Wayne County is the most populous

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. As of 2020, the

United States census The United States census (plural censuses or census) is a census that is legally mandated by the Constitution of the United States. It takes place every ten years. The first census after the American Revolution was taken in 1790 United States ce ...

placed its population at 1,793,561, making it the 19th-most populous county in the United States. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. The county was founded in 1796 and organized in 1815. Wayne County is included in the

- Warren- Dearborn, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is one of several U.S. counties named after Revolutionary War-era general

Anthony Wayne Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745 – December 15, 1796) was an American soldier, officer, statesman, and a Founding Father of the United States. He adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his military expl ...

History

Wayne County was the sixth county in the

Northwest Territory The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from part of the unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolution. Established ...

, formed August 15, 1796, from portions of territorial Hamilton County, territorial Knox County and unorganized territory. It was named for the U.S. general "Mad Anthony" Wayne. It originally encompassed the entire area of the

Lower Peninsula of Michigan The Lower Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Lower Michigan – is the larger, southern and less elevated of the Geography of Michigan, two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; the other being the Upper Peninsula of Mic ...

, most of the

Upper Peninsula The Upper Peninsula of Michigan—also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. or Yoop—is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula b ...

, as well as smaller sections that are now part of northern

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

and

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. By proclamation of the Territorial Secretary and Acting Governor,

Winthrop Sargent Winthrop Sargent (May 1, 1753 – June 3, 1820) was an American politician, military officer and writer, who served as List of Governors of Mississippi, Governor of Mississippi Territory from 1798 to 1801, and briefly as acting List of Adjutant ...

, on August 15, 1796, the boundaries of Wayne County were declared to begin at the mouth of the

Cuyahoga River The Cuyahoga River (see ) is a river located in Northeast Ohio that bisects the City of Cleveland and feeds into Lake Erie. As Cleveland emerged as a major manufacturing center, the river became heavily affected by industrial pollution, so mu ...

then west to

Fort Wayne Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 United S ...

, then to the southernmost point of

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...

and along the western shore north to the territorial boundary in

Lake Superior Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. Lake Michigan–Huron has a larger combined surface area than Superior, but is normally considered tw ...

and then along the territorial boundary through

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is shared on the north and east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south and west by the U.S. state of Michigan. The name of the lake is derived from early French ex ...

, Lake St. Clair, and

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...

back to the starting point. The first division of the county into townships occurred November 1, 1798, into the four townships of

, Hamtramck, Mackinaw, and Sargent. The extent of Wayne county at that time included all the present state of Michigan in addition to parts of Indiana, Ohio, and Wisconsin, so that the townships erected at that time were vastly larger than the corresponding divisions of the present time. On January 14, 1803, the Governor of

Indiana Territory The Indiana Territory, officially the Territory of Indiana, was created by an organic act that President of the United States, President John Adams signed into law on May 7, 1800, to form an Historic regions of the United States, organized incor ...

William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was the ninth president of the United States, serving from March 4 to April 4, 1841, the shortest presidency in U.S. history. He was also the first U.S. president to die in office, causin ...

, issued a similar proclamation defining the boundaries as beginning at a point where an east and west line passing through the southernmost extreme of Lake Michigan would intersect a north and south line, passing through the westernmost extreme of the lake, then north to the territorial boundary, then along said boundary line to a point where an east and west line passing through the southerly extreme of Lake Michigan would intersect the same, then along this last mentioned line to the place of beginning. This boundary would include

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Illinois, and a sizable strip of

along Lake Michigan. These boundaries would be adjusted as

and Illinois became states and as other counties were formed within

Michigan Territory The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan. Detroit ...

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (9.0%) is water. Its water area includes parts of the

Detroit River The Detroit River is an List of international river borders, international river in North America. The river, which forms part of the border between the U.S. state of Michigan and the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ont ...

and Lake St. Clair. Wayne County borders on Oakland County and Macomb County to the north, Washtenaw County to the west, Essex County, Ontario, Canada to the east, and Monroe County to the south. The eastern (and sometimes southern) boundary is a water boundary in the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair with Essex County,

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. Automotive traffic crosses this boundary at the

Detroit–Windsor Tunnel The Detroit–Windsor region is an international transborder agglomeration named for the American city of Detroit, Michigan, the Canadian city of Windsor, Ontario, and the Detroit River, which separates them. The Detroit–Windsor area acts as a ...

and the

Ambassador Bridge The Ambassador Bridge is an international suspension bridge across the Detroit River that connects Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, United States, with Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1929, the toll bridge is the busiest international border cros ...

. Due to the southwestern course of the river, this small portion of Canada actually lies to the south of Wayne County. The southern communities of the county are usually referred to as '' Downriver'', in reference to their location downstream of downtown Detroit. Grosse Ile is the largest island in the county and is connected to the mainland by the Wayne County Bridge and the Grosse Ile Toll Bridge. The highest elevation () in the county is near Northville, in Maybury State Park.

Adjacent counties

* Washtenaw County (west) * Monroe County (south/southwest) *

Essex County, Ontario Essex County is a primarily rural county in Southwestern Ontario, Canada comprising seven municipalities: Amherstburg, Kingsville, Ontario, Kingsville, Lakeshore, Ontario, Lakeshore, LaSalle, Ontario, LaSalle, Leamington, Ontario, Leamington, Tec ...

, Canada (east/southeast) * Lambton County, Ontario, Canada (east/northeast across Lake St. Clair) * Macomb County (north/northeast) * Oakland County (north)

National protected area

* Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge (part)

Transportation

Wayne County Department of Public Services

The Wayne County Department of Public Services was formed in 1906 as the Wayne County Road Commission. It was the government agency in Wayne County, Michigan responsible for building and maintaining the county's roads and highways. Its first commissioners were Edward N. Hines, Cassius R. Benton, and automobile manufacturer

Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American Technological and industrial history of the United States, industrialist and business magnate. As the founder of the Ford Motor Company, he is credited as a pioneer in making automob ...

. While the commission was authorized by an 80% positive vote of county voters in a 1906 referendum, it was controversial and there was a Michigan state supreme court case pressed which found it unconstitutional. Commissioners Benton and Ford quit, but commissioner Hines persisted and led the commission through reorganization getting around the obstacles. Hines was a commissioner continuously from 1906 to 1938. Hines is credited with the idea of putting a painted line down a roadway's center to divide traffic, and other innovations that were later widely adopted. The commission claims credit for constructing the country's first mile of concrete-paved rural highway, a section of Woodward Avenue just outside the Detroit city limits. A number of the county road commissions' works are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. The county road commission was merged into the general county government, becoming the Roads Division of the Department of Public Services.

Transit

Detroit station is located in the New Center neighborhood and serves the

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

Wolverine The wolverine ( , ; ''Gulo gulo''), also called the carcajou or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species, member of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscular carnivore and a solitary animal. The w ...

intercity trains. * Bus Sign

The Detroit Bus Station is located in the Corktown neighborhood and serves intercity buses to destinations across the Midwest. * The Detroit Department of Transportation and Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation provide local and regional bus service. * The QLine operates

streetcar A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include s ...

service down Woodward Avenue.

Major highways

* through the Downriver communities, then through the southwest-side neighborhoods of

and serves as the northern border of

Downtown Detroit Downtown Detroit is the central business district and a Neighborhoods in Detroit, residential area of the city of Detroit, Michigan, United States. Locally, "downtown" tends to refer to the 1.4 square mile region bordered by M-10 (Michigan high ...

as the Fisher Freeway. It then turns away from the Fisher onto the Chrysler Freeway at a complex interchange with I-375 and an unnumbered extension which connects with M-3, then follows M-1, which is less than a mile away through the remainder of Detroit, connecting eastern Wayne County to Toledo and

Flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...

to the south and north respectively. It runs non-stop to the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge to the north and to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

to the south. * runs east–west through the central parts of Wayne County, connecting it to Port Huron eastbound and

westbound. To the west it provides an uninterrupted route as far as

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

and connects to the northern side of the

Detroit Metro Airport Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport is the primary international airport serving Detroit and its surrounding metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located in Romulus, a Detroit suburb. It is by far Michigan's busiest ...

. In Detroit it is known as the Edsel Ford Freeway. * has its eastern terminus in the county, in

. It follows Grand River Avenue until the city's northwest side, there it turns due west to I-275, where it turns north to concurrent with I-275. West of Detroit to I-275 it is known as the Jeffries Freeway; in Detroit it is the Rosa Parks Memorial Highway, but it is sometimes still known as the Jeffries. * , most of whose mileage is in Wayne County, serves the southern side of the

. * is the nation's shortest Interstate Highway to be ''signed''. However some highways are shorter but are not signed at all. It serves as the eastern boundary of

and is a southern extension of the Chrysler Freeway. There are currently plans in the works to turn I-375 into a 6-lane boulevard. Construction will start in 2025 and is expected to finish by 2028. * has its eastern terminus in

at Cass Avenue. From there it travels through the west side of

and through Dearborn and other points west and is a useful alternative to I-94. US 12 continues west through Michigan, passing through several US cities including Chicago and Minneapolis, eventually ending in the Pacific Northwest in Aberdeen, Washington. Locally it is known as Michigan Avenue. * traverses through Downriver and the far west sides of Dearborn and

and is a useful alternative to I-75. Locally it is known as Telegraph Road. * entered the county by two ways. Initially it was via Woodward Avenue but when the Lodge Freeway was completed U.S. Route 10 was relocated onto it; the Woodward route became M-1. Later the existing highway was truncated in Bay City and M-10 replaced it on the Lodge. * entered Wayne County on Grand River Avenue and ended in

. * was the designated name for Dix-Toledo Highway in Downriver and Fort Street and Gratiot Avenue in

. The construction of I-75 resulted in the truncation of U.S. Route 25 to

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

. * followed Michigan Avenue out of

and out of Wayne County. Is now a routing of U.S. Route 12. * has its southern terminus in

at Adams Street. It travels through Midtown Detroit and New Center and through Highland Park. It serves as an alternative to I-75 and M-10. Locally known as Woodward Avenue. M-1 was a result of US-10 being redesignated to the Lodge Freeway. * has its southern terminus in

at Randolph and Jefferson Avenue. It proceeds northeasterly through Detroit's northeast side and beyond towards Mount Clemens and points further north. Locally known as Gratiot Avenue. M-3 was the result of the removal of US-25 from Michigan. * begins at the northern intersection with I-96 on Detroit's northwest side and follows Grand River Avenue out of the county. * runs from I-96 to Conant Street in

, passing through Highland Park. The freeway portion is known as the Davison Freeway. * starts at the same intersection where M-3 starts in

and travels further into the city on the Lodge Freeway and connects it to Southfield. * starts at the interchange with I-96 and I-275 in

Livonia Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia. By the end of the 13th century, the name was extende ...

and travels out into rural areas, serving

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

and

Ann Arbor Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

. * starts in Lincoln Park's city center and runs along Southfield Road to Allen Park and becomes the Southfield Freeway, traveling through the west side of

. * begins at M-3 in

, running through the city and connecting it to the Thumb area of the state. Locally known as Van Dyke Avenue. * , which is entirely in Wayne County, starts at Griswold Street in

and connects the city's southwest side to Downriver, ending near Flat Rock at I-75, for whom which M-85 serves as an alternative. Locally known as West Fort and South Fort, divided at the River Rouge. * only runs a short distance through Detroit's northeast side, starting at M-3. In the city it follows Gunston Street and Hoover Street. * follows the county line between M-5 and I-94. Locally known as West 8 Mile and East 8 Mile, divided at John R. Street. * starts at Wyoming Street on the Detroit-Dearborn limit and continues through the western suburbs as Ford Road. * became part of US 16, which is also removed from Michigan. * once followed Ecorse Road into Lincoln Park, then ran concurrently with U.S. Route 25 to

. * connected US 24 in Monroe to Flat Rock; it once connected to US 112 in Canton along Huron River Drive and Belleville Road. * entered Wayne County during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and the years following, on an expressway, providing access to the

Willow Run Airport Willow Run Airport is an airport in Van Buren Township, Michigan, Van Buren Charter Township and Ypsilanti Township, Michigan, Ypsilanti Charter Township, near Ypsilanti, Michigan, Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States, that serves freight, cor ...

in Van Buren Township and turned onto present-day Interstate 94 in Romulus Township. In Taylor Township it had interchanges with both M-17 and US 24, then ended at US 112 in Dearborn. * Dixie Highway marker

Dixie Highway Dixie Highway was a United States auto trail first planned in 1914 to connect the Midwest with the South. It was part of a system and was expanded from an earlier Miami to Montreal highway. The final system is better understood as a network o ...

ran through Wayne County as early as 1915. Back then it was one of the only routes that connected the county to the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...

. Today there are no traces of the old highway in the county.

Airports

Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport is located in the Downriver community of

Romulus Romulus (, ) was the legendary founder and first king of Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus and his contemporaries. Although many of th ...

. It serves as a hub for

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, operating nine hubs, with Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport being its ...

and

Spirit Airlines Spirit Airlines, Inc. is an American ultra-low cost airline headquartered in Dania Beach, Florida, in the Miami metropolitan area. Spirit operates scheduled flights throughout the United States, the Caribbean, and Latin America. Spirit was the ...

and is one of the two airports operated by the Wayne County Airport Authority. * Airport Sign

is located in Van Buren Township and has four runways (a fifth was recently converted into a taxiway). No scheduled flights operate out of Willow Run and is one of the two airports operated by the Wayne County Airport Authority. * Airport Sign

Grosse Ile Municipal Airport is located about south of Grosse Ile Township's downtown area. It has two paved runways. No scheduled flights operate out of this airport as well. * Airport Sign

Coleman A. Young International Airport is also known as the Detroit City Airport, which is not to be confused with the larger and nearby Detroit Metro Airport. It is located just a short drive from

along M-3. It also has two runways and no scheduled flights, although it has been attempted in the past.

Demographics

2020 census

2010 Census

The 2010 United States census indicates Wayne County had a 2010 population of 1,820,584. This is a decrease of 240,578 people from the 2000 United States census. Overall, the county had an -11.7% growth rate during this ten-year period. In 2010 there were 702,749 households and 450,651 families in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 821,693 housing units at an average density of . 52.3% were

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 40.5% Black or African American, 2.5% Asian, 0.4% Native American, 0.8% of some other race and 2.4% of two or more races. 5.2% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race). 7.5% were of German, 6.8% Polish and 5.2% Irish ancestry. There were 702,749 households, out of which 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.4% were husband and wife families, 20.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 35.9% were non-families, and 30.7% were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.22. In the county, 25.4% of the population was under the age of 18, 9.7% was from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 26.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.7 males. The 2010 American Community Survey 1-year estimate indicates the median income for a household in the county was $39,408 and the median income for a family was $49,176. Males had a median income of $26,823 versus $17,744 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $20,948. About 18.6% of families and 23.7% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 34.8% of those under the age 18 and 11.7% of that age 65 or over.

Religion

According to 2010 statistics, the largest religious group in Wayne County was the

Archdiocese of Detroit The Archdiocese of Detroit () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church covering the south-east portion of Michigan in the United States. The archdiocese consists counties of Lapeer County, Michigan, Lap ...

, with 297,283 Catholics worshipping at 149 parishes, followed by 92,394

non-denominational A non-denominational person or organization is one that does not follow (or is not restricted to) any particular or specific religious denomination. The term has been used in the context of various faiths, including Jainism, Baháʼí Faith, Zoro ...

adherents with 144 congregations, 76,422

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

Baptists with 110 congregations, an estimated 67,775

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

with 38 congregations, 28,021 ABCUSA Baptists with 32 congregations, 22,687 Missouri Synod Lutherans with 52 congregations, 16,043 CoGiC Pentecostals with 66 congregations, 14,689 UMC Methodists with 53 congregations, 14,107 PC-USA Presbyterians with 36 congregations, and 13,199 AME Methodists with 29 congregations. Altogether, 43.3% of the population was claimed as members by religious congregations, although members of historically African-American denominations were underrepresented due to incomplete information. In 2014, Wayne County had 780 religious organizations, the 12th most among all US counties.

Government

Wayne County is Michigan's first " charter county", with a home rule charter setting up its structures within limits set in state law and constitution. Most Michigan county governments are structured according to state law, without a locally adopted charter. The county is governed pursuant to the ''Home Rule Charter of Wayne County, Michigan'', and the ''Wayne County Code'' is the codification of Wayne County's

local ordinance A local ordinance is a law issued by a local government such as a municipality, county, parish, prefecture, or the like. Hong Kong In Hong Kong, all laws enacted by the territory's Legislative Council remain to be known as ''Ordinances'' () ...

s. Unless a violation of the code or other ordinance is specifically designated as a municipal civil infraction (or unless expressly otherwise required by applicable state or federal laws), the violation is a

misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than admi ...

. The county government operates the

jail A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where people are imprisoned under the authority of the state, usually as punishment for various cr ...

, maintains rural roads, keeps files of deeds and mortgages, maintains vital records for all areas except Detroit, administers public health regulations, and participates with the state in the provision of welfare and other social services. Most other local government functions – police and fire, building and zoning, tax assessment, street maintenance, etc. – are the responsibility of individual cities and townships.

Elected officials

* County Executive: Warren Evans ( Democratic) *

Prosecuting Attorney A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in civil law. The prosecution is the legal party responsible ...

: Kym Worthy ( Democratic) *

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

: Raphael Washington ( Democratic) *

County Clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keepin ...

: Cathy M. Garrett ( Democratic) * County Treasurer: Eric Sabree ( Democratic) * Register of Deeds: Bernard J. Youngblood ( Democratic) * Wayne County Commission: Alisha Bell, Chair ( Democratic) 15 members, elected from districts (14 Democrats, 1 Republican) *

Circuit Court Circuit courts are court systems in several common law jurisdictions. It may refer to: * Courts that literally sit 'on circuit', i.e., judges move around a region or country to different towns or cities where they will hear cases; * Courts that s ...

(3rd Circuit encompasses Wayne County): 61 judges (non-partisan) *

Probate Court A probate court (sometimes called a surrogate court) is a court that has competence in a jurisdiction to deal with matters of probate and the administration of estates. In some jurisdictions, such courts may be referred to as orphans' courts o ...

: 8 judges (non-partisan) (information as of February 2021)

Department of Public Services

Formerly the Wayne County Road Commission, the Department of Public Services is the government agency in Wayne County responsible for building and maintaining the county's roads and highways. A number of the former agency's works are listed on the

Corrections

The Wayne County Jail Division operates The Andrew C. Baird Detention Facility in

, The Old Wayne County Jail in Downtown Detroit, and The William Dickerson Detention Facility in Hamtramck.

Politics

Wayne County has backed the Democratic presidential nominee in every election since 1932, at times by large margins. From 1896 to 1928, it had always voted Republican for president, or at least more Republican than Democratic. Its large population has helped swing the election to Democrats in many statewide elections since then, with candidates running up large margins here offsetting Republican majorities in most rural counties of Michigan. In fact, between 1944 and 2012, the county had the largest margin of victory for the Democratic candidate in Michigan in every presidential election except for 1976 and 1984, both times coming in second place to Gogebic County in the

by less than 1.5%. More recently, however, the margin of victory for the Democrats has started to shrink. Beginning in 2016, neighboring Washtenaw County, home of the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, has surpassed Wayne County as the most Democratic county in Michigan; and in 2024, Ingham County, home of

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

, also voted more Democratic than Wayne County. In 2020,

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

became the first Republican since 1988 to crack 30% of the vote in the county. The 2024 election saw an even bigger shift, with Trump taking more than one-third of the county's vote, and

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...

turning in the worst performance for a Democrat in Wayne County in 36 years, winning by less than 30% for the first time since 1988. The shift was due in part to many

Arab American Arab Americans ( or ) are Americans who trace ancestry to any of the various waves of immigrants from the Arabic-speaking countries. In the United States census, Arabs are racially classified as White Americans which is defined as "A person ha ...

and American Muslim voters in Dearborn and Hamtramck voting for a third-party candidate or for Trump, to protest the

Biden Administration Joe Biden's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 46th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Joe Biden, his inauguration on January 20, 2021, and ended on January 20, 2025. Biden, a member of the Democr ...

's handling of the

Gaza War The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

. The last Republican candidate to carry Wayne County in a statewide election was Candice Miller when she won re-election to the Secretary of State office in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

Federal representation

Wayne County is split between three congressional districts: * 6th * 12th * 13th

Communities

Cities

* Allen Park * Belleville * Dearborn *

Dearborn Heights Dearborn Heights is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring suburb of Detroit, Dearborn Heights is located about west of downtown Detroit. The city shares a small border with Detroit, and is considered a bedroom c ...

(county seat) * Ecorse * Flat Rock (partially in Monroe County) * Garden City *

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

Grosse Pointe Grosse Pointe is a group of five adjacent suburbs in the Metro Detroit, Detroit metropolitan area on the shore of Lake St. Clair. From southwest to northeast, they are: *Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan, Grosse Pointe Park *Grosse Pointe, Michiga ...

* Grosse Pointe Farms * Grosse Pointe Park * Grosse Pointe Shores (partially in Macomb County) * Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan, Grosse Pointe Woods * Hamtramck * Harper Woods, Michigan, Harper Woods * Highland Park * Inkster, Michigan, Inkster * Lincoln Park *

* Melvindale, Michigan, Melvindale * Northville (partially in Oakland County) *

* River Rouge, Michigan, River Rouge * Riverview, Michigan, Riverview * Rockwood, Michigan, Rockwood *

* Southgate, Michigan, Southgate * Taylor, Michigan, Taylor * Trenton, Michigan, Trenton * Wayne, Michigan, Wayne * Westland, Michigan, Westland * Woodhaven, Michigan, Woodhaven * Wyandotte, Michigan, Wyandotte

Charter townships

* Brownstown Charter Township, Michigan, Brownstown Charter Township * Canton, Michigan, Canton Charter Township * Huron Charter Township, Michigan, Huron Charter Township * Northville Charter Township, Michigan, Northville Charter Township * Plymouth Charter Township, Michigan, Plymouth Charter Township * Redford, Michigan, Redford Charter Township * Van Buren Township, Michigan, Van Buren Charter Township

Civil townships

* Grosse Ile Township * Sumpter Township, Michigan, Sumpter Township

Unincorporated communities

* Beech, Michigan, Beech * Belleville North, Michigan, Belleville North * Cherry Hill, Michigan, Cherry Hill * Cherry Island, Michigan, Cherry Island * Conners Creek, Michigan, Conners Creek (former) * Denton, Michigan, Denton * Duboisville, Michigan, Duboisville (former) * East Rockwood, Michigan, East Rockwood * Edgewater Heights, Michigan, Edgewater Heights * French Landing, Michigan, French Landing * Grand View Acres, Michigan, Grand View Acres * Maple Beach, Michigan, Maple Beach * Martinsville, Michigan, Martinsville * Milleville Beach, Michigan, Milleville Beach * New Boston, Michigan, New Boston * Rawsonville, Michigan, Rawsonville (partially in Washtenaw County) * Roulo, Michigan, Roulo * Sheldon, Michigan, Sheldon * Waltz, Michigan, Waltz * West Sumpter, Michigan, West Sumpter * Willow, Michigan, Willow

Education

School districts: * Airport Community School District * Allen Park Public Schools * Crestwood School District (Michigan), Crestwood School District * Flat Rock Community Schools * Clarenceville School District * Dearborn City School District * Dearborn Heights School District 7 * Detroit Public Schools Community District * Ecorse Public School District * Garden City School District * Gibraltar School District * Grosse Ile Township Schools * Grosse Pointe Public Schools * Hamtramck Public Schools * Harper Woods City Schools * Highland Park City Schools * Huron School District (Michigan), Huron School District * Lincoln Consolidated School District (Michigan), Lincoln Consolidated School District * Lincoln Park Public Schools (Michigan), Lincoln Park Public Schools * Livonia Public Schools * Melvindale-North Allen Park School District * Northville Public Schools * Plymouth-Canton Community Schools * Redford Union School District * River Rouge School District * Riverview Community School District * Romulus Community Schools * South Redford School District * Southgate Community School District * Taylor School District * Trenton Public Schools * Van Buren Public Schools * Wayne-Westland Community School District * Westwood Community School District (Michigan), Westwood Community Schools * Woodhaven-Brownstown School District * Wyandotte City School District Former school districts: * Inkster City School District - Page
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Text list
/ref> Tertiary institutions: * Wayne State University * Henry Ford College * University of Detroit Mercy

References

External links

Wayne County Government

*

Wayne County Road Commission Photos

* [http://library.municode.com/index.aspx?clientId=13032 Wayne County Code] from Municode {{Coord, 42.28, -83.26, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MI_source:UScensus1990 Wayne County, Michigan, Michigan counties Metro Detroit 1815 establishments in Michigan Territory Populated places established in 1815 Majority-minority counties in the United States