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Westland is a city in Wayne County in the U. S. state of Michigan. A western suburb of Detroit, Westland is located about 18 mile (29 km) west of downtown Detroit. As of 2022, the city had a population of 84,037.

During the 18th century, the area was inhabited by the people of a Potawatomi Native American village. Other tribes, particularly three Algonquian tribes, used the area as hunting territory. Though white settlers did not begin to settle the area until about 1824, they began passing through at the beginning of the 19th century. Before becoming Westland, the area had several other names. In 1827, the area became known as Bucklin Township, which included what is now the cities of Westland, Livonia, Garden City, Inkster, Wayne, Dearborn, Dearborn Heights and Redford Township. In 1829, it was proposed that Bucklin Township be divided into Lima and Richland; the former is what eventually became Westland. Due to name conflicts under territorial law prohibiting duplication of post office names, Lima was renamed Nankin Township, after the Chinese city of Nanking.

Nankin Township was mostly rural until World War II. The Norwayne subdivision is one of the oldest areas of the city, having existed for over 65 years. The area was built immediately after World War II to provide temporary housing for returning soldiers who worked in nearby factories. By 1960, Nankin Township's population had increased to 70,000, giving the area the distinction of being the state's largest township. During the early 1960s, the city of Livonia wanted to annex the part of Nankin in which a large shopping mall, Westland Shopping Center, was to be built. The shopping center eventually opened in 1965, joining Northland and Eastland malls in Southfield and Harper Woods, respectively. In reaction to Livonia's annexation attempts, the people of Nankin Township voted on May 16, 1966, to take all other territory to form the City Of Westland.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 20.45 square miles (53 km2), of which 20.43 square miles (53 km2) is land and 0.02 square miles (0 km2) is water.

+Westland, Michigan – Racial and ethnic compositionNote: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race. Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non Hispanic)Pop 2000Pop 2010Pop 2020% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)74,11661,82654,27385.58%73.52%63.54%Black or African American alone (NH)5,82314,34718,5046.72%17.06%21.66%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)3603533040.42%0.42%0.36%Asian alone (NH)2,4272,5263,6822.80%3.00%4.31%Pacific Islander alone (NH)2513120.03%0.02%0.01%Other race alone (NH)1271343610.15%0.16%0.42%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)1,5861,7304,4241.83%2.06%5.18%Hispanic or Latino (any race)2,1383,1653,8602.47%3.76%4.52%Total86,60284,09485,420100.00%100.00%100.00%

As of the census of 2010, there were 84,094 people, 35,886 households, and 21,289 families living in the city. The population density was There were 39,201 housing units at an average density of The racial makeup of the city was 75.8% White, 17.2% African American, 0.5% Native American, 3.0% Asian, 1.1% from other races, and 2.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race were 3.8% of the population. There were 35,886 households, of which 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.5% were married couples living together, 16.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 40.7% were non families. 34.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.98. The median age in the city was 38.3 years. 22.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.7% were from 25 to 44; 26.6% were from 45 to 64; and 14% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.5% male and 52.5% female.