LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – After more than six months of investigating Michigan’s declining population trends, the Growing Michigan Together Council released a report showing that Michigan ranks second to last in the country for population growth. 

“Michigan’s greatest strength is its people— and we are losing them,” the report said. “Today Michigan is 49th out of 50 in terms of population growth. We’re failing to prepare our people for the jobs of the future and failing to ensure Michigan is the place current and future Michiganders want to call home.” 

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In a letter addressed to the Governor, council chairs Shirley Stancato and former Ambassador John Rakolta, Jr. emphasized the challenges facing the state. 

“After six months of investigation, study, and debate, it’s clear that population decline and its contributing factors are a significant threat to our state’s future prosperity and well-being,” the letter said. 

The GMTC chairs also identified the work that has been accomplished with an eye to the future. 

“We have reached two milestones on the road to recovery—an in-depth analysis of the challenges we face and a set of actionable recommendations to regain our competitiveness,” the letter said. “A third milestone still lies ahead of us—ensuring momentum through constructive debate and shared commitment— which will be a critical determinant of success. The milestones and recommendations should be seen as an intertwined system to drive healthy growth—all needed to achieve long-term impact.”

Governor Gretchen Whitmer assembled the council over the summer; she shared her initial response to the report released Thursday. 

“The Growing Michigan Together Council focused on actions we can take to grow our state’s population and economy while protecting our quality of life and cost of living,” said Governor Whitmer. “I am grateful to the bipartisan members of the council and the workgroups for doing the hard work of tackling these big questions. In the months ahead, I look forward to reviewing the council’s report in detail and working with my partners in the legislature on solutions to grow the economy and population. Our future is bright and I know we can keep getting things done to help anyone ‘make it’ in Michigan.”

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Not only is the state struggling with population growth, but the report identified income levels were also dropping, noting that in 1980 half of the top ten U.S. communities with the highest average earnings were in Michigan- now no Michigan city is in the top 10. 

State Representative Bryan Posthumus (R-Cannon Township) and Minority Floor Leader weighed in on the findings. 

“The most alarming stat I saw is that, under Democrat leadership, we have dropped to 49th out of 50 states when it comes to expected population growth over the next two decades,” said Rep. Posthumus in a statement. “Alaska, which routinely bottoms out these types of lists for a variety of unique and complex reasons, is basically a statistical anomaly here, so we are effectively last on the list. Michigan has become last in the nation for population growth. We need to move quickly if we want to avoid becoming a statistical anomaly ourselves.”

For Rep. Posthumus the way to solve many of the state’s issues has to do with the politics of those in charge. 

“While the Governor may need a commission to tell her how to increase our state’s population, I would argue that the answers are simple if we look around the country,“ Posthumus said. “Pro-growth outcomes almost always come from Republican policies. The six fastest growing states in the country from 2021-2022 were all lead by Republicans. The top 5 fastest growing states in the country since 2010 were all lead by Republicans. This isn’t a coincidence.” 

To view the full report click here.