About the Working Poor
Nearly Half Make Below a Living Wage
35% Live in Poverty
35% of people in Michigan are poor or low-income—a total of 3.5 million residents. This includes: 48% of children (1 million), 41% of women (2 million), 62% of Black people (841,000), 59% of Latinx people (298,000), and 34% of White people (2.5 million).
Heart of West Michigan received an average of 160 daily requests for help managing basic human needs to their 2-1-1 help line for the first six months of 2020.
Health Insecure:
526,000 people in Michigan are uninsured as of 2018.
Food & Water Insecure:
26% of census tracts in Michigan are at-risk for being unable to afford water.
1.5 million Michiganders benefit from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) monthly as of 2016.
Housing insecure:
Over 8,000 people in Michigan are homeless as of 2018.
Nearly Half of Us Make Below a Living Wage
46% of MI’s workforce as of 2018 make under $15 an hour, 1.9 million as of 2018 — the 22nd highest of all states.
Working at the 2018 state minimum wage, it takes 73 hours of work per week to afford a 2-bedroom apartment.
The minimum wage in Michigan is $9.45 in 2019.
81% of the living wage for a single adult-household in Kent County
37% of the living wage for a family of four in 2019 ($24.95/hr).
For every $1 per hour that average wages rise among workers in the bottom 60% of U.S. earners, spending on government assistance programs falls by roughly $5.2 billion.
From 1979 to 2012, income for the top 1% grew by 115%, while income for the bottom 99% actually fell 17%.
Walk a mile in my shoes…
According to the United Way, 37% of families in Kent County struggle to meet their basic needs, and during the pandemic, the situation has gotten worse.
The Making Ends Meet poverty simulation is an interactive experience designed to offer a glimpse into the challenges faced by those who live in poverty in Kent County, Michigan. It is a learning experience, not a game. The online simulator helps build understanding of those living under budget constraints and hopefully, increase empathy. The user can choose from four different scenarios to learn how people in different circumstances get by.
-Anthony is a single person
-Sandra and Ed are older people living on Social Security
-Carissa is a single mother
-Kara and Eric have two children of their own
Walking in someone else's shoes can really help you find ways to tailor your business, recruiting, and employment approach to help others survive and thrive.