Michigan Works! Region 7B had Lower Median Household Incomes than the Statewide Median in 2024

Region 7B, located in the lower northeast area of the state, includes Arenac, Clare, Gladwin, Iosco, Ogemaw, and Roscommon counties. According to the recently released 2024 American Community Survey five-year estimates, Arenac County had the greatest median household income ($58,810) in the Michigan Works! Region 7B area. This ranked 62nd out of Michigan’s 83 counties. This was followed by Gladwin County ($55,350) and Roscommon County ($55,250). Iosco County ($50,070) and Ogemaw County ($54,670) were in the bottom 10 counties in Michigan for median household income while Clare County ($49,380) had the lowest median household income in the state.

Size of Household

While median household incomes across Michigan Works! Region 7B counties were lower than most other regions across the state, it is important to consider household sizes and the number of wage earners. Iosco County had the largest share of one-person households statewide at 38.5 percent. Roscommon County ranked 10th at 35.1 percent. Ogemaw County had the lowest share within Michigan Works! Region 7B at 30.3 percent. Comparatively, Michigan had a share of 30.7 percent.

In each of the six counties in the region, more than 40 percent of households were two-person households, placing all of them in the top half of counties statewide. Each county’s share was at least 5 percentage points higher than the statewide share of 35.1 percent.

In Michigan, roughly one in four (26.7 percent) of households had children present. Within Michigan Works! Region 7B, Roscommon County had the greatest share of households with children at 22.5 percent. This was followed by Clare (21.9 percent), Ogemaw (21.4 percent), and Gladwin (20.8 percent). Arenac County had a share of 17.7 percent while Iosco County (15.9 percent) had the second lowest share in the state.

Cost of Living

Living wages among Michigan Works! Region 7B counties were also lower than that of the state. Living wages, as defined by the Living Wage Institute, is the wage that a full-time worker must earn to help cover the cost of their family’s minimum basic needs where they live, while still being self-sufficient. In Michigan, the living wage for one adult with no children was $43,620.

Gladwin County had the highest living wage among counties in Michigan Works! Region 7B regardless of household size. For a household with one adult and no children, living wages ranged from $41,020 in Gladwin County to $39,290 in Roscommon County.

Living costs increase with larger household sizes due to several different factors. With children in the household, there are additional childcare costs, and food costs can increase significantly. Housing costs can vary depending on the size of a house needed to accommodate the size of a family. Some factors, such as internet and phone costs, remain stable in the calculations. In Gladwin County, a household with two adults who worked and two children had a combined household living wage of $97,840 for the household. A similar household with no children had a combined living wage of $59,530.