Poverty Rates in Michigan
Working Full-Time Isn't Enough to be Self-Sufficient Anymore
With a poverty rate of 12.5%, Michigan has the 21st highest poverty rate in the nation. This is a slightly lower poverty rate than in Oregon and South Dakota, but slightly higher than Florida and Illinois.
Where the Worst Poverty in Michigan Occurs
Most of the critical levels of poverty in Michigan occur in its major cities. The areas with critical poverty levels are determined so by having a poverty rate that is 50% or more above than the state average.
The major cities (25,000 or more people) in Michigan with critical rates of poverty are the following:
- Detroit (26.1%)
- East Lansing (34.8%)
- Flint (26.4%)
- Inkster (19.5%)
- Jackson (19.6%)
- Kalamazoo (24.3%)
- Mount Pleasant (37.2%)
- Muskegon (20.5%)
- Pontiac (22.1%)
- Saginaw (28.5%)
There are also two counties where the poverty rates reach critical levels. These two counties are Lake County with a poverty rate of 19.7% and Wayne County with a poverty rate of 18.8%.
Interestingly, these two counties are very different, and each offers a clear example of how critical poverty levels usually occur on either side of the population spectrum.
Lake County and Wayne County are roughly the same size; however, Lake County has a population density of about 20.0 people per square mile, while Wayne County has a population density of about 3,356.9 people per square mile.
Why the Worst Poverty in Michigan Exists
In a heavily populated urban area, people are completely reliant on the market for all of their most basic needs. These needs include shelter, food, utilities, education, and health care.
If the costs of these most basic needs rise, but the wages in a major city do not rise, then pockets of poverty will begin to form and expand.
As these pockets of poverty begin to expand, negative stigma may start to be associated with the area.
Negative stigma can make that particular area of the city an unattractive place for expanding businesses, teachers, and health care professionals. This then makes the area a place of few available jobs, low-quality education, and low-quality health care.
The cycle then repeats and pockets of poverty begin to expand even further around the areas with few available jobs, low-quality education, and low-quality health care.
The cycle will continue to repeat and multiply until some sort of public-sector or private-sector investment is made in the area.
All of this aside, it is important to keep in mind that the reasons for poverty are as unique as the individuals who live through it. Though finding trends in a specific area is important, no generalization can account for everyone.
What is Being Done about Poverty in Michigan
One great organization that the people of Michigan have working on their side is the Michigan League for Human Services (MLHS). The MLHS works to “ensure that Michigan’s low-income residents achieve economic security.”
The MLHS works to educate people on issues concerning poverty in Michigan. Through extensive research and the collecting and compiling of data, the MLHS has the information needed to lobby to legislators on behalf of the poor living in Michigan.
The MLHS also assists charities and outreach programs that are working for the well-being of the poor in Michigan.
Other charity and outreach organizations helping the poor in urban Michigan include Habitat for Humanity, Just Neighbors, the National Poverty Center, Save the Children, the Boys and Girls Club, and the Food Research and Action Center.
References:
United States Census Bureau
Michigan League for Human Services
