Some statistics conveying the breadth of challenges facing the city of Detroit:

916,952: Detroit’s latest official population, down from a peak of about 1.8 million in 1950s. In a city of 139 square miles, that gives Detroit a population density about half of Chicago’s.

201,000: Residential taxpayers in Wayne County, which is dominated by Detroit, who were tax delinquent in October, out of a total of 857,000.

19,708: Violent crimes recorded by FBI for Detroit in 2007, giving it the highest violent crime rate of any major U.S. city. San Diego and San Antonio, each with 50 percent more people than Detroit, had less than half as many violent crimes.

$18,513: Average sale price of a Detroit home so far in 2008, down from $40,011 in 2007, according to Detroit Board of Realtors. Average sale price in neighboring Oakland County is $153,695.

47.8: Percent of Detroit children in 2007 who lived below poverty line of $21,000 for a family of four. For children nationally, the rate was 18 percent. Detroit’s overall poverty rate of 33.8 percent was highest of any major city.

21.6: Detroit’s unemployment rate, according to latest Census Bureau figures for 2005-07. Of all U.S. cities with more than 20,000 residents, only Muskegon, Mich., had a higher rate, at 22.1 percent.

15: Candidates competing in a special mayoral election called after Kwame Kilpatrick was jailed for trying to cover up a text-messaging sex scandal.

14: Losses so far for Detroit Lions en route to what could be National Football League’s first 0-16 season.

3: Days each week that Detroit’s two newspapers will offer home delivery, as part of new cost-cutting plan.

By The Associated Press


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