Michigan County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 83 counties in Michigan, scored 0–100 across five domains. A county's score is the share of U.S. counties it is more distressed than; the average Michigan county scores 48.2. 14 counties score high, very high, or extreme.
Data: U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Urban Institute, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts | Scores as of Aug 2026
Michigan Snapshot
83 Counties Scored
48.2 Mean Score
47.1 Median Score
98 Wayne County Most Distressed
6 Leelanau County Least Distressed
2 extreme county distress3 very high county distress9 high county distress8 moderate-high county distress15 moderate county distress17 moderate-low county distress13 low-moderate county distress9 low county distress5 very low county distress2 exceptionally low county distress
Score Label Distribution Michigan County Map
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Low county distress Moderate-low county distress Moderate county distress High county distress Extreme county distress
All 83 Michigan counties colored by county distress score range. Hover for details; click released counties for full reports.
Most & Least Distressed
Most Distressed
Least Distressed
Score Distribution
How Michigan's 83 county scores are distributed across the 0–100 scale.
All Michigan Counties
83 counties ranked by distress score. Click column headers to sort.
| State Rank | Nat'l Rank | County | Score | Score Label | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 50 | Wayne County | 98 | extreme county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 2 | — | Clare County | 90 | extreme county distress | Labor |
| 3 | — | Genesee County | 88 | very high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 4 | — | Saginaw County | 83 | very high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 5 | — | Oscoda County | 83 | very high county distress | Labor |
| 6 | — | Roscommon County | 78 | high county distress | Labor |
| 7 | — | Osceola County | 78 | high county distress | Labor |
| 8 | — | Montmorency County | 75 | high county distress | Labor |
| 9 | — | Calhoun County | 75 | high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 10 | — | Muskegon County | 75 | high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 11 | — | Lake County | 74 | high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 12 | — | Wexford County | 73 | high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 13 | — | Ogemaw County | 72 | high county distress | Labor |
| 14 | — | Isabella County | 70 | high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 15 | — | Gladwin County | 69 | moderate-high county distress | Labor |
| 16 | — | Crawford County | 69 | moderate-high county distress | Labor |
| 17 | — | Ingham County | 67 | moderate-high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 18 | — | Mecosta County | 66 | moderate-high county distress | Labor |
| 19 | — | Jackson County | 64 | moderate-high county distress | Labor |
| 20 | — | Macomb County | 61 | moderate-high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 21 | — | Luce County | 61 | moderate-high county distress | Labor |
| 22 | — | St. Clair County | 60 | moderate-high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 23 | — | Arenac County | 58 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 24 | — | Iosco County | 57 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 25 | — | Branch County | 56 | moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 26 | — | Tuscola County | 56 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 27 | — | Iron County | 55 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 28 | — | Sanilac County | 55 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 29 | — | Gogebic County | 54 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 30 | — | Kalkaska County | 54 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 31 | — | Berrien County | 54 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 32 | — | Hillsdale County | 53 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 33 | — | St. Joseph County | 52 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 34 | — | Lapeer County | 52 | moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 35 | — | Shiawassee County | 51 | moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 36 | — | Manistee County | 51 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 37 | — | Van Buren County | 50 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 38 | — | Missaukee County | 49 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 39 | — | Montcalm County | 48 | moderate-low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 40 | — | Lenawee County | 48 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 41 | — | Monroe County | 47 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 42 | — | Cheboygan County | 47 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 43 | — | Newaygo County | 46 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 44 | — | Gratiot County | 46 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 45 | — | Cass County | 46 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 46 | — | Bay County | 46 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 47 | — | Otsego County | 45 | moderate-low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 48 | — | Alpena County | 43 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 49 | — | Kalamazoo County | 43 | moderate-low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 50 | — | Oceana County | 42 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 51 | — | Alcona County | 41 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 52 | — | Keweenaw County | 41 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 53 | — | Presque Isle County | 41 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 54 | — | Ontonagon County | 40 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 55 | — | Delta County | 39 | low-moderate county distress | Labor |
| 56 | — | Schoolcraft County | 38 | low-moderate county distress | Labor |
| 57 | — | Mason County | 38 | low-moderate county distress | Labor |
| 58 | — | Mackinac County | 37 | low-moderate county distress | Labor |
| 59 | — | Houghton County | 35 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 60 | — | Chippewa County | 34 | low-moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 61 | — | Menominee County | 34 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 62 | — | Washtenaw County | 32 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 63 | — | Huron County | 32 | low-moderate county distress | Labor |
| 64 | — | Ionia County | 32 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 65 | — | Eaton County | 32 | low-moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 66 | — | Baraga County | 31 | low-moderate county distress | Labor |
| 67 | — | Kent County | 30 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 68 | — | Alger County | 29 | low county distress | Labor |
| 69 | — | Marquette County | 28 | low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 70 | — | Midland County | 27 | low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 71 | — | Barry County | 27 | low county distress | Labor |
| 72 | — | Dickinson County | 26 | low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 73 | — | Benzie County | 25 | low county distress | Labor |
| 74 | — | Oakland County | 24 | low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 75 | — | Antrim County | 23 | low county distress | Labor |
| 76 | — | Emmet County | 20 | low county distress | Labor |
| 77 | — | Allegan County | 17 | very low county distress | Labor |
| 78 | — | Charlevoix County | 17 | very low county distress | Labor |
| 79 | — | Grand Traverse County | 16 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 80 | — | Ottawa County | 13 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 81 | — | Clinton County | 12 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 82 | — | Livingston County | 6 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 83 | — | Leelanau County | 6 | exceptionally low county distress | Labor |
How County Scores Work
Each county is scored 0–100 using five equal-weighted domains. Each domain averages its member indicators' county ranks, the domains are averaged, and that average is ranked against every U.S. county. So a county's score is the share of U.S. counties it is more distressed than. National ranks are shown only for the 100 most and 100 least distressed counties, because ranks in between move between updates. Counties with identical composite scores share a rank, marked T- for tied.
extreme county distress — 2 Michigan counties
very high county distress — 3 Michigan counties
high county distress — 9 Michigan counties
moderate-high county distress — 8 Michigan counties
moderate county distress — 15 Michigan counties
moderate-low county distress — 17 Michigan counties
low-moderate county distress — 13 Michigan counties
low county distress — 9 Michigan counties
very low county distress — 5 Michigan counties
exceptionally low county distress — 2 Michigan counties