(The Central Square) – Since the COVID-19 pandemic, domestic migration in Michigan has fueled rural population growth.
While urban counties and the state as a whole saw population declines during and after the pandemic, rural counties experienced population growth.
This is according to a new report from the Michigan Center for Data and Analytics, which analyzed data from the United States Census Bureau.
While rural counties housed only 16.5% of Michigan’s population in 2020, they accounted for 40.8% of the state’s total population growth from 2020 to 2023.
According to the report, this represents a “notable reversal of rural decline in the 2010s,” when rural counties saw population declines almost every year.
In total, 53 of the state’s 83 counties are considered rural.
While 0.6% growth from 2020 to 2023 was insufficient to offset the rural loss of the 2010s, it did offset the natural population change (the difference between births and deaths) in those counties.
“Migration is especially important in rural counties since they are more likely to experience natural decrease than urban counties,” the analysis determined. “The rate of natural decrease was -13.5 per 1,000 people for rural counties from 2020 to 2023, compared to -0.89 for urban counties.”
While the Michigan report only looked at data through 2023, the United States Census Bureau recently released data for 2024 that shows total population changes in the state.
According to the data, Michigan’s population increased over the last year, driven by international migration.
This was welcome news for the state, which has struggled with its population since the pandemic. It looked the worst in 2021, when the state suffered a net loss of 31,000.
Since then, the Bureau has improved its methodology to better estimate the number of international migrants in the state. This year, it saw a total gain of 57,000, including 67,608 international migrants.
While the pandemic was one potential driver of rural growth in Michigan and across the country, the Michigan report also identified high housing costs and an increase in remote work as contributing factors.
Experts are unsure whether the trend of rural migration in Michigan will continue in the coming years, as it must if rural counties are to continue growing.
“Consistent with national trends, Michigan’s rural migration gains were slowing in 2023,” according to the study. “As baby boomers age into their 70s and 80s and birth rates continue to fall, long-term rural growth will be difficult. To offset this steepening natural decrease, both rural and urban areas will require continuous and increased levels of migration.
