Getting Michigan’s comparison states right
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 […]
The measures of Michigan economic success
For decades we have asserted that a low unemployment rate with a high ALICE rate is not a good economy. That economic success should be measured by household’s ability to pay the bills and save for emergencies, retirement and the children’s college education not just whether one has a job or not. We need to […]
Ohio is a poor state, so is Indiana
Across the ideological spectrum there is a virtual consensus that Ohio is Michigan’s main economic competitor. The state Michigan should want to look like. And a general consensus that they are doing better than us. Many believe far better than us. The reality is far different. Ohio, just like Michigan, is one of America’s poorest […]
Michigan is a low wage state
Michigan is a poor state. Having fallen from 16th in per capita income in 1999 to 40th in 2024. The prime cause of Michigan’s collapse is that we have gone from being a high average wage state to low average wage state. In 1999 Michigan’s average wage was seven percent above the nation’s, in 2025 […]
Michigan’s populous counties economic well being collapse
In our last post we detailed metro Detroit’s most populous counties’ decline. In this post we widen our lens to look at all of the Michigan’s populous counties––those with at least 200,000 residents–– in the rest of the state. .As you will see, mirroring Michigan’s precipitous economic decline since 1999, each of the five most […]
Michigan is a poor state. Here is how we restore shared prosperity
This year the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Mackinac Policy Conference will begin with a session that proclaims that Michigan’s “House Is On Fire,” detailing the facts, including those grounded in Michigan Future’s data, that Michigan has indeed become a poor state over the past 25 years. That, of course, raises the question “how do we put […]
Metro Detroit’s economic well being decline
In our last post we detailed Oakland County’s decline, falling in per capita income from 21st among the nation’s counties in 1999 to 122 in 2024. In this post we widen our lens to look at all of the big counties that dominant metro Detroit. As you will see each of the five most populous […]
Oakland County’s economic well being decline
For decades Oakland County has been labelled one of America’s richest counties, No more! Mirroring Michigan’s precipitous economic decline since 1999, Oakland County has fallen in per capita income from 21st in 1999 to 122 in 2024. You read that right, more than 100 counties have passed Oakland County in a quarter century In 1999 Oakland County’s per […]
The paucity of Michigan middle income blue collar jobs
Michigan students are increasingly being urged to pursue the skilled trades rather than a four-year degree. The pitch is some version of you can do just as well in the trades over a forty-year career as you can with a college degree. Particularly given that you can pursue the trades without taking on student loan […]
Michigan’s ongoing two tiered economy
Post pandemic Michigan continues to have a two tiered economy. The reality is in 2024 Michigan has two labor markets, not one. One tier of occupations that do not require a BA where a preponderance of jobs pay below what it takes to earn middle income wages; and a second tier of occupations that require […]