Growing Older in Michigan

In January 2026, the Michigan Poll on Healthy Aging asked a sample of Michigan residents age 50 and older to rate how they view living in Michigan as they age. This report summarizes their responses and highlights key differences across demographic, health, and regional groups, offering insights into Michigan’s strengths and challenges as a place to age.

Michigan as a place to age   

Overall, 82% of Michigan residents age 50 and older rated the state of Michigan as an excellent, very good, or good place to live as they age, while 18% rated the state as fair or poor. Adults age 65 and older were more likely to rate Michigan as an excellent, very good, or good place to live as they grow older (87% age 65+ vs. 77% age 50-64).  

However, Black, non-Hispanic adults were less likely than White, non-Hispanic adults to rate Michigan as an excellent, very good, or good place to live as they age (69% Black adults vs. 84% White adults), as were adults with fair or poor mental health (68% fair or poor mental health vs. 84% excellent, very good, or good mental health). The same was true for adults in fair or poor physical health (70% fair or poor physical health vs. 85% excellent, very good, or good physical health) and those with a disability that limits their daily activities (76% activity-limiting disability vs. 86% no activity-limiting disability).  

Quality of health care 

In all, 84% of Michiganders age 50 and older rated the quality of health care for people their age in their part of the state as excellent, very good, or good, while 16% said it was fair or poor. Adults more likely to say the quality of health care is excellent, very good, or good included those who are male (88% male adults vs. 81% female adults), people age 65 and over (88% age 65+ vs. 80% age 50-64), individuals with excellent, very good, or good physical health (86% excellent, very good, or good physical health vs. 77% fair or poor physical health), individuals with excellent, very good, or good mental health (86% excellent, very good, or good mental health vs. 77% fair or poor mental health), and people without a disability that limits their activities (88% no activity-limiting disability vs. 78% activity-limiting disability). At the same time, Black adults were less likely than White adults to rate the health care quality in their part of Michigan as excellent, very good, or good (72% Black adults vs. 86% White adults).  

When it comes to finding high-quality health care where they live, 78% of Michiganders age 50 and up said it is very or somewhat easy to find, while 19% said it is very or somewhat difficult.1 Michiganders more likely to say it is difficult included those with disabilities (26% activity-limiting disability vs. 13% no activity-limiting disability), mental health challenges (29% fair or poor mental health vs. 16% excellent, very good, or good mental health), or physical health challenges (25% fair or poor physical health vs. 17% excellent, very good, or good physical health). Meanwhile, older adults living in the Southeast part of the state were more likely than those in any other region to say it is easy to find high-quality health care (86% in Southeast vs. 75% in South/Southwest and 75% in Central vs. 58% in Northern; see map of regions).  
 

Aging services and programs  

Overall, 77% of Michigan residents age 50 and over said local aging services and programs for people their age are excellent, very good, or good, while 23% rated such services and programs as fair or poor. Adults reporting worse mental health or physical health were less likely to give these services and programs a rating of excellent, very good, or good (55% fair or poor mental health vs. 80% excellent, very good, or good mental health; 61% fair or poor physical health vs. 81% excellent, very good, or good physical health). Adults less likely to rate aging services and programs as excellent, very good, or good also included Black adults (63% Black adults vs. 78% White adults), adults with a disability that limits daily activities (69% activity-limiting disability vs. 82% no activity-limiting disability), and those with lower household incomes (72% income less than $60,000 vs. 83% income $60,000 or greater).   

In addition, the poll asked Michigan residents age 65 and over about their familiarity with aging services and programs available for older adults in their part of the state. Overall, 61% said they were familiar with such services, while 39% were unfamiliar. Those 65 and older who provide regular care for another adult were the most familiar with services for older adults in their community, particularly compared with non-caregivers (75% of caregivers vs. 57% of non-caregivers).  

Social and recreational activities 

The majority of Michigan adults age 50 and older (84%) rated local social and recreational activities for people their age as excellent, very good, or good, while 16% rated these activities as fair or poor. Older adults with household incomes of less than $60,000, those in worse mental or physical health, individuals with a disability that limits their daily activities, and those living in the Northern region of the state (when compared with residents in the Southeast region) were less likely to rate such activities as excellent, very good, or good.   

Finding these social and recreational activities is very or somewhat easy to do according to 76% of older adults in Michigan, while 20% said it is very or somewhat difficult.1 The poll also found differences in reported ease of finding activities by household income, health status, disability status, and region.  

When asked specifically about activities at one of Michigan’s senior centers, in all, 18% of Michigan adults age 65 and over said they had attended an event or activity organized by a senior center in the past year, and 82% had not.     

Cost of living  

Just over half of Michiganders age 50 and older (55%) rated the cost of living for people their age in their part of the state as excellent, very good, or good, while the remaining 45% said the cost of living is fair or poor. More than half (58-66%) of Michigan adults with fair or poor mental or physical health or a disability that limits daily activities rated the cost of living in their part of the state as fair or poor. Black adults were also more likely to rate cost of living as fair or poor compared with White adults (57% Black adults vs. 44% White adults).  

Public safety  

Among Michigan residents age 50 and over, 82% said public safety where they live is excellent, very good, or good for people their age, while 18% rated it fair or poor. Black residents were more than twice as likely to rate public safety as fair or poor compared with White residents (37% Black residents vs. 15% White residents). Adults more likely to rate public safety as fair or poor included those with disabilities that limit day-to-day activities (25% activity-limiting disability vs. 14% no activity-limiting disability) and individuals reporting worse physical health (27% fair or poor physical health vs. 16% excellent, very good, or good physical health) or mental health (31% fair or poor mental health vs. 16% excellent, very good, or good mental health).  

Housing  

More than a quarter of Michigan residents over the age of 50 (29%) said it is very or somewhat difficult to find housing that meets their needs, while 64% said it is very or somewhat easy.1 Adults more likely to say that finding needed housing is difficult included those age 50-64 (34% age 50-64 vs. 22% age 65+), people with disabilities that limit day-to-day activities (40% activity-limiting disability vs. 21% no activity-limiting disability), and those with lower household incomes (35% income less than $60,000 vs. 21% income $60,000 or greater). People living in the Northern region and the South/Southwest part of the state were also more likely to say it is difficult to find needed housing compared with residents in the Southeast region (39% in South/Southwest and 39% in Northern vs. 24% in Southeast).  

Transportation  

Over a quarter of Michiganders age 50 and older (26%) reported that it is very or somewhat difficult to find safe and reliable transportation in their part of the state, regardless of their household income, while 66% said it is very or somewhat easy.1 Finding safe and reliable transportation was more difficult for people with disabilities that limit their daily activities than those without such limitations (32% activity-limiting disability vs. 23% no activity-limiting disability). Adults who provide regular care to another adult were also more likely to report difficulty finding safe and reliable transportation (31% caregivers vs. 24% non-caregivers), as were adults living in the Northern region of the state (33% in Northern vs. 26% in Central, 25% in South/Southwest, and 25% in Southeast). 

Weather  

About half of Michigan adults age 50 and older (48%) rated the weather as excellent, very good, or good, while the other half (52%) said the weather is fair or poor. Weather ratings were similar across regions. However, adults reporting worse mental health were more likely to rate the weather where they live as fair or poor (69% fair or poor mental health vs. 50% excellent, very good, or good mental health).  

Explore more findings through this interactive data dashboard.  

Implications 

Findings from this poll suggest that the majority of Michiganders age 50 and older view Michigan as a supportive place to age. High overall ratings for quality of life, health care quality, social and recreational opportunities, public safety, and aging services and programs for people indicate that existing systems and supports in these areas are meeting the needs of many older adults in Michigan, particularly those age 65 and older and those in good physical and mental health.  

At the same time, more mixed perceptions of cost of living, housing, transportation, and weather suggest that these factors may affect how well older adults are able to age healthily within their communities. Programs and policies that support financial well-being, address housing costs, and expand transportation options could improve overall health and well-being for Michigan’s older population. 

These poll findings also highlight challenges that some groups of older Michiganders face more often, revealing inequities by health status, disability status, race and ethnicity, income, and region. For example, older adults in poorer health, those with disabilities that limit their day-to-day activities, and Black older adults rated Michigan less favorably across several domains, including overall quality of life, health care quality, aging services and programs, cost of living, and public safety. Finding housing as well as social and recreational activities was also more difficult for some, including those with lower incomes and individuals living in the Northern part of the state. Residents in the Northern region also reported greater difficulty finding high-quality health care than those living elsewhere in the state. Collectively, these differences indicate that supporting healthy aging across the state requires targeted action to reduce disparities and ensure all older adults can age well in their communities. 

On the whole, Michigan is broadly viewed as a good place to grow older and has many strengths to support its older residents. However, certain older Michiganders report less favorable views and greater difficulty accessing key resources, trends that are unlikely unique to our state. By focusing efforts on addressing challenges related to affordability, housing, and transportation and strengthening system-wide supports, especially for groups facing greater barriers, policymakers, health systems, and aging organizations in Michigan can help ensure that all Michiganders have the opportunity to age healthily and with dignity, and make Michigan a place people seek to grow old in. 

About the poll 

Michigan Poll on Healthy Aging data come from a survey conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago for the University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation. The survey was administered online and by phone in January 2026 to 1,293 Michigan adults age 50 to 93 from the AmeriSpeak panel, including a non-probability oversample. Results are weighted to reflect the age 50+ population in Michigan.  

The Michigan Poll on Healthy Aging is supported by the Michigan Health Endowment Fund and Michigan Medicine, U-M’s academic medical center.  

Read past Michigan Poll on Healthy Aging reports and national findings, explore previous interactive data dashboards, and learn about the poll methodology.   

1 Percentages may not add to 100% because some respondents reported that the question was not applicable to them.   

Citation

University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging Team. Growing Older in Michigan. Michigan Poll on Healthy Aging. May 2026. Available at https://michmed.org/wd2Nb