Census releases new numbers; Manchester area still losing residents for now
Home under construction in Pittsfield Township. Photo credit: Dwight Burdette, Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 3.0.
by Sara Swanson
For years Michigan has been losing residents at one of the fastest rates of all of the states. The census bureau recently released population information for 2025 and last year, for the first time in a long time, Michigan added about 28,000 residents. Washtenaw County contributed to this growth, but the Manchester area has yet to turn things around.
Washtenaw was one of the counties that grew adding 1,258 new residents (growing by .34%) from 368,956 to 370,214 people. Washtenaw was also one of the 11 counties in the state that had more births than deaths.
Within Washtenaw, population growth and decline was not evenly dispersed, The City of Ann Arbor added the most new residents in Washtenaw by sheer number, but Bridgewater’s next door neighbor, Saline Township had the biggest population increase by percentage in the county and one of the biggest increases in population by percentage in the state, adding 167 new residents and increasing by 6.5%.
The Manchester area (including the city and four surrounding townships) lost 26 residents total from 2024 to 2025 and 197 residents since 2020. Which municipality was losing residents faster varied from year to year but our area is losing residents pretty evenly based on population density.
What about our neighbors? Saline Township, which is undergoing a serious growth spurt, has added the most residents over the last five years, increasing their population by 466 since 2020. Sylvan Township has added 213 more residents since 2020, Grass Lake Charter Township has added 198, Lima has added 186, and Norvell has added 19.
Some of our neighbors are also losing residents. Franklin Township has lost 18 residents since 2020, Clinton Township has lost 56, and Lodi has lost 133.
The City of Manchester is undertaking proactive measures to bring new housing units to our area and construction is already beginning on 40 new homes in the subdivision off of Galloway Drive, behind Carr Park. It is possible that these new homes may be enough to turn around the Manchester area’s decreasing population trend. Who knows what an article five years from now will show!
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