State food-access profile · 83 counties

Food access in Michigan

How far Michigan residents live from a supermarket, where the food deserts are, and the SNAP, poverty, and vehicle-access context, from the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and the Census ACS (2024).

Compiled by Plainfoodaccess, Food Access Editorial Process · June 23, 2026

23.2%
low-access pop.: 339
food-desert tracts: 13.5%
on SNAP: 83
counties

The statewide picture

About 2.3M Michigan residents - 23.2% - live in a low-access area, and 339 census tracts across the state are USDA-designated food deserts.

2.3M
low-access residents: 630K
food-desert residents: 7.0%
households, no vehicle: 13.2%
below poverty line

Shares are population-weighted across the state's tracts, not an average of county percentages. Low access = >1 mile (urban) / >10 miles (rural) from a supermarket.

Where Michigan stands nationally

Every state colored by its population-weighted low-access share, Michigan is ringed. Click any state to compare.

USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context

The USDA Food Access Research Atlas evaluates every census tract in Michigan against the same rule used nationwide: a tract is low-access when many residents live more than one mile from a supermarket in urban areas, or more than ten miles in rural areas. Across 83 counties and 10.1M residents, Michigan's population-weighted low-access share is 23.2%.

A tract becomes a food desert only when its low-access residents are also low-income. That applies to 339 tracts in Michigan, home to roughly 630K low-income, low-access residents. SNAP participation across the state averages 13.5% of households, and 7.0% of households have no vehicle, the transport gap that turns distance into a real barrier. The county table below is sorted with the highest low-access share first, so the top rows are where distance, income, and vehicle gaps most consistently overlap.

Counties

23.2%

Low-access (pop-weighted)

2.3M

Low-access residents

13.5%

Avg. SNAP

Schoolcraft

46
Muskegon

43
Gratiot

39.6
Ingham

38
Genesee

35.9
St. Clair

35.7
Otsego

35.2
Mackinac

34.6

All counties in Michigan

County	Population	Low-access	SNAP	No vehicle	Poverty
Schoolcraft County	8K	46.0%	11.8%	5.3%	14.1%
Muskegon County	176K	43.0%	19.4%	7.4%	14.1%
Gratiot County	41K	39.6%	15.1%	5.2%	14.0%
Ingham County	284K	38.0%	12.1%	8.9%	16.7%
Genesee County	403K	35.9%	18.8%	7.4%	16.4%
St. Clair County	160K	35.7%	13.3%	5.9%	11.3%
Otsego County	26K	35.2%	10.5%	4.1%	8.0%
Mackinac County	11K	34.6%	11.9%	10.1%	16.1%
Ontonagon County	6K	34.2%	11.3%	4.7%	12.5%
Clinton County	80K	34.1%	6.6%	2.8%	9.7%
Ottawa County	301K	31.4%	6.0%	3.7%	8.3%
Eaton County	109K	30.9%	10.1%	5.3%	8.3%
Jackson County	160K	30.4%	13.7%	6.7%	11.6%
Kalamazoo County	262K	30.3%	11.2%	7.3%	12.7%
Oakland County	1.3M	30.2%	7.7%	5.3%	7.7%
Saginaw County	189K	30.1%	19.6%	7.0%	18.2%
Keweenaw County	2K	29.2%	7.4%	2.4%	15.2%
Calhoun County	134K	29.1%	13.5%	7.0%	13.9%
Livingston County	196K	28.9%	4.8%	3.2%	5.1%
Lenawee County	98K	28.8%	11.1%	5.4%	10.7%
Luce County	6K	28.5%	14.4%	5.6%	16.7%
Ionia County	67K	27.3%	13.6%	6.2%	10.6%
Macomb County	880K	27.3%	12.8%	6.2%	10.4%
Shiawassee County	68K	27.3%	15.0%	5.6%	12.0%
Dickinson County	26K	25.7%	8.3%	7.3%	10.5%
Mason County	29K	25.7%	12.9%	6.5%	14.1%
Berrien County	153K	25.2%	14.2%	8.0%	15.1%
Washtenaw County	370K	25.2%	8.5%	8.2%	14.2%
Wexford County	34K	24.8%	16.9%	6.0%	13.9%
Emmet County	34K	23.6%	7.4%	5.0%	8.5%
Presque Isle County	13K	23.2%	10.6%	6.3%	14.0%
Mecosta County	41K	22.9%	14.4%	7.1%	19.9%
Huron County	31K	21.1%	11.3%	6.3%	12.6%
Allegan County	121K	20.8%	7.8%	2.5%	8.4%
Kent County	663K	20.3%	10.3%	6.2%	10.1%
Chippewa County	36K	19.8%	13.1%	6.9%	14.0%
Midland County	84K	19.4%	11.7%	5.4%	10.7%
Marquette County	67K	17.1%	9.6%	5.9%	14.0%
Grand Traverse County	96K	17.0%	7.5%	4.9%	9.6%
Alpena County	29K	15.9%	16.7%	8.0%	18.0%
Menominee County	23K	15.9%	10.1%	6.9%	12.2%
Monroe County	156K	15.9%	10.0%	4.7%	10.5%
Alcona County	10K	15.6%	12.5%	3.5%	12.3%
Baraga County	8K	15.4%	16.2%	6.8%	15.2%
Delta County	37K	15.3%	12.4%	7.2%	12.7%
Tuscola County	53K	15.3%	14.2%	6.2%	12.8%
St. Joseph County	61K	15.2%	14.8%	7.9%	11.4%
Gogebic County	14K	15.1%	18.6%	7.6%	14.4%
Wayne County	1.8M	14.8%	23.0%	11.6%	20.8%
Sanilac County	40K	14.3%	12.6%	5.9%	15.3%
Iron County	12K	14.0%	13.3%	6.6%	17.0%
Branch County	45K	13.6%	12.8%	6.7%	16.4%
Cass County	52K	13.3%	12.8%	5.1%	11.9%
Roscommon County	24K	13.3%	16.8%	6.8%	15.5%
Gladwin County	26K	13.1%	16.2%	7.8%	14.9%
Bay County	103K	12.9%	13.6%	6.6%	13.2%
Iosco County	25K	12.9%	14.8%	7.2%	17.7%
Alger County	9K	12.8%	11.0%	5.6%	10.4%
Houghton County	38K	10.5%	9.7%	6.5%	16.5%
Manistee County	25K	9.6%	12.1%	4.8%	12.7%
Cheboygan County	26K	9.4%	12.6%	4.8%	12.4%
Oceana County	27K	9.3%	15.9%	4.3%	13.6%
Isabella County	65K	9.2%	11.4%	7.2%	21.9%
Lapeer County	89K	7.5%	11.4%	4.5%	9.7%
Crawford County	13K	6.4%	14.8%	8.3%	14.7%
Leelanau County	23K	5.7%	4.7%	2.8%	6.5%
Hillsdale County	46K	5.4%	12.0%	5.5%	14.4%
Van Buren County	76K	4.9%	13.7%	5.7%	14.3%
Kalkaska County	18K	4.6%	15.6%	5.0%	12.2%
Missaukee County	15K	4.3%	12.9%	4.7%	11.3%
Newaygo County	51K	4.3%	16.6%	4.7%	12.8%
Montmorency County	10K	3.9%	16.8%	6.6%	18.2%
Clare County	31K	2.7%	19.0%	7.8%	21.6%
Montcalm County	68K	2.5%	12.8%	5.7%	12.6%
Oscoda County	8K	1.6%	16.3%	9.5%	17.2%
Charlevoix County	26K	1.4%	8.0%	5.4%	8.7%
Lake County	13K	1.4%	19.1%	6.9%	20.5%
Antrim County	24K	0.2%	10.0%	3.5%	9.9%
Ogemaw County	21K	0.1%	18.3%	5.7%	16.7%
Osceola County	23K	0.1%	15.1%	7.0%	15.8%
Arenac County	15K	0.0%	16.1%	6.6%	11.7%
Barry County	63K	0.0%	9.4%	3.4%	8.4%
Benzie County	18K	0.0%	7.8%	2.5%	9.7%

Source: USDA ERS Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + U.S. Census Bureau ACS (2024 5-year). Sorted by low-access share, highest first. USDA ERS Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + U.S. Census Bureau ACS (2024 5-year). Sorted by low-access share, highest first.

What this means for the state

23.2% of Michigan residents, about 2.3M people, live in a low-access area.
339 census tracts are USDA food deserts, home to roughly 630K low-income, low-access residents.
13.5% of households receive SNAP, and 7.0% have no vehicle.
Schoolcraft County has the state's highest low-access share at 46.0%.

USDA low-access figures reflect the 2019 Atlas (2010 tract populations); SNAP, poverty, and vehicle context is the Census ACS 2024 5-year estimates.

Frequently Asked Questions

What share of Michigan has low food access?▼

23.2% of Michigan residents live in low-access areas (population-weighted across the state's tracts), per the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019).

How many food deserts are in Michigan?▼

339 census tracts in Michigan are USDA-designated food deserts, both low-access and low-income, home to roughly 630K low-income residents.

What is the SNAP participation rate in Michigan?▼

Across Michigan counties, an average of 13.5% of households receive SNAP (Census ACS 2024), though rates vary between urban and rural areas.

Which county in Michigan has the worst food access?▼

Schoolcraft County has the highest low-access share in Michigan at 46.0%, with 11.8% SNAP participation.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service Food Access Research Atlas (2019 edition), 9,228 of roughly 71,700 U.S. census tracts meet the low-income, low-access food-desert threshold. The state and county figures on this page are aggregated from that tract-level data and joined to the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2024 5-Year Estimates, released in December 2025. See our methodology for how the population-weighted shares are computed.

Data current as of 2026-06-23 (most recent source-data vintage).

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