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News
News
By Jonah Sebranek and David Haynes
of Rural Insights
IRON COUNTY/ MARQUETTE. — A recent study from Northern Michigan University shows Iron County elementary students have the highest levels of reading and math in the U.P. It also has above-average high school graduation rates.
However, the county also ranked the lowest of the U.P. counties for college completion, at 18.9% — 10% less than the state and national averages.
The study offers a few explanations for the disparity.
One possibility is Iron County’s age distribution. The percentage of Iron County residents over the age 65 is nearly double the national average: 31% compared to 17%. Younger individuals are more likely to hold college degrees compared to their elders.
“It is possible that this older community is skewing the data to show lower college completion,” it reads.
The study also points to poor broadband access — just over 70% of Iron County residents have access.
“Iron County … has the lowest percentage of homes with broadband access, something that often goes hand-in-hand with education.”
The third explanation looks at family make-up.
“Nearly 46% of children in Iron County live in single-parent households, the second-highest number in the Upper Peninsula,” the study reads. “This could be for two reasons: the first being that college-educated persons are more likely to get married, the second being that children from single-parent households are less likely to pursue a college degree. Or it could be completely coincidental.”
Iron County has one of the lower poverty rates in the Upper Peninsula, though the study notes: “It is important to note that the [U.S.] Census bases this number around national income requirements, and a lot of areas in the Upper Peninsula are cheaper to live in than most of the country.”
The study noted a few broader trends in the U.P.:
“The U.P. has a much older population than the rest of the state and the country,” it reads. “This alone could have great impacts on things like college completion, the percentage of people active in the labor force, and internet access.”
The study also notes the impacts of lower population density on residents. While the U.P. has a much higher number of hospitals, rural health clinics and federally-qualified health centers based on population; it has far fewer based on geographic area.
“In the U.P. there is one rural health clinic for over 500 square miles, double that of the lower peninsula,” the study reads. “It is harder for people to access healthcare in many areas of the U.P. because of this. The extra cost of transportation or time away from work weighs much heavier on low-income people and may even encourage them to avoid medical help.”
The study notes a similar trend relating to food access. Low-income residents living in food deserts — far from grocery stores — have to choose between higher prices or less healthy food.
“With the population being so spread out, it’s hard to fix a problem like this,” the study reads. “There are no common locations to build more hospitals or grocery stores, or folks to work in them.”
The full study, “Assessing Socioeconomic Trends and Disparities in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula: A County-by-County Analysis,” is available online through Rural Insights, a nonprofit online publishing outlet focused specifically on issues affecting the U.P. and its residents. To learn more, visit ruralinsights.org.