October 09, 2024
On September 12, the U.S. Census Bureau released the 2023 American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year estimates. This summary highlights data for Michigan and the United States on educational attainment, poverty, and real household median income.
Due to the challenges of conducting a household survey during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the response rate to the ACS was lower than usual in 2020. Accordingly, the 2020 ACS 1-year estimates are excluded from the time series in this data release. More information on non-response bias in the 2020 1-year estimates and the implementation of an experimental weighting scheme is available on the U.S. Census Bureau website.
The figure below provides data on the highest degree obtained for people ages 25 to 64 from 2005 through 2019 and from 2021 through 2023. This figure includes six series representing the percentage of Michigan and U.S. residents ages 25 through 64 whose highest level of educational attainment is a high school graduate, an associate degree, or at least a bachelor’s degree (bachelor’s +).
Source: American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table B15001, U.S. Census Bureau
In 2023, the highest level of education for 24.7 percent of the U.S. was a high school graduate, 9.2 percent had obtained an associate degree, and 37.9 percent had obtained at least a bachelor’s degree. In Michigan, the terminal degree for 25.7 percent of residents was a high school graduate, 10.0 percent had obtained an associate degree, and 34.9 percent had obtained at least a bachelor’s degree as their highest level of education.
In terms of longitudinal trends from 2005 to 2023, Michigan has generally trailed the nation in the percentage of its 25- to 64-year-old population with at least a bachelor’s degree. Although Michigan has a consistently lower percentage of residents who have obtained bachelor’s degrees or more, the percentage of the population with these degrees has increased in both Michigan and the United States over the last decade.
The figure below provides the poverty rates in Michigan and the United States from 2005 through 2019 and from 2021 through 2023.
Source: American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table B17001, U.S. Census Bureau
Michigan had a poverty rate of 13.5 percent in 2023. Michigan's poverty rate in 2023 was not statistically different than its poverty rate in 2022. During this time, the national poverty rate experienced a statistically significant decline, from 12.6 percent in 2022 to 12.5 percent in 2023. Michigan’s poverty rate in 2023 was higher than it was in 2019. Specifically, Michigan’s 2023 poverty rate was 0.5 percentage points above the 2019 rate of 13.0 percent. Michigan’s poverty rate was higher than the U.S. poverty rate in 2019 and in 2023.
The figure below provides estimates of median household income in the United States and Michigan from 2005 through 2019 and from 2021 through 2023. The data is adjusted to 2023 dollars. The median household income was $77,719 in the United States in 2023 compared to $69,183 for Michigan households.
Source: American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table B19013, U.S. Census Bureau
The differences in income from 2022 to 2023 were not statistically significant for Michigan or the United States in the ACS estimates. However, both Michigan and the nation had statistically significant decreases in income from 2019 to 2023. Michigan’s median household income decreased from $71,238 in 2019 to $69,183 in 2023 (a difference of $2,055, or 2.9 percent). The nation’s median household income decreased from $78,564 in 2019 to $77,719 in 2023 (a difference of $845, or 1.1 percent).
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