As we explored previously the states most frequently mentioned as comparison states for Michigan––Ohio and Indiana––are not states Michigan wants to be like when it comes to economic wellbeing or education attainment. All three are poor states with low college attainment.
For years we have suggested that Minnesota is the Great Lake state that Michigan should use as a comparison state. We didn’t make the suggestion based on ideology, but rather on the simple reality that they were, and still are, the Great Lakes state with the highest per capita income and the highest college attainment rate. We published case studies of Minnesota and metropolitan Minneapolis to identify how they became the most prosperous state in the Great Lakes.
Even better in identifying the right comparison states for Michigan is the recommendations of the Growing Michigan Together Council. They list as peer states: Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Washington. Each has better outcomes than Michigan on the outcomes that matter most to being a prosperous state: per capita income, average wage, the proportion of adults with a BA or more.
You want your comparison state(s) to be national leaders, not laggards, on these three measures. You want to learn from those who have achieved the outcomes you want to achieve. Hopefully we all agree that we want Michigan to once again be a high prosperity state.
Four of the Growing Michigan Together Council comparison states are national leaders on all three metrics: Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and Washington
- US per capita income is $76,393; average wage is $78,722, BA attainment rate is 38.6%
- Colorado per capita income is $86,181; average wage is $84,157, BA attainment rate is 47.8%
- Illinois per capita income is $77,772; average wage is $80,039, BA attainment rate is 39.2%
- Minnesota per capita income is $78,538; average wage is $76,953, BA attainment rate is 40.0%
- Washington per capital income is $89,396; average wage is $99,611, BA attainment rate is 41.0%
Although trailing the nation on all three metrics, North Carolina is ahead of Michigan on all three. And over the last decade has per capita income growth faster than the nation while Michigan has grown slower. US has grown 4.7 percent, North Carolina 5.1 percent, Michigan 4.5 percent.
- North Carolina per capita income is $68,511; average wage is $71,535, BA attainment rate is 37.1%
- Michigan per capita income is $66,556; average wage is $70,817, BA attainment rate is 33.3%
