County profile Michigan Metropolitan HRSA MUA/P

Black health in Wayne County, Michigan

689,000

Black residents (ACS)

38.78%

Of county population

$37,200

Median household income, Black

6.20%

Uninsured, Black residents

Wayne County contains Detroit, whose population is roughly 77% Black, the largest majority-Black city in the United States. The county's Black maternal mortality rate is among the highest of any urban county nationally. Detroit's 2013 municipal bankruptcy and the consolidation of the Detroit Medical Center system left the city's east side with reduced inpatient capacity; Henry Ford Health and the DMC are now the principal tertiary-care systems.

Wayne State University School of Medicine is one of the country's largest training grounds for Black physicians and operates the Detroit Medical Center's downtown hospitals. The county's HRSA Medically Underserved Population designations cover much of east and north-east Detroit.

Headline outcomes

Race-stratified county-level figures pulled from CDC WONDER small-area estimates, the annual County Health Rankings, and the CDC NVSS state/county life tables. County values with cell counts below CDC suppression thresholds are marked as data pending.

Life expectancy (Black)

71.20 yrs

At birth, CDC NVSS Small-Area LE

Infant mortality (Black)

13.10

Per 1,000 live births, CDC WONDER

CVD mortality (Black)

405.80

Age-adjusted per 100k, CDC WONDER I00-I99

County Health Rankings

#82

Overall rank in Michigan (lower = better)

HRSA Medically Underserved Area / Population HPSA: Primary Care HPSA: Mental Health

Policy context in Wayne

Michigan has adopted Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, which gives low-income Black adults in this county a direct pathway to primary-care and prescription coverage. Medicaid in this state covers doula services. Postpartum Medicaid coverage extends for 12 months after delivery — the federal recommended standard, in place here.

Where to get help in Wayne

Anchor institutions in Wayne: Henry Ford Health, Detroit Medical Center, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Wayne Health Mobile Health Unit.
Find a Black clinician in Wayne: Black Health provider directory.
Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) nearby: browse sliding-scale clinics across the state.
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org — free and confidential, 24/7.
Postpartum Support International: Call or text 1-800-944-4773 (English / Spanish, 24/7).
Michigan statewide context: Black Health Michigan profile.

Find Black health providers & resources in Wayne

Black clinicians in Wayne

Directory filtered to this county & state

Federally Qualified Health Centers

Sliding-scale FQHCs across Michigan

Crisis & support resources

988, postpartum helplines, Black-serving crisis lines

Michigan state profile

Statewide context, Medicaid policy, all 10 health facets

References & primary sources

Demographics: US Census ACS 5-year 2019–2023, Tables B03002 (race), B01003 (total population), S1903 (median income), B27010B (uninsured by race).
Mortality and life expectancy: CDC WONDER county-level Multiple Cause of Death and Underlying Cause of Death, pooled 2020–2022; CDC NVSS Small-Area Life Expectancy Estimates, 2016–2020 release.
County Health Rankings: University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute & Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2024 release.
HRSA shortage-area designations: HRSA HPSA Find and MUA/P Find, current as of 2025.
Rural-Urban Continuum Codes: USDA Economic Research Service, 2023 release.

Data refreshed: April 24, 2026

More Michigan counties on Black Health

Browse all Michigan county profiles