Melvindale is a city in Wayne County of the U.S. state of Michigan and a Downriver suburb of Detroit. At the 2010 census, the city population was 10,715. Melvindale's slogan is "The Little City with a Big Heart."HistoryMelvindale began as the unincorporated settlement of Oakwood Heights in the northwestern part of Ecorse Township in the early 1920s. The subdivision was designed to house workers from the nearby Ford River Rouge Plant in the city of Dearborn. The city was named after one of the original developers of the settlement, Melvin Lerch. Part of Oakwood Heights was annexed by the city of Detroit in 1922, and the remainder was incorporated as the village of Melvindale the same year. In 1933, the village incorporated as a city.GeographyAccording to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.76sqmi, of which 2.72sqmi is land and 0.04sqmi is water.Demographics2010 censusAs of the census of 2010, there were 10,715 people, 4,420 households, and 2,601 families residing in the city. The population density was 3939.3PD/sqmi. There were 4,918 housing units at an average density of 1808.1/sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 76.8% White (66.6% non-Hispanic white), 11.3% African American, 0.7% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 6.4% from other races, and 3.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 18.3% of the population.
