Report: Copper Country incomes worse off than rest of state
HOUGHTON — A report released by the Michigan Association of United Ways stated 40 percent of Michigan households do not have sufficient income to pay for the necessities, which includes housing, childcare, food, health care, taxes and transportation. More than 1.5 million Michigan households are without adequate income to pay for basic necessities.
The UW’s study, called the ALICE Report, explains ALICE as an acronym for Asset-Limited, Income Constrained, Employed; in short, the “working poor.” These households are defined by the UW as earning more than the Federal Poverty Level, but less than the basic cost of living for the state (ALICE threshold). Of Michigan’s 3.86 million households, 15 percent earn below the FPL and another 25 percent are ALICE.
The report also includes statistics for the four counties of the Copper Country.
Baraga County has a population of 8,690 people comprising 2,974 households, with a median household income of $39,803, $11,281 below the state average of $51,084. While the state average of poverty households is 15 percent, Baraga County’s is 16 percent. ALICE households number 36 percent, while the state average is 25 percent. The unemployment rate is 8.1 percent, while the state average is 7.2 percent.
Houghton County, with a population of 36,660, has an unemployment rate equal to the state average of 7.2 percent. Twenty percent of county’s households live in poverty, while ALICE households comprise 31 percent, meaning 51 percent are in financial straits. Median Household Income for the county is $37,776, $13,308 below the state average.
Keweenaw County fares slightly better with a population of 2,198 and an unemployment rate of 7 percent, and a median income of $37,818. Poverty households are are 15 percent, while ALICE households are 32 percent.
In Ontonagon County, with a population of 6,298 and an unemployment rate of 13.7 percent, the median income is $34,459. Thirty-two percent of the 3,083 households are categorized as ALICE, while 15 percent fall below the Federal Poverty Level.
