If by "Detroit area" you mean the Detroit metropolitan area, it's only lost 3% of its population between the last two censuses, not exactly a huge exodus. Aroun

If by "Detroit area" you mean the Detroit metropolitan area, it's only lost 3% of its population between the last two censuses, not exactly a huge exodus. Around 15,000 net loss each year out of 4M+. If you mean just the city of Detroit, then the comparison with rural Japan is not too far off: young people moving away from their homes because there are no jobs, leaving behind their parents and grandparents. Detroit is the rural Japanese fishing village with 1 grade-school kid in this analogy.