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Cliff-Zone Families
233,175
Total Wage Suppression
$169.8M
State Avg Cliff Zone
16.1%
The benefits cliff — sometimes called the welfare cliff or cliff effect — occurs when families lose public benefits faster than they can replace them through increased earnings. In Michigan, an estimated 233,175 families across 83 counties earn between 100–200% of the Federal Poverty Level, where benefits like SNAP, Medicaid, childcare subsidies, and housing assistance phase out. The CLIFF Index measures this exposure at the county level, including peak marginal effective tax rates, wage suppression estimates, and advancement thresholds. Click any county below for the full diagnostic report.
| CountyCounty↕ | PopulationPopulation↕ | Cliff Zone %Cliff Zone %↕ | Families AffectedFamilies↓ | Wage SuppressionWage Gap↕ | Peak METRPeak METR↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne County | 1,772,259 | 18.3% | 44,807 | $32.6M | 382% |
| Macomb County | 879,853 | 15.4% | 20,949 | $15.3M | 382% |
| Oakland County | 1,279,825 | 10.2% | 19,953 | $14.5M | 382% |
| Kent County | 663,150 | 14.4% | 15,104 | $11.0M | 382% |
| Genesee County | 403,305 | 18.9% | 11,562 | $8.4M | 382% |
| Kalamazoo County | 262,375 | 17.5% | 6,589 | $4.8M | 382% |
| Ottawa County | 301,203 | 12.5% | 6,138 | $4.5M | 382% |
| Ingham County | 283,913 | 16.1% | 5,476 | $4.0M | 382% |
| Muskegon County | 175,961 | 20.4% | 5,453 | $4.0M | 382% |
| Washtenaw County | 369,822 | 11.3% | 5,148 | $3.7M | 382% |
| Saginaw County | 188,665 | 18.5% | 4,668 | $3.4M | 382% |
| Berrien County | 153,288 | 17.9% | 4,171 | $3.0M | 382% |
| Calhoun County | 133,778 | 22.3% | 4,151 | $3.0M | 382% |
| St. Clair County | 160,221 | 16.4% | 4,083 | $3.0M | 382% |
| Jackson County | 160,060 | 17.0% | 3,668 | $2.7M | 382% |
| Allegan County | 121,456 | 17.5% | 3,595 | $2.6M | 382% |
| Monroe County | 155,505 | 15.0% | 3,400 | $2.5M | 382% |
| Livingston County | 195,833 | 9.2% | 2,898 | $2.1M | 382% |
| Lenawee County | 98,415 | 19.0% | 2,782 | $2.0M | 382% |
| Bay County | 103,008 | 18.4% | 2,649 | $1.9M | 382% |
| Van Buren County | 75,795 | 19.1% | 2,481 | $1.8M | 382% |
| Eaton County | 109,130 | 13.8% | 2,121 | $1.5M | 382% |
| Lapeer County | 88,837 | 14.7% | 2,006 | $1.5M | 382% |
| Montcalm County | 67,816 | 20.9% | 1,954 | $1.4M | 382% |
| Shiawassee County | 67,991 | 18.2% | 1,845 | $1.3M | 382% |
| St. Joseph County | 60,969 | 19.9% | 1,812 | $1.3M | 382% |
| Grand Traverse County | 96,166 | 12.7% | 1,807 | $1.3M | 382% |
| Newaygo County | 50,792 | 22.0% | 1,625 | $1.2M | 382% |
| Midland County | 83,757 | 14.5% | 1,538 | $1.1M | 382% |
| Ionia County | 66,574 | 15.9% | 1,526 | $1.1M | 382% |
| Cass County | 51,520 | 18.5% | 1,501 | $1.1M | 382% |
| Hillsdale County | 45,654 | 22.3% | 1,459 | $1.1M | 382% |
| Tuscola County | 52,980 | 20.4% | 1,443 | $1.1M | 382% |
| Barry County | 63,409 | 16.3% | 1,436 | $1.0M | 382% |
| Clinton County | 79,626 | 11.9% | 1,389 | $1.0M | 382% |
| Isabella County | 64,565 | 18.7% | 1,306 | $951K | 382% |
| Branch County | 45,300 | 20.9% | 1,261 | $918K | 382% |
| Wexford County | 34,077 | 24.4% | 1,220 | $888K | 382% |
| Marquette County | 67,112 | 16.4% | 1,203 | $876K | 382% |
| Sanilac County | 40,462 | 19.4% | 1,141 | $831K | 382% |
| Gratiot County | 41,385 | 20.3% | 1,121 | $816K | 382% |
| Mecosta County | 41,242 | 21.0% | 1,099 | $800K | 382% |
| Houghton County | 37,693 | 21.7% | 938 | $683K | 382% |
| Delta County | 36,813 | 19.2% | 894 | $651K | 382% |
| Huron County | 31,113 | 20.6% | 887 | $646K | 382% |
| Chippewa County | 36,295 | 20.3% | 884 | $644K | 382% |
| Oceana County | 26,915 | 21.9% | 862 | $628K | 382% |
| Clare County | 31,218 | 22.8% | 807 | $587K | 382% |
| Otsego County | 25,584 | 18.0% | 798 | $581K | 382% |
| Osceola County | 23,227 | 21.8% | 775 | $564K | 382% |
| Cheboygan County | 25,865 | 21.6% | 764 | $556K | 382% |
| Gladwin County | 25,693 | 22.7% | 749 | $545K | 382% |
| Alpena County | 28,880 | 20.9% | 745 | $542K | 382% |
| Emmet County | 34,125 | 13.7% | 736 | $536K | 382% |
| Mason County | 29,207 | 17.4% | 686 | $499K | 382% |
| Menominee County | 23,247 | 21.2% | 666 | $485K | 382% |
| Iosco County | 25,347 | 23.3% | 630 | $459K | 382% |
| Ogemaw County | 20,885 | 20.6% | 602 | $438K | 382% |
| Charlevoix County | 26,108 | 14.5% | 594 | $432K | 382% |
| Antrim County | 24,127 | 17.4% | 587 | $427K | 382% |
| Kalkaska County | 18,239 | 22.7% | 587 | $427K | 382% |
| Roscommon County | 23,737 | 20.0% | 585 | $426K | 382% |
| Manistee County | 25,350 | 17.7% | 565 | $411K | 382% |
| Gogebic County | 14,319 | 26.8% | 564 | $411K | 382% |
| Missaukee County | 15,207 | 22.6% | 529 | $385K | 382% |
| Dickinson County | 25,954 | 16.8% | 517 | $376K | 382% |
| Arenac County | 15,077 | 20.9% | 428 | $312K | 382% |
| Crawford County | 13,369 | 23.2% | 411 | $299K | 382% |
| Benzie County | 18,310 | 13.7% | 373 | $272K | 382% |
| Leelanau County | 22,734 | 10.3% | 339 | $247K | 382% |
| Lake County | 12,563 | 24.6% | 332 | $242K | 382% |
| Mackinac County | 10,957 | 20.5% | 327 | $238K | 382% |
| Presque Isle County | 13,209 | 18.5% | 324 | $236K | 382% |
| Iron County | 11,667 | 21.4% | 313 | $228K | 382% |
| Oscoda County | 8,425 | 28.3% | 286 | $208K | 382% |
| Alcona County | 10,397 | 21.4% | 276 | $201K | 382% |
| Baraga County | 8,191 | 21.8% | 240 | $175K | 382% |
| Montmorency County | 9,516 | 19.3% | 211 | $154K | 382% |
| Alger County | 8,762 | 20.6% | 210 | $153K | 382% |
| Luce County | 6,271 | 26.3% | 209 | $152K | 382% |
| Schoolcraft County | 8,128 | 20.7% | 201 | $146K | 382% |
| Ontonagon County | 5,850 | 21.2% | 163 | $119K | 382% |
| Keweenaw County | 2,133 | 17.5% | 43 | $31K | 382% |
83 of 83 counties shown. Click any county for full diagnostic.