Capital Area Michigan Works! Area Records Modest Poverty Rate Increase Compared to State

Michigan had a poverty rate of 13.4 percent according to the 2024 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates. The state had the 11th highest poverty rate nationally, tied with Texas, and the highest poverty rate among neighboring states, slightly above Ohio at 12.7 percent. At the regional level, the Capital Area Michigan Works! area had a poverty rate of 14.5 percent. This was largely driven by Ingham County which had a poverty rate of 18.6 percent. Ingham County made up 59.2 percent of the region’s population with poverty status determined and accounted for 76 percent of the region’s residents living below the poverty level. Clinton and Eaton counties had poverty rates of 9.7 percent and 7.7 percent, respectively.

Men had a lower poverty rate (12.3 percent) than women (14.6 percent) across Michigan. In the Capital Area Michigan Works! region, men (14.5 percent) had a slightly higher poverty rate than women (14.4 percent).

Black or African American individuals had a lower poverty rate (24.5 percent) within the Capital Area Michigan Works! region compared to the group’s rate statewide (26.3 percent). While this group had the second highest poverty rate among race and ethnicity groups regionally, it was the only group with a lower poverty rate than their statewide rate.