In 2022, Social Security transfers in Livingston County totaled $958.75 million, amounting to $4,888 per capita, or 52.3% of total government transfers, according to information from the Economic Innovation Group.
Among all government transfer programs, Social Security was the largest contributor in the county. Medicare was the second largest contributor, totaling $483.66 million, equating to $2,466 per capita and making up 26.4% of total transfers.
Comparatively, Social Security transfers across Michigan amounted to $44.46 billion, ranking highest among all transfer types within the state. This translates to an average of $4,431 per capita, or 37.4% of total government transfers. Including all transfer types, government transfer payments totaled $118.74 billion, accounting for 20.7% of residents’ total income, with an average of $11,834 per resident.
Medicaid was the third largest contributor in Livingston County in 2022, accounting for $131.35 million, averaging $670 per capita, representing 7.2% of transfers. Income Maintenance transfers provided another $94.2 million, averaging $480 per capita and comprising 5.1% of government support, making them the smallest contributors.
Government transfer payments are non-repayable funds provided by federal, state, or local governments to support individuals in need. These payments aim to stabilize economic conditions and provide financial support during hardships. Key programs include Social Security transfers (retirement benefits), Medicare transfers (healthcare for seniors), Medicaid transfers (healthcare for low-income individuals), and income maintenance transfers (financial assistance for basic needs).
With 19.6% of the population aged 65 and older, Livingston County has a significant demand for programs like Social Security and Medicare. Despite this aid, the total per capita income in Livingston County, excluding government transfers was $59,956, which is below the county’s total income of $69,299, emphasizing the role of government transfers in overall income.
When comparing 2022 to the previous year, Livingston County saw an increase in its Social Security transfer dependency by 0.3%, reflecting both rising transfer amounts and stagnating or insufficient other sources of income.
Government transfers have long been a modest financial safety net, historically comprising only a small fraction of Americans’ income. However, since the 1970s—sometimes dubbed the “Great Transfer-mation”—dependency has surged from 8.2% (or $2,022 per capita in inflation-adjusted 2022 dollars) in 1970 to 17.6% (or $11,542 per capita) in 2022 nationwide. In Livingston County, reliance on government transfers has similarly increased from 5.6% (or $1,377 per capita) in 1970 to 13.5% (or $9,343 per capita) in 2022.
According to the Economic Innovation Group’s analysis, these trends are not merely short-term responses to economic pressures but rather reflect a profound, long-term transformation in how government support is integrated into American life. The study illustrates that structural shifts—from rising healthcare expenses and demographic changes to stagnant wages—have significantly increased dependency on government transfers.
| County | Rank | Dependency on Transfers (%) | % Population 65+ | Social Security Transfers (%) | Medicare Transfers (%) | Medicaid Transfers (%) | Income Maintenance Transfers (%) | Per Capita Transfers ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne County | 1 | 27.7% | 16.6% | 7.8% | 6.4% | 7.6% | 4.3% | $13,435 |
| Oakland County | 2 | 11.9% | 18.4% | 5.2% | 3.6% | 1.4% | 0.8% | $10,053 |
| Macomb County | 3 | 20% | 18.3% | 8.1% | 6.1% | 2.2% | 2% | $10,779 |
| Kent County | 4 | 13.9% | 14.9% | 5.2% | 3.4% | 2.4% | 1.7% | $9,305 |
| Genesee County | 5 | 29.2% | 18.8% | 10.2% | 7.6% | 5.5% | 3.9% | $13,910 |
| Washtenaw County | 6 | 12.2% | 15.8% | 5.3% | 3% | 1.6% | 1% | $8,708 |
| Ingham County | 7 | 21.5% | 14.8% | 7.5% | 5.3% | 4.4% | 2.5% | $10,676 |
| Kalamazoo County | 8 | 17.6% | 16.2% | 6.9% | 3.9% | 3.2% | 2% | $10,489 |
| Saginaw County | 9 | 30.2% | 20.3% | 10.5% | 7.6% | 6.1% | 3.8% | $14,386 |
| Ottawa County | 10 | 14.1% | 16.6% | 6.5% | 3.7% | 1.5% | 1.1% | $8,623 |
| Muskegon County | 11 | 28.9% | 18.4% | 10.1% | 7% | 5.8% | 3.8% | $13,189 |
| Berrien County | 12 | 22.3% | 21.4% | 8.1% | 5.4% | 4.8% | 2.3% | $13,462 |
| St. Clair County | 13 | 24.2% | 20.3% | 9.7% | 6.5% | 3.6% | 2.3% | $12,699 |
| Jackson County | 14 | 26.5% | 19.1% | 10% | 6.8% | 4.7% | 2.8% | $12,290 |
| Livingston County | 15 | 13.5% | 19.6% | 7.1% | 3.6% | 1% | 0.7% | $9,343 |
| Monroe County | 16 | 21.2% | 19.8% | 9.1% | 5.9% | 2.7% | 1.7% | $11,222 |
| Calhoun County | 17 | 28.9% | 18.6% | 10.1% | 6.4% | 5.7% | 3.6% | $12,982 |
| Bay County | 18 | 29.2% | 21.8% | 11% | 7.4% | 5.5% | 2.6% | $14,494 |
| Eaton County | 19 | 22.2% | 20% | 9.7% | 6.7% | 2% | 1.8% | $11,318 |
| Lenawee County | 20 | 25.8% | 20.3% | 10.5% | 7% | 3.9% | 2.2% | $12,252 |
| Allegan County | 21 | 17.8% | 18.3% | 7.9% | 3.9% | 2.7% | 1.7% | $9,781 |
| Grand Traverse County | 22 | 19.1% | 22% | 8.2% | 5.1% | 2.6% | 1.3% | $11,861 |
| Lapeer County | 23 | 23.2% | 20.2% | 10% | 6.5% | 2.8% | 1.8% | $11,720 |
| Midland County | 24 | 19.3% | 20.3% | 7.8% | 5% | 3.3% | 1.5% | $11,761 |
| Van Buren County | 25 | 26% | 19.9% | 9.6% | 6.1% | 5.4% | 2.9% | $12,888 |
| Shiawassee County | 26 | 27.9% | 19.9% | 10.5% | 7.8% | 4.6% | 2.5% | $13,235 |
| Marquette County | 27 | 28.9% | 20.4% | 10.4% | 6% | 6.5% | 1.9% | $13,445 |
| Isabella County | 28 | 28.9% | 14% | 7.9% | 5.2% | 10.6% | 2.6% | $12,964 |
| Tuscola County | 29 | 33.5% | 21.8% | 12.4% | 9.5% | 5.9% | 2.8% | $14,648 |
| Montcalm County | 30 | 27.9% | 18.2% | 10.6% | 7.5% | 4.1% | 3.2% | $11,363 |
| Clinton County | 31 | 15.6% | 18.9% | 7.7% | 4% | 1.3% | 1.1% | $8,885 |
| St. Joseph County | 32 | 24.8% | 19% | 9.6% | 5.7% | 4.8% | 2.8% | $11,632 |
| Barry County | 33 | 18.6% | 19.6% | 8.3% | 4.5% | 2.3% | 1.7% | $10,075 |
| Ionia County | 34 | 23% | 15.8% | 9.2% | 5.7% | 3.6% | 2.5% | $9,427 |
| Newaygo County | 35 | 27.8% | 20.6% | 11.1% | 6.4% | 4.6% | 3.1% | $12,279 |
| Cass County | 36 | 21.7% | 22.6% | 9.3% | 4.5% | 3.7% | 2.2% | $11,904 |
| Sanilac County | 37 | 32.5% | 23.2% | 11.6% | 8.4% | 7% | 2.9% | $15,009 |
| Delta County | 38 | 34% | 26.1% | 13% | 7.9% | 5.1% | 2.5% | $15,159 |
| Hillsdale County | 39 | 28.2% | 21.3% | 11.1% | 6.8% | 4.9% | 2.9% | $11,825 |
| Branch County | 40 | 27.9% | 19.4% | 10.5% | 6.3% | 5.9% | 2.9% | $12,002 |
| Gratiot County | 41 | 30% | 17.8% | 9.9% | 7.8% | 7.1% | 2.8% | $12,927 |
| Clare County | 42 | 41.2% | 25.2% | 15.2% | 12.2% | 5.7% | 4.1% | $16,531 |
| Huron County | 43 | 29.2% | 26.9% | 10.9% | 8.7% | 5.5% | 1.9% | $16,416 |
| Mecosta County | 44 | 29.5% | 20.5% | 11.4% | 7.1% | 3.9% | 3.3% | $12,535 |
| Alpena County | 45 | 36.4% | 25.1% | 12.7% | 9.3% | 8.5% | 2.8% | $17,680 |
| Emmet County | 46 | 21.2% | 25% | 8.2% | 5.6% | 4.3% | 1.2% | $14,856 |
| Houghton County | 47 | 30.1% | 18.2% | 9.4% | 5.7% | 8.8% | 2.2% | $12,897 |
| Roscommon County | 48 | 45.5% | 34.1% | 19.4% | 13.2% | 5.7% | 3.4% | $19,912 |
| Chippewa County | 49 | 30.4% | 19.5% | 10.3% | 7% | 6.6% | 2.7% | $12,960 |
| Wexford County | 50 | 31.3% | 20.6% | 11.1% | 7.4% | 6.3% | 3.4% | $13,710 |
| Iosco County | 51 | 39.7% | 30.6% | 15.7% | 10.2% | 7.2% | 3% | $18,187 |
| Mason County | 52 | 33.3% | 26.1% | 12.6% | 8.8% | 6.4% | 2.6% | $15,660 |
| Manistee County | 53 | 36.6% | 28.1% | 13.6% | 9.2% | 8.3% | 2.5% | $16,657 |
| Gladwin County | 54 | 36.2% | 27.3% | 15.2% | 10% | 4.7% | 3% | $15,826 |
| Dickinson County | 55 | 28.1% | 24.3% | 9.9% | 6% | 6.5% | 1.8% | $15,402 |
| Cheboygan County | 56 | 32.3% | 28.8% | 13.8% | 7.8% | 4.6% | 2.7% | $15,057 |
| Antrim County | 57 | 27.5% | 28.5% | 11.8% | 7% | 4.8% | 1.8% | $15,489 |
| Oceana County | 58 | 30.6% | 22.3% | 11.4% | 8.1% | 5% | 3.4% | $13,738 |
| Charlevoix County | 59 | 20.9% | 27.3% | 9.2% | 5.8% | 2.6% | 1.4% | $13,898 |
| Ogemaw County | 60 | 39.9% | 27.7% | 16.2% | 9.8% | 6.2% | 3.8% | $16,423 |
| Otsego County | 61 | 26.4% | 22.3% | 11.2% | 6.6% | 3.2% | 2.4% | $12,710 |
| Menominee County | 62 | 29.5% | 26.8% | 11.8% | 7.4% | 4.2% | 2.2% | $13,947 |
| Osceola County | 63 | 31.3% | 22.2% | 11.9% | 8.4% | 4.7% | 3.4% | $13,926 |
| Leelanau County | 64 | 16.2% | 33.8% | 8.8% | 4% | 1.4% | 0.6% | $13,243 |
| Gogebic County | 65 | 37.9% | 29.1% | 12.2% | 8.2% | 10.3% | 3% | $18,005 |
| Benzie County | 66 | 25.6% | 28.4% | 11.5% | 6.7% | 3.2% | 1.7% | $14,028 |
| Arenac County | 67 | 36.4% | 27.1% | 14% | 10.2% | 6.1% | 3.1% | $17,004 |
| Kalkaska County | 68 | 31.3% | 21.9% | 12.3% | 8% | 4.9% | 3.1% | $13,192 |
| Presque Isle County | 69 | 36.5% | 33.8% | 16.4% | 10.3% | 4% | 2% | $16,872 |
| Iron County | 70 | 40% | 31.6% | 13.7% | 8.4% | 10.4% | 2.4% | $19,204 |
| Lake County | 71 | 44.1% | 27% | 17% | 11.2% | 7.7% | 4.6% | $16,083 |
| Crawford County | 72 | 35.8% | 26.7% | 14.4% | 8.8% | 4.9% | 3.2% | $14,858 |
| Alcona County | 73 | 38.6% | 36.3% | 17.2% | 10.9% | 4.3% | 2.3% | $19,074 |
| Montmorency County | 74 | 49.3% | 32.8% | 20.5% | 14.4% | 6.3% | 3.4% | $20,425 |
| Missaukee County | 75 | 28.7% | 21.9% | 11.4% | 7% | 4.9% | 2.8% | $12,551 |
| Mackinac County | 76 | 31.4% | 29.9% | 12.5% | 8.6% | 5% | 1.8% | $16,351 |
| Schoolcraft County | 77 | 41.2% | 28.5% | 13.8% | 9.3% | 9.7% | 2.7% | $18,285 |
| Oscoda County | 78 | 40.1% | 29% | 16.7% | 9.6% | 6.3% | 3.7% | $16,284 |
| Alger County | 79 | 35.8% | 27.2% | 15.4% | 9.4% | 4.4% | 2.1% | $14,726 |
| Ontonagon County | 80 | 44.5% | 37.7% | 17.2% | 10.6% | 8.6% | 2.4% | $20,769 |
| Baraga County | 81 | 33.9% | 22.9% | 12.1% | 7.7% | 6.7% | 2.8% | $13,485 |
| Luce County | 82 | 42.2% | 24% | 14.2% | 10.9% | 9.8% | 3.1% | $17,805 |
| Keweenaw County | 83 | 31.2% | 35.8% | 12.8% | 7.5% | 5.6% | 1.6% | $17,118 |
