Michigan County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 83 counties in Michigan, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 45.0. 3counties are in Serious or Crisis.
Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26
Michigan Snapshot
83 Counties Scored
45.0 Mean Score
46.3 Median Score
76.2 Wayne County Most Distressed
18.7 Leelanau County Least Distressed
3 Serious 25 Elevated 38 Normal 17 Healthy
Zone Distribution Michigan County Map
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Healthy Normal Elevated Serious Crisis
All 83 Michigan counties colored by distress zone. 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 | Zone | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 152 | Wayne County | 76.2 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 2 | 491 | Genesee County | 68.0 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 3 | 638 | Calhoun County | 65.1 | Serious | Housing Cost Burden |
| 4 | 769 | Saginaw County | 63.1 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 5 | 950 | Clare County | 60.0 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 6 | 968 | Isabella County | 59.8 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 7 | 1,025 | Lake County | 58.9 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 8 | 1,042 | Jackson County | 58.5 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 9 | 1,084 | Muskegon County | 57.9 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 10 | 1,147 | Oscoda County | 57.0 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 11 | 1,154 | Ingham County | 56.9 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 12 | 1,159 | Montmorency County | 56.8 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 13 | 1,278 | Ogemaw County | 54.9 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 14 | 1,301 | St. Clair County | 54.5 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 15 | 1,316 | Osceola County | 54.4 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 16 | 1,324 | Mecosta County | 54.3 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 17 | 1,335 | Macomb County | 54.1 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 18 | 1,337 | Kalkaska County | 54.0 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 19 | 1,440 | Roscommon County | 52.2 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 20 | 1,441 | Kalamazoo County | 52.2 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 21 | 1,443 | Wexford County | 52.2 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 22 | 1,466 | Branch County | 51.8 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 23 | 1,467 | Lenawee County | 51.8 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 24 | 1,471 | Arenac County | 51.6 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 25 | 1,485 | Shiawassee County | 51.5 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 26 | 1,528 | Berrien County | 50.9 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 27 | 1,551 | Luce County | 50.4 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 28 | 1,575 | Crawford County | 50.0 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 29 | 1,629 | Otsego County | 49.2 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 30 | 1,639 | Gogebic County | 49.0 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 31 | 1,643 | Van Buren County | 49.0 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 32 | 1,655 | Lapeer County | 48.8 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 33 | 1,665 | Monroe County | 48.7 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 34 | 1,696 | Hillsdale County | 48.3 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 35 | 1,699 | Ionia County | 48.2 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 36 | 1,743 | Iron County | 47.6 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 37 | 1,748 | Gratiot County | 47.5 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 38 | 1,751 | St. Joseph County | 47.4 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 39 | 1,773 | Montcalm County | 47.1 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 40 | 1,787 | Manistee County | 46.9 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 41 | 1,825 | Missaukee County | 46.3 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 42 | 1,826 | Cass County | 46.3 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 43 | 1,845 | Gladwin County | 46.0 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 44 | 1,858 | Tuscola County | 45.8 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 45 | 1,917 | Bay County | 44.7 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 46 | 1,963 | Newaygo County | 43.9 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 47 | 1,971 | Chippewa County | 43.7 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 48 | 1,983 | Kent County | 43.5 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 49 | 2,002 | Iosco County | 43.2 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 50 | 2,040 | Sanilac County | 42.5 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 51 | 2,077 | Washtenaw County | 41.9 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 52 | 2,084 | Cheboygan County | 41.7 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 53 | 2,140 | Eaton County | 40.8 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 54 | 2,173 | Menominee County | 40.3 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 55 | 2,176 | Dickinson County | 40.3 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 56 | 2,210 | Mason County | 39.7 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 57 | 2,246 | Schoolcraft County | 39.1 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 58 | 2,259 | Marquette County | 39.0 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 59 | 2,308 | Oakland County | 38.1 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 60 | 2,314 | Delta County | 38.0 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 61 | 2,344 | Houghton County | 37.5 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 62 | 2,350 | Alpena County | 37.4 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 63 | 2,408 | Midland County | 36.3 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 64 | 2,425 | Ontonagon County | 35.9 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 65 | 2,429 | Keweenaw County | 35.8 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 66 | 2,446 | Barry County | 35.6 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 67 | 2,476 | Mackinac County | 35.0 | Healthy | Structural Poverty |
| 68 | 2,489 | Alcona County | 34.7 | Healthy | Structural Poverty |
| 69 | 2,500 | Grand Traverse County | 34.6 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 70 | 2,512 | Oceana County | 34.3 | Healthy | Structural Poverty |
| 71 | 2,585 | Huron County | 33.0 | Healthy | Structural Poverty |
| 72 | 2,592 | Ottawa County | 32.8 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 73 | 2,630 | Benzie County | 32.3 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 74 | 2,650 | Allegan County | 32.0 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 75 | 2,733 | Antrim County | 30.5 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 76 | 2,734 | Presque Isle County | 30.5 | Healthy | Structural Poverty |
| 77 | 2,764 | Alger County | 29.9 | Healthy | Structural Poverty |
| 78 | 2,785 | Charlevoix County | 29.5 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 79 | 2,810 | Clinton County | 28.9 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 80 | 2,814 | Baraga County | 28.7 | Healthy | Structural Poverty |
| 81 | 2,888 | Emmet County | 27.1 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 82 | 2,911 | Livingston County | 26.6 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 83 | 3,092 | Leelanau County | 18.7 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
How County Scores Work
Each county is scored 0–100 using PCA-weighted percentile-rank scoring across five statistically derived dimensions: Consumer Credit Distress, Housing Cost Burden, Structural Poverty, Economic Vitality, and Legal Distress. A score of 50 means the county falls at the national median. Higher scores indicate greater household financial distress.
Crisis (≥80) — Among the most distressed counties in the country
Serious (65–80) — More distressed than roughly 80% of counties
Elevated (50–65) — More distressed than roughly half of counties
Normal (35–50) — Near the national median
Healthy (<35) — Less distressed than most counties