Majority of Detroiters report stable, improved financial situation compared to year ago
May 16, 2022
Contact: Lauren Slagter, 734-929-8027, [email protected]
Morgan Sherburne, 734-647-1844, [email protected]
DETROIT—Two years into the pandemic, 72% of Detroit residents say their financial situation has stabilized or improved compared to a year ago, and there’s evidence that stimulus checks and the expanded Child Tax Credit played a role in reducing Detroiters’ experiences of economic hardship.
However, people with household incomes of less than $30,000 were more likely to say they’re in a worse financial situation than a year ago (35%), compared to people with incomes between $30,000 and $60,000 (18%), and people making more than $60,000 (9%), according to the most recent survey from the University of Michigan’s Detroit Metro Area Communities Study.
“The survey data show people with lower incomes, people who are unemployed, renters and parents were more likely to report being in a worse financial situation at the end of 2021 than a year earlier. The economic impact of COVID-19 may have reinforced advantages and disadvantages in Detroit,” said Lydia Wileden, DMACS research associate who co-authored the new report.
The report’s findings come from a survey of a representative sample of 1,900 Detroit residents fielded in November and December 2021.