Demographic Makeup of Muslims in Michigan

A research project sponsored by the TMO Foundation and generously supported by the financial backing of SM Ali Qureshi of New Mexico.  This study will be supplemented with details about the methodology.

By Kecia Escoe

Michigan has been known to hold the largest Muslim population in the United States. KE Human Resources LLC was commissioned by TMOF to conduct a demographic study of Muslims in Michigan in 2011. The Muslim population is vast and multi-dimensional in Michigan truly showing  the diversity and commonality of the believers in faith of all cultural backgrounds.  Muslims were surveyed in numerous communities: Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, Holland, Ypsilanti, Ann Arbor, Detroit, Mt. Pleasant, Browns Town, Flint, Pontiac, Lansing, Saginaw, Jackson, Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Hamtramck, Oak Park, Southfield Canton, Auburn Hills and West Bloomfield.

Of the 115,000 Muslims surveyed, 50.2% are female and 49.8 % are male. 73.2% are married, 15% never married, 8.7% divorced, 2.9% widowed and .2% are separated.

24.7% are Asian, 31.4%- African-American, 16%- Arab, 10.4% -African, 10.1 %- European, 1.2 %- Hispanic, 2.5%- Iranian 1.5 %- Native American, 3.3 %- Bosnian, 1.9%- Turkish. 52.8%  reside in SE Michigan, 22.5% in NE Michigan, 10.4 % in SW Michigan, 4.6% Central Michigan and 9.2% NW Michigan and .4% in the U.P. 88%  of  those surveyed are US citizens, 85% are registered voters.

Those surveyed, 7.6% have obtained a MD, PhD or JD, 15.4% earned a Masters’ degree, 42% earned Bachelors’ degree, 11.3% Associates or Trade School certified, 7.8%  are currently attending or have taken some college courses. 12.5% have obtained a high school diploma or GED while 3.5% have not received a high school diploma.

The average ages surveyed were 30-39 at 25.1%. 21.3% were age 40-49, 14.7% were over 60, 17.2% 21-29 of age, 15% 50-59 years of age the remaining 5.2% were age 18-20. Registered voters consist of 84.4% of those surveyed 16.2% were not registered to vote. 92.9% are US citizens 7.1% are not.

The general population decline in Michigan from 2005-2009 was 121,000 (estimated population Michigan.gov) at -3% growth rate. The Muslim population continues to grow, on average Muslim families consist of 4 persons to a household of which 23% are under the age of 18.

Data is based on a sample and are subject to sample variability is repeated thorough the use of a margin of error. The value is the 90% margin of error. The margin of error can be interpreted roughly as providing 90% probability that the interval defined by the estimate minus the margin of error and the estimate plus the margin of error.

This study gives a sample of the population of Muslims in Michigan it is estimated the numbers far exceeds the numbers given due to many communities of Asian, African-American, Albanian, Arab and Bosnian decent declined to participate in the survey. Along with limited contact with Muslims over the age of 65.

In conclusion, the majority of the Michigan Muslim population surveyed  are African-American, female, between the ages of 30-39  U.S. citizens,  registered voters at 84.4% with Bachelors’ degrees residing in SE Michigan.

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