New Report Says This Is The Poorest Town in Michigan

Inflation is squeezing our wallets pretty hard in 2023, so if you feel like you're struggling to get by on the same wages that were comfortable a few years ago, you're not alone.

We're all living in a world where we're all trying to make our money stretch as far as possible, and there are a few places in Michigan that are feeling the financial squeeze more than others.

A report by 24/7 Wall Street recently listed the poorest towns in every state and it’s pretty bad news, especially for one Michigan town.

The report looked at places with populations between 1,000 and 25,000 people in the state of Michigan, then ranked them based on how much money the typical household makes. as well as other factors including if they hold a college degree, how many of them use programs such as SNAP, and more.

What is Michigan's poorest town?

Out of the 375 Michigan cities that were compared in their study, they say Baldwin, Michigan is the poorest in the mitten state. You wouldn't think so from the outside since this beautiful lake town with an airport seems like a quaint town. But, they don't see the same money the rest of us do across the state.

According to the statistics, the average income in Baldwin, Michigan is $22,593. That's $40,609 less than Michigan's state average of $63,202. Meanwhile, only 12% of Baldwin residents hold a college degree (compared to the 40% average across the state) and 40% of them receive food assistance from SNAP compared to the state average of 12%.

While there are only just over 1,000 people living in this small Michigan town, they're having a hard time and not being offered a lot of opportunities to get ahead in a world that's already feeling our budgets stretched thinner than paper.

So while it may be impossible to afford the ability to leave Baldwin to find a better-paying job, that doesn't mean everyone there is inherently poor. It's just unfortunate to see any of our neighbors across the state in this situation.