How to Use Michigan Signals County Dashboards: A Complete Guide

Michigan Signals tracks dozens of metrics across ten Michigan county dashboards. Each metric is drawn from a specific data source with its own methodology, update cadence, and limitations. This guide explains every major category and what you're actually seeing when you look at the dashboard data.

Demographics Section

Total Population: Annual estimates from the Census Bureau Population Estimates Program. Michigan Signals shows a trend line from 2010 to 2023 — the longest span available using both the Vintage 2019 (2010–2019) and Vintage 2023 (2020–2023) series.

Median Household Income: Annual SAIPE estimates. This is the income at which exactly half of households earn more and half earn less. It is a gross (pre-tax) income figure and includes wages, business income, transfers, and other sources. Updated each December with prior-year data.

Poverty Rate: Also from SAIPE. The federal poverty level (FPL) in 2023 is roughly $30,000 for a family of four. Poverty rate = share of residents with income below their applicable FPL threshold based on family size.

Educational Attainment: ACS 5-year estimates. Tracks the share of adults 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher over time.

Employment Section

Unemployment Rate: BLS LAUS. The share of the labor force actively seeking work but not employed. Does not count people who have stopped looking for work (they exit the labor force denominator). Trend line covers 8+ years of monthly data.

The unemployment rate alone can be misleading. A county can show low unemployment because many discouraged workers left the labor force. Michigan Signals also tracks labor force participation rate where available.

Housing Section

Median Home Value (ZHVI): Zillow Home Value Index. NOT the median sale price — it is Zillow's model-based estimate of the value of a typical home in the county. Updated monthly, going back up to 25+ years on the trend chart.

Rent Index (ZORI): Zillow Observed Rent Index. Average asking rent for available units. Updated monthly. Tracks market rents, not rents paid by current tenants (which are lower due to rent stability in long-term leases).

Cost-Burdened Renters: ACS 5-year estimate. Share of renter households spending more than 30% of income on housing costs. Updated annually.

Vacancy Rate: ACS 5-year estimate. Share of all housing units that are vacant.

HUD Fair Market Rents: HUD's annual estimate of the 40th percentile gross rent for standard quality units in the market. Used to set Section 8 voucher payment standards.

Health Section

All behavioral health metrics come from CDC PLACES (2024), using BRFSS survey data modeled to county level. These are estimated prevalence figures, not exact counts. State and national averages are shown for comparison.

Primary Care and Mental Health Practices Per 100k: From Census County Business Patterns (2022). Counts establishments (office locations), not individual practitioners. Useful as a directional proxy but with significant methodology limitations described on each metric card.

Economy and Public Safety

Economy metrics include business counts, employment by sector, and income distribution data from Census CBP and ACS. Crime rates come from Michigan State Police annual reporting.

The Trend Lines

Where data permits, Michigan Signals shows 8–25 years of trend data — enough to see economic cycles, long-term shifts, and the impact of specific events (the 2008–2009 recession, the 2014 Flint water crisis, the 2020 COVID shock). Each dot on a trend chart represents one year or one month depending on the data cadence. Hover or tap to see the value.

Where to Start

If you're new to Michigan Signals, start with any county and open the Key Metrics row at the top — it summarizes population, income, unemployment, home value, and poverty rate at a glance. From there, each section expands into more detail. Available counties: Kent | Oakland | Wayne | Washtenaw | Kalamazoo | Genesee | Ingham | Macomb | Ottawa | Livingston