What percentage of Dearborn residents identify as Muslim compared with earlier census or survey data?

1. Dearborn’s “largest Muslim population” claim — what the sources actually say

Multiple pieces repeat the widely reported characterization that Dearborn has the largest proportion of Muslim residents in the United States; Wikipedia summarizes that Dearborn “has the proportionally largest Muslim population in the United States” and notes large Middle Eastern immigration to the city ^[5]. Local reporting also emphasizes Dearborn’s high concentration of Arab and Muslim residents and institutions, describing the city as having the “highest concentration of Arabs in the U.S.” and a city population “more than 100,000” in a 2025 news story ^[4]. Those statements are community-level summaries or journalistic descriptions rather than precise, year-by-year survey outputs ^{[5] [4]}.

2. Recent numeric estimates: about half the city in some sources

Two recent demographic posts (same content on two sites) estimate that approximately 54% of Dearborn residents identify as Muslim, yielding an estimated Muslim population of about 48,600 if the city total is ~90,000 ^{[1] [2]}. Separately, commentary pieces describe “just over half” the population as North African or Middle Eastern ancestry and assert “more Muslims than ever,” which reporters and columnists use to reinforce the roughly 50% figure ^[3]. These numbers are consistent across those sources but derive from aggregation and local knowledge rather than a single formal religious census ^{[1] [2] [3]}.

3. Limitations: no religion question in the U.S. Census — why comparisons are tricky

The U.S. Census Bureau does not collect data on religious affiliation; Wikipedia notes historical immigration waves and community composition but does not provide a census-derived percentage of Muslims ^[5]. Because the federal census doesn’t ask religion, estimates of Muslim share come from surveys, academic studies, local reporting, or extrapolations that combine ancestry, nativity, language, and institutional presence. The sources provided do not cite a single authoritative survey that tracks change over multiple census cycles, so longitudinal comparisons based on these items are inherently limited ^{[5] [1] [2]}.

4. What earlier data or baselines are mentioned (and what isn’t)

The materials here reference immigration waves (late 20th century) and evolving community composition—more recent arrivals from Yemen, Iraq, Palestine and others—implying growth over decades; Wikipedia specifically recounts these migration patterns ^[5]. Opinion and commentary pieces assert increases (“more Muslims than ever”) and “just over half” estimates but do not present a clear earlier numeric baseline ^[3]. Therefore, the available sources do not provide a comparable, dated percentage from an earlier census or survey to quantify change over time (not found in current reporting).

5. Metro-area context and alternative estimates

One source broadens the lens to metro Detroit, estimating 200,000–250,000 Muslims in the Detroit metropolitan area (about 5–6% of the metro population) and identifies Dearborn as a focal point of that community ^[6]. That metro estimate offers corroboration that southeastern Michigan hosts a large Muslim population, but it does not specify Dearborn’s internal trendline; it instead situates the city within a larger regional concentration ^[6].

6. Competing perspectives and implicit agendas in the coverage

Local news coverage and demographic write-ups tend to highlight Dearborn’s Muslim population either as evidence of multicultural vibrancy (positive framing) or as a focus of political controversy (critical framing of “Sharia” rhetoric and protests) — the Detroit News article covers both civic celebration and political pushback ^[4]. Opinion pieces with strongly critical tones use the same demographic claims to argue cultural or political points, which signals an implicit agenda to interpret demographic facts for ideological ends ^[3]. The demographic posts ^{[1] [2]} present numbers without detailed sourcing, suggesting convenience aggregation rather than rigorous peer-reviewed research.

7. Bottom line for your question: percentage and comparability

Based on the provided sources, recent estimates put Dearborn’s Muslim share at roughly half the city — commonly cited around 50–54% (approximately 48,000–54,000 people if the city population is counted as 90,000–100,000) ^{[1] [2] [3]}. However, because the U.S. Census does not measure religion and the cited items do not provide earlier, directly comparable percentage figures, available sources do not document a precise change from prior census counts; claims of growth are supported qualitatively by migration histories but not by a consistent time-series percentage in the materials provided (p1_s3; not found in current reporting).