Original, data-led analysis of Michigan's population, jobs, housing, infrastructure, development and cities. The point is not to cheerlead or doomscroll. It is to measure.
Commercial and residential real estate background · Michigan data and development analysis.
Michigan Progress publishes sourced analyses of statewide progress, city growth, housing, jobs, development, local government, rankings and affordability. The newest local-government analysis examines all 252 incorporated villages and Michigan township population.
Based on convictions, guilty pleas, criminal prosecutions and publicly confirmed investigations involving municipal elected officials and employees during the five-year period from September 9, 2021 through September 9, 2026, Michigan Progress ranks Detroit, Taylor, Inkster, Saginaw and Hamtramck as the Michigan cities with the strongest documented recent public-corruption records.
Read analysis →Michigan has 252 incorporated villages; Michigan Treasury reports 251 village levy rows for 2025. We rank the reported rows by village property-tax levy and explain what residents should study before disincorporation.
Read analysis →The main difference between a Michigan city, township and village is how independent each type of local government is. Cities operate independently from townships. Townships are one of Michigan’s primary forms of local government. Villages have their own local government but remain part of the township in which they are located. That distinction affects property […]
Read analysis →Michigan is growing again, housing construction is active and road funding has improved—but labor-force shrinkage and a large housing shortage keep the statewide verdict mixed.
Read analysis →The expanded 281-city dataset shows why low home values can coexist with high poverty—and why expensive housing may sit inside high-income communities. Affordability is a relationship, not a price tag.
Read analysis →Michigan’s population reached an estimated 10,127,884 in 2025. The gain is modest, but city-level patterns show a state that is no longer moving in one direction.
Read analysis →Payroll employment is inching upward, but Michigan’s labor force is smaller than a year ago. The July 2026 numbers show why “unemployment fell” is not enough.
Read analysis →Online job advertisements increased sharply from a year earlier, while Michigan’s July labor force was 143,000 people smaller. Employers appear to have demand; worker availability is the harder signal.
Read analysis →Michigan authorized 23,075 building permits in 2025, but state housing officials still estimate a 97,000-unit housing gap. Both facts can be true.
Read analysis →Direct answers based on the evidence and methodology used on this page.
The blog publishes data-led analysis of Michigan population, jobs, housing, infrastructure, development and major city trends.
Articles distinguish sourced facts from interpretation and link to underlying government or primary sources wherever practical.
Each article is dated and written around the newest reliable data available at publication, with older vintages identified in the text.