Michigan County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 83 counties in Michigan, scored 0–100 across five domains. A county's score is the share of U.S. counties it is more distressed than; the average Michigan county scores 48.5. 15 counties score high, very high, or extreme.
Data: U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Urban Institute, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts | Scores as of Aug 2026
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Wayne County is the most distressed of Michigan's 83 counties
County Distress Index score for Michigan's 83 counties, from green (least distressed, 0–29) to red (most distressed, 80–100). Data from 2024 to Aug 2026.
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County Distress Index score · data from 2024 to Aug 2026
Point to or tap a county for its rank and score. Click it, or tap it twice, to open its page.
Most & Least Distressed
Most Distressed
Least Distressed
Score Distribution
How Michigan's 83 county scores are distributed across the 0–100 scale.
All Michigan Counties
83 counties ranked by distress score. Click column headers to sort.
| State Rank | Nat'l Rank | County | Score | Score Label | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 55 | Wayne County | 98 | extreme county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 2 | — | Clare County | 90 | extreme county distress | Labor |
| 3 | — | Genesee County | 88 | very high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 4 | — | Oscoda County | 83 | very high county distress | Labor |
| 5 | — | Saginaw County | 83 | very high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 6 | — | Roscommon County | 80 | very high county distress | Labor |
| 7 | — | Osceola County | 77 | high county distress | Labor |
| 8 | — | Montmorency County | 76 | high county distress | Labor |
| 9 | — | Lake County | 76 | high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 10 | — | Calhoun County | 75 | high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 11 | — | Muskegon County | 74 | high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 12 | — | Ogemaw County | 73 | high county distress | Labor |
| 13 | — | Wexford County | 72 | high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 14 | — | Crawford County | 70 | high county distress | Labor |
| 15 | — | Gladwin County | 70 | high county distress | Labor |
| 16 | — | Isabella County | 69 | moderate-high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 17 | — | Mecosta County | 67 | moderate-high county distress | Labor |
| 18 | — | Ingham County | 66 | moderate-high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 19 | — | Jackson County | 64 | moderate-high county distress | Labor |
| 20 | — | Luce County | 62 | moderate-high county distress | Labor |
| 21 | — | Macomb County | 59 | moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 22 | — | St. Clair County | 59 | moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 23 | — | Iosco County | 59 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 24 | — | Arenac County | 58 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 25 | — | Iron County | 57 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 26 | — | Tuscola County | 56 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 27 | — | Branch County | 56 | moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 28 | — | Sanilac County | 55 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 29 | — | Gogebic County | 55 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 30 | — | Berrien County | 53 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 31 | — | Kalkaska County | 53 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 32 | — | Hillsdale County | 53 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 33 | — | St. Joseph County | 52 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 34 | — | Shiawassee County | 52 | moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 35 | — | Manistee County | 51 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 36 | — | Lapeer County | 51 | moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 37 | — | Montcalm County | 49 | moderate-low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 38 | — | Van Buren County | 49 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 39 | — | Cheboygan County | 48 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 40 | — | Missaukee County | 48 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 41 | — | Monroe County | 47 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 42 | — | Bay County | 47 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 43 | — | Lenawee County | 46 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 44 | — | Gratiot County | 46 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 45 | — | Cass County | 46 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 46 | — | Newaygo County | 46 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 47 | — | Otsego County | 45 | moderate-low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 48 | — | Alpena County | 45 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 49 | — | Ontonagon County | 44 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 50 | — | Alcona County | 44 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 51 | — | Oceana County | 43 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 52 | — | Presque Isle County | 42 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 53 | — | Kalamazoo County | 42 | moderate-low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 54 | — | Keweenaw County | 42 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 55 | — | Delta County | 41 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 56 | — | Schoolcraft County | 40 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 57 | — | Mackinac County | 39 | low-moderate county distress | Labor |
| 58 | — | Mason County | 39 | low-moderate county distress | Labor |
| 59 | — | Menominee County | 36 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 60 | — | Houghton County | 36 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 61 | — | Chippewa County | 35 | low-moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 62 | — | Baraga County | 35 | low-moderate county distress | Labor |
| 63 | — | Huron County | 34 | low-moderate county distress | Labor |
| 64 | — | Ionia County | 31 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 65 | — | Washtenaw County | 31 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 66 | — | Eaton County | 31 | low-moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 67 | — | Alger County | 30 | low-moderate county distress | Labor |
| 68 | — | Kent County | 29 | low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 69 | — | Marquette County | 29 | low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 70 | — | Midland County | 27 | low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 71 | — | Dickinson County | 27 | low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 72 | — | Barry County | 26 | low county distress | Labor |
| 73 | — | Benzie County | 26 | low county distress | Labor |
| 74 | — | Oakland County | 23 | low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 75 | — | Antrim County | 22 | low county distress | Labor |
| 76 | — | Emmet County | 19 | very low county distress | Labor |
| 77 | — | Charlevoix County | 17 | very low county distress | Labor |
| 78 | — | Allegan County | 16 | very low county distress | Labor |
| 79 | — | Grand Traverse County | 16 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 80 | — | Ottawa County | 13 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 81 | — | Clinton County | 11 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 82 | — | Livingston County | 6 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 83 | — | Leelanau County | 5 | exceptionally low county distress | Labor |
How County Scores Work
Each county is scored 0–100 using five equal-weighted domains. Each domain averages its member indicators' county ranks, the domains are averaged, and that average is ranked against every U.S. county. So a county's score is the share of U.S. counties it is more distressed than. National ranks are shown only for the 100 most and 100 least distressed counties, because ranks in between move between updates. Counties with identical composite scores share a rank, marked T- for tied.
Urban Institute data: Breno Braga, Signe-Mary McKernan, Samantha Atherton, and Kassandra Martinchek, "Debt in America," last updated November 20, 2025, https://datacatalog.urban.org/dataset/debt-america-2025. Licensed under ODC-By 1.0. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it.