1,771,063 people (2024 Census estimate, −1.0% since 2020)
612 square miles of land · 2,895 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
44 active community water systems list Wayne County in the area they serve, reporting 1,778,298 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| DETROIT CITY OF buys surface water · local government · MI0001800 | 633,218 served |
| DEARBORN buys surface water · local government · MI0001730 | 109,976 served |
| CANTON TOWNSHIP surface water · local government · MI0001100 | 99,627 served |
| LIVONIA buys surface water · local government · MI0003930 | 96,942 served |
| WESTLAND buys surface water · local government · MI0007040 | 85,420 served |
| TAYLOR buys surface water · local government · MI0006545 | 63,409 served |
| DEARBORN HEIGHTS buys surface water · local government · MI0001740 | 57,774 served |
| REDFORD TOWNSHIP buys surface water · local government · MI0005640 | 49,504 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 1,383 people were held in Wayne County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2023), or 124 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2018 it was about 1,878.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
32 school districts have their office in Wayne County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $1.1 billion — $1.1 billion to run schools, about $22,002 per student, plus $46 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $115.4 million local (mostly property tax), $687.8 million state, $655.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $5.8 million.
Spent $403.7 million — $366.4 million to run schools, about $18,204 per student, plus $30.1 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $96.8 million local (mostly property tax), $235.8 million state, $74.3 million federal. Long-term debt: $75 million.
Spent $292.9 million — $244 million to run schools, about $14,974 per student, plus $36.4 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $101.2 million local (mostly property tax), $170.9 million state, $15.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $236.6 million.
Spent $301.3 million — $219.9 million to run schools, about $16,627 per student, plus $69 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $94.1 million local (mostly property tax), $149.5 million state, $18.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $237.8 million.
Spent $260.6 million — $208.6 million to run schools, about $21,347 per student, plus $47.4 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $61.2 million local (mostly property tax), $119.7 million state, $32.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $528.1 million.
Spent $126 million — $111.3 million to run schools, about $15,646 per student, plus $6.2 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $50.9 million local (mostly property tax), $80.3 million state, $7.7 million federal. Long-term debt: $102.2 million.
Spent $162.7 million — $122.1 million to run schools, about $18,743 per student, plus $31.8 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $55.8 million local (mostly property tax), $80.4 million state, $6.3 million federal. Long-term debt: $113.9 million.
Spent $105.1 million — $84.2 million to run schools, about $15,019 per student, plus $16.5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $30.1 million local (mostly property tax), $60.7 million state, $6.5 million federal. Long-term debt: $118.9 million.
And 24 more.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively High compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Wayne County about $401.5 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively Moderate; social vulnerability: Relatively High.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
1,035 bridges in Wayne County: 390 in good condition, 529 fair, and 116 poor (11.2%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| I-94 over ENT TO FORD PLANT · built 1971 | 98,506 vehicles a day |
| M-39 over ECORSE CREEK · built 1963 | 92,920 vehicles a day |
| I-96 WB MAIN RDWY over M-39 (SOUTHFIELD EXPR) · built 1970 | 78,863 vehicles a day |
| I-94 WB over ECORSE RD · built 1962 | 74,175 vehicles a day |
| I-94 EB over BEECH-DALY RD · built 1962 | 60,077 vehicles a day |
| ALLEN & PELHAM RDS over SEXTON KILFOIL DRAIN · built 1928 | 53,839 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $1.3 billion of work in Wayne County in fiscal 2025, about $731 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for Michigan are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Wayne County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Wayne County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Michigan: the state government and every county in Michigan.
Nearby counties: Oakland County (27 mi) · Monroe County (28 mi) · Washtenaw County (30 mi) · Macomb County (32 mi) · Livingston County (40 mi) · Lucas County, OH (43 mi).