Based on the five-year estimates from the U.S. Census, the overall population of St. Joseph County has remained fairly steady since 2017. Similar to the state, the population is aging, with a growing number of people over the age of 65.

Although childcare costs have risen significantly since 2017, the cost of childcare in St. Joseph County continues to be less than the state average ($589 vs $722/month). The cost of childcare as a percentage of minimum wage has also risen over time and the cost for a month is an average of 34.5% of minimum wage in the county. The number of children in foster care has dropped since 2017, from 211 to 140 in 2022.

In looking at the county’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) enrollment to high school graduation rates to college enrollment to college persistence, the trends vary in the educational progression. CTE enrollment has decreased since 2022, from 562 enrolled in 2017 to 539 in 2022, with increases over the past two years. High school graduation rates have remained steady, even through the pandemic. Since 2017, there has been a significant decrease in college enrollment from 56.4% of high school students in 2017 to 38.7% in 2022. Persistence in enrollment was fairly steady for the classes of 2017, 2018, and 2019, which are the most recent data available.

St. Joseph County has a lower ratio of both primary care physicians and mental health providers compared to Michigan averages, and more St. Joseph County residents are without health insurance compared to Michigan averages. The percentage of residents without health insurance has risen slightly (from 9.1% to 10%) since 2017. Although there was a slight dip in 2019, the number of nonfatal opioid poisoning hospital visits has increased. The number of children in the county who were victims of abuse or neglect has declined significantly since 2017.

Out of 83 counties in Michigan, St. Joseph County consistently ranks in the 50s or 60s for overall health factors (things you can control) and overall health outcomes (things you cannot control). Overall health factors have improved, moving from 61^st in the state to 51^st between 2017 and 2022, while health outcomes improved but then returned to 2017 levels.

Overall, the percentage of people renting their homes in St. Joseph County has remained fairly steady, slightly less than the Michigan percentages. However, the median monthly rent, while increasing just as the state averages have, has increased by only 7% between 2017-2021 while the state increased at 14%. There is consistently a higher percentage of St. Joseph County residents who own their home when compared to the state, although those numbers are fairly stagnant over the past five years. The median home values, while less than state averages, have been increasing at a similar rate to the state.

Families living with high housing-cost burdens (i.e., housing insecurity) is slowly declining between 2018-2020 (from 23.4% to 22.3%), slightly lower than state (27.6% to 26.2%).

Similarly, families with severe housing problems (i.e., at least one of these problems: overcrowding, high housing costs, lack of kitchen facilities, lack of plumbing facilities) is slowly declining between 2017-2022 (from 15% to 13%), slightly lower than the state (17% to 14%).

While the percentage of homeless children is decreasing in the county, it is still double that of the state average.

Since 2017, there has been a consistent increase in the percentage of households with a computer and children with internet at home in both Michigan and St. Joseph County. Nevertheless, St. Joseph County lags behind Michigan in both these areas, with a lower percentage of households with a computer and children with internet at home.

St. Joseph County has historically had a higher percentage of children (ages 0-17) living in poverty compared to the state. However, the percentage of children living in poverty has been declining in both the county and the state. As of 2020, 20.3% of children in St. Joseph County were living in poverty, while the state average was 18.4%.

St. Joseph County also has a significant number of households who are working but experiencing financial hardship, as indicated by the ALICE (Assets Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) measurement. As of 2019, 34.9% of households in the county fell into this category, struggling to meet the basic necessities of housing, food, childcare, technology, healthcare, and transportation. However, this percentage has decreased dramatically since 2017 (47.7% to 34.9%).

Since 2019, the percentage of county residents who experience food insecurity has been on the rise (11% in 2019 to 14% in 2022). The percentage of the county with limited access to healthy foods has remained steady over the years at about 5%.

The highest number of Part 1 Arrests in the county have been primarily related to assaults and thefts, with aggravated felonious assaults the highest (also the highest in the state). Burglary has been on the rise since 2019, increasing from 6% to 18% of Part 1 Arrests; yet Retail Fraud Theft has decreased since 2019 from 41% to 13%. The county has a lower percentage of driving deaths involving alcohol compared to the state; and while the percentage has been increasing since 2018, it is still lower than the state.

The unemployment rate in St. Joseph County has been similar to the unemployment rate in Michigan since 2017. However, the county’s unemployment rate has been slightly lower than the state’s rate during this time. In 2021, for example, the unemployment rate in Michigan was 5.9%, while St. Joseph County had a lower rate of 5.1%. Percent employed by a nonprofit has increased by 1.3% since 2017, but employment in other sectors (government, private, and self employed) has dropped. Median household income continues to be lower than the statewide average.

The type of employment over the past five years has remained fairly steady in St. Joseph County.
There has been a minor decrease in each of government employment, private company employment, and self-employment as well as a slightly larger increase in nonprofit employment.