Detroit Partnership on Economic Mobility

The Detroit Partnership on Economic Mobility creates high-impact opportunities for the City of Detroit and community-based organizations to identify and implement evidence-based strategies that improve economic opportunity and reduce poverty in Detroit.

Despite some signs of an economic resurgence in Detroit, city residents still face systemic challenges rooted in a history of racial discrimination and segregation.

• Detroit has a poverty rate of 31.5%, which is about three times higher than the national average.
• In Detroit, the child poverty rate is even higher, at 51% in 2024.
• Though Detroit experienced a strong economic recovery after the Great Recession, the city’s unemployment rate remained above the national average in 2025, and only 55% of working-age adults are participating in the labor force.

Through Poverty Solutions' Detroit Partnership on Economic Mobility, city officials and community leaders identify topics of interest, and U-M scholars conduct rigorous analysis to inform responses to economic mobility issues, in hopes of providing the knowledge needed to help solve challenges faced by Detroit residents.

What we do:

• Advise city officials and community groups on evidence-based strategies to enhance economic mobility.
• Provide technical support and data analysis in the implementation of economic mobility initiatives.
• Evaluate intiatives to measure both short- and longterm impacts on economic mobility.
• Offer evidence-based policy analysis at the city, state, and federal level.

Detroit Metro Area Communities Study

Public opinion polling

Poverty Solutions supports the Detroit Metro Area Communities Study (DMACS), which regularly surveys a representative group of Detroiters.

Learn more about DMACS