Livonia is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A western suburb of Detroit, Livonia is located roughly northwest of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the township had a population of 95,535. Originally organized as Livonia Township in 1835, it incorporated as a city in 1950.
History
After most members of the indigenous tribes were pushed out of the area, ethnic European-American pioneers from New England and New York settled here. The borders of Livonia Township were defined by the Legislature of the Territory of Michigan on March 17, 1835.
The settlers named the community "Livonia", after Livonia, New York, a town in the western part of the state from where many had migrated.
Livonia Township was split off from Nankin Township, in which a Livonia post office had been established in June 1834. During the days of the township, a number of small communities developed. One of these was Elmwood, initially known as McKinley's Station. It was a stop on the Detroit, Lansing and Northern Railroad. It had a separate post office from 1858 until 1906. Another post office in the township was Giltedge, which operated from 1899 until 1902.
Livonia was incorporated as a city on May 23, 1950, by vote of the citizens of the township. An incentive was that this status would allow the residents to gain tax revenues from the Detroit Race Course (DRC). From 1985 it ran only harness racing for Standardbred, and the track closed in 1998, when the large property was sold for redevelopment. The last race tracks operating in the state were Hazel Park Raceway, which closed in 2018, and Northville Downs, which closed in 2019.
Among the immigrants attracted to Detroit for its industrial jobs in the 20th century have been Palestinian and Lebanese Christians, as well as Muslims. By 1985, Palestinian Christians had settled in Livonia, as well as the western suburbs of Farmington and Westland. As of 2005, there were a number of Christian Palestinian Americans who had immigrated from Ramallah. They have developed and operated several small and medium-sized businesses.
Six U.S. presidents have visited Livonia: Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.
The city has many creeks and rivers, but most notably majority portions of both Newburgh and Nankin Lake in the south and south-west. The two lakes are connected by both a river and Edward N. Hines Drive, known simply as Hines Drive by locals.
Demographics
According to a 2010 American Community Survey, the median income for a household in the city was $65,391, and the median income for a family was $77,119. Males had a median income of $62,071 versus $42,083 for females. The per capita income for the city was $29,536. About 5.4% of families and 7.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.6% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 96,942 people, 38,714 households, and 26,856 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 40,401 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 92.0% White, 3.4% African American, 0.2% Native American, 2.5% Asian, 0.4% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 2.5% of the population.
There were 38,714 households, of which 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.9% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 30.6% were non-families. Of all households 26.7% were made up of individuals, and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.01.
The median age in the city was 44.5 years. 20.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.2% were from 25 to 44; 31.5% were from 45 to 64; and 17.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.3% male and 51.7% female.