four-year college degree; 31 per-
cent have a gradate degree. The
median household income in
Detroit, adjusted for inflation, is
$85,000, compared to a national
U.S average of $45,000.
• 44 percent of Jews in Detroit
earn more than $100,000, not
adjusted for inflation.

Religious Profile:

• Within the denominations,
the current study shows 36 per-
cent of Detroit Jews identifying
as Reform, 28 per-
cent Conservative, 18
percent "just Jewish:'
11 percent Orthodox,
3 percent Humanist
and 1 percent Jewish
Renewal.
• The biggest shift
is seen within the
Conservative move-
ment, with affiliation Aronson
down from 38 to 28
percent.
• The largest increase is
the 7 to 11 percent within the
Orthodox movement.
(See accompanying story for
more details.)

Types of Marriage:

• Intermarriage of Jews is 16
percent in Detroit, very low com-
pared to a national average of 48
percent. Intermarriage in couples
younger than 35 in Detroit is
22 percent; between 35 and 49
years old, the rate is 18 percent.
Both figures are record lows and
compare to national averages
of 59 percent and 58 percent,
respectively.

Jewish Education:

• In Jewish education, 83 per-
cent of Jewish Detroiters received
some form of Jewish education,
which is sixth best in the country.
• 98 percent of Orthodox
Jewish children between 5 and
12 are enrolled in a Jewish day
school.
• Of all the non-Orthodox
children between 13 and 17 years
old, 18 percent have attended a

Jewish day school and 77 per-
cent have attended a synagogue
afternoon school; 5 percent have
attended neither.

Israel:

• Detroit Jews rank fifth
nationally, 58 percent, in terms
of a household member visiting
Israel; 55 percent of Detroit Jews
are "extremely or very attached"
to Israel.

Jewish Community Center:

• 15 percent of
Detroit Jews belong to
the Jewish Community
Center, compared to a
national JCC member-
ship rate of 18 percent;
23 percent of Detroit
Jewish households with
children belong to the -
JCC, compared with
a national total of 25
percent.

Priorities
During his community briefings
in May, Sheskin made some gen-
eral observations.
"The community has shrunk
and it's getting old, and it's going
to continue to shrink over the
next few years:' he said.
"But not every trend continues
forever. Right now, it's clear the
Detroit Jewish community is
in decline and the community
needs to do its planning with
that in mind."
While Sheskin is preparing the
final analysis, Federation already
is developing task forces to find
out how to better help the Jewish
community, said Federation CEO
Robert Aronson.
At a recent Federation board
meeting, he spoke of the future.
"The demographic study lays
out some very clear challenges
for the future that we have to
take seriously. We can talk about
the lowest intermarriage rate, the
highest affiliation rate. The ques-
tion is what are we going to do
about the future; how do we not
only maintain but expand? What