Michigan is relatively poor when compared to the average state. In 2021, the state ranked 34^th among the states in real per capita personal income and real median household income.

Incomes are especially low for Black households and those that reside in principal cities around the state. The poverty rate for Black households in Michigan (26.2 percent) is 4.4 percentage points above the national rate. Similarly, homes in principal cities within Michigan’s 15 large metropolitan statistical areas have a 20.6 percent poverty rate.

Michigan lags behind the nation in college degree attainment. Michigan ranked 34^th nationally in the percentages of its 25-and-older population with at least an associate’s degree.

Michigan’s school-age youth are not fully prepared for college and high-paying careers. Michigan’s 4^th-grade and 8^th-grade students scored well below the national average on standardized proficiency tests for reading and math in 2022. Most high school graduates do not meet college readiness proficiency standards, and those results vary dramatically by race and geography.