A report by Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan found that nearly 40% of Michiganders are struggling to afford basic needs.
Amanda Nothaft, the director of data and analysis at Poverty Solutions, said there have not been any dramatic shifts in the poverty rate in Michigan. 13% of residents are below the federal poverty line.
Nothaft said the poverty line is not the entire story though, as 26% of residents above that line still can’t afford basic needs and are not the main focus of government aid programs.
“The poverty line for a family of four is $33,000,” she said. “The ALICE threshold is $67,000 and so, these are people who are struggling to make ends meet, but they’re not considered poor. They don’t qualify for programs and these are people who are often forgotten when we talk about social safety nets.”
The ALICE threshold is an indicator for families who are above the poverty line but are still struggling to afford basic needs based on their local cost of living. It stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.
“Social safety nets like SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), food stamps, Medicaid, those are really geared at people who are below the poverty line,” she said.
She said the ALICE threshold is called a "survival budget" because it’s adjusted for local rent costs, geography, and local childcare costs, while the poverty line is a rigid number.
“It tries to get a fuller picture of what it takes to make ends meet,” she said.
Another of the report's findings: one in three children in Wayne County are living in poverty. Nothaft said Wayne County is always high on the list for child poverty, but this year it took second place in the state, overtaking rural Clare and Roscommon counties.
“The poorest counties tend to be more rural, they are often among counties with the highest child poverty,” she said. “What always stands out to me is the rural poverty in the state.”
However, the report found Wayne and Lake counties facing the greatest hardships. Each saw 3% increases in poverty rates since 2021. During the pandemic, poverty rates in these counties actually saw a decrease with government assistance but the numbers have almost reverted back completely.
Lake County is in the western region of the state where medium income actually trends toward the highest in Michigan.
“We see pockets of concentrated poverty, even in regions with relative economic prosperity,” she said. “Focusing additional resources in the areas with the greatest need will improve the quality of life for those local residents as well as the state’s economic well-being overall.”
She said each region in Michigan experiences hardships differently. In the Upper Peninsula region, the poverty rate is 0.53 percentage points higher than the state average, but unemployment rates are also significantly higher. In the East, in the Thumb region, 18% of people live in poverty and higher education rates are well below Michigan’s average.
She said there have been some programs, like statewide free school lunch for children, that can help residents, but more needs to be done in housing, health care, and creating jobs before Michigan can see real change in quality of life.
