In 2022, Berrien County received $2.1 billion in government transfer payments, equivalent to $13,462 per capita.
These payments—which include Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and income maintenance—accounted for 22.3% of all personal income in the county, according to information from the Economic Innovation Group.
This marks a slight decrease in the county’s reliance on government transfers compared to 2012, when such payments made up 23.5% of total income. Since then, the share has fallen by 1.2%.
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).
In 2022, government transfers in Berrien County primarily focused on older adults—such as Social Security transfers, which totaled $746.2 million (36.3% of all transfer income), and Medicare, which accounted for $494.3 million (24%)—played a significant role in the county’s overall income.
On a per capita basis, Social Security payments rose from $4,111 in 2012 and $992 in 1970 to $4,880 in 2022, reflecting a 18.7% increase over the past decade and a 391.9% shift since 1970.
Similarly, Medicare transfers climbed from $2,534 in 2012 and $170 in 1970 to $3,233, marking 27.6% and 1,801.8% increases, respectively.
In comparison, during 2022, residents aged 65 and older made up 21.4% of the total population, compared to 17% in 2012 and 9.2% in 1970.
According to the Economic Innovation Group, total income in Berrien County excluding public assistance amounted to $46,849 per capita in 2022, compared to $60,311 when government transfers were included.
Breaking down the other contributions in the county, Medicaid transfers made up $441.7 million, a 21.5% share of total income, while income maintenance programs, including assistance such as SNAP or TANF, added another $216.5 million, or 10.5% of the total.
Compared to the previous year, Berrien County’s reliance on government transfers decreased by 4.1%.
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 $2,016 per capita in inflation-adjusted 2022 dollars) in 1970 to 17.6% (or $11,529 per capita) in 2022 nationwide.
According to the Economic Innovation Group’s analysis, these trends are not merely short-term responses to economic pressures but rather reflect a profound, long-term transformation in how government support is integrated into American life. The study illustrates that structural shifts—from rising healthcare expenses and demographic changes to stagnant wages—have significantly increased dependency on government transfers.
| County | State Rank (Per Capita Transfers) | Dependency on Transfers (%) | % Population 65+ | Social Security Transfers (%) | Medicare Transfers (%) | Medicaid Transfers (%) | Income Maintenance Transfers (%) | Per Capita Transfers ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ontonagon County | 1 | 44.51% | 37.65% | 38.7% | 23.8% | 19.3% | 5.4% | $20,769 |
| Montmorency County | 2 | 49.29% | 32.79% | 41.6% | 29.2% | 12.7% | 6.8% | $20,425 |
| Roscommon County | 3 | 45.45% | 34.11% | 42.6% | 29.1% | 12.5% | 7.5% | $19,912 |
| Iron County | 4 | 40% | 31.61% | 34.3% | 21.1% | 26.1% | 6.1% | $19,204 |
| Alcona County | 5 | 38.6% | 36.27% | 44.6% | 28.3% | 11.1% | 5.9% | $19,074 |
| Schoolcraft County | 6 | 41.18% | 28.47% | 33.6% | 22.5% | 23.7% | 6.4% | $18,285 |
| Iosco County | 7 | 39.74% | 30.58% | 39.4% | 25.7% | 18.2% | 7.7% | $18,187 |
| Gogebic County | 8 | 37.86% | 29% | 32.2% | 21.5% | 27.3% | 7.9% | $18,005 |
| Luce County | 9 | 42.19% | 24% | 33.6% | 25.9% | 23.3% | 7.4% | $17,805 |
| Alpena County | 10 | 36.35% | 25% | 35.1% | 25.6% | 23.5% | 7.6% | $17,680 |
| Keweenaw County | 11 | 31.16% | 35.82% | 41% | 24.1% | 18% | 5.1% | $17,118 |
| Arenac County | 12 | 36.41% | 27.12% | 38.4% | 27.9% | 16.6% | 8.4% | $17,004 |
| Presque Isle County | 13 | 36.49% | 33.76% | 44.9% | 28.2% | 11.1% | 5.5% | $16,872 |
| Manistee County | 14 | 36.58% | 28.12% | 37.1% | 25.3% | 22.6% | 6.8% | $16,657 |
| Clare County | 15 | 41.18% | 25.15% | 36.9% | 29.6% | 13.8% | 10% | $16,531 |
| Ogemaw County | 16 | 39.94% | 27.66% | 40.7% | 24.6% | 15.6% | 9.6% | $16,423 |
| Huron County | 17 | 29.19% | 26.92% | 37.2% | 29.9% | 18.9% | 6.6% | $16,416 |
| Mackinac County | 18 | 31.4% | 29.86% | 39.8% | 27.3% | 15.8% | 5.6% | $16,351 |
| Oscoda County | 19 | 40.14% | 29% | 41.7% | 23.8% | 15.7% | 9.1% | $16,284 |
| Lake County | 20 | 44.14% | 26.98% | 38.5% | 25.4% | 17.4% | 10.3% | $16,083 |
| Gladwin County | 21 | 36.21% | 27.29% | 41.9% | 27.7% | 13.1% | 8.4% | $15,826 |
| Mason County | 22 | 33.28% | 26% | 37.9% | 26.4% | 19.3% | 7.7% | $15,660 |
| Antrim County | 23 | 27.54% | 28.53% | 42.9% | 25.4% | 17.3% | 6.4% | $15,489 |
| Dickinson County | 24 | 28% | 24.3% | 35.3% | 21.4% | 23.3% | 6.3% | $15,402 |
| Delta County | 25 | 34% | 26.14% | 38.4% | 23.1% | 15.1% | 7.3% | $15,159 |
| Cheboygan County | 26 | 32.25% | 28.77% | 42.7% | 24.3% | 14.4% | 8.4% | $15,057 |
| Sanilac County | 27 | 32.5% | 23.15% | 35.6% | 26% | 21.6% | 8.8% | $15,009 |
| Crawford County | 28 | 35.77% | 26.69% | 40.4% | 24.6% | 13.8% | 9% | $14,858 |
| Emmet County | 29 | 21.19% | 24.96% | 38.8% | 26.3% | 20.4% | 5.9% | $14,856 |
| Alger County | 30 | 35.77% | 27.24% | 43% | 26.4% | 12.3% | 5.7% | $14,726 |
| Tuscola County | 31 | 33.45% | 21.81% | 37% | 28.5% | 17.7% | 8.4% | $14,648 |
| Bay County | 32 | 29.18% | 21.8% | 37.8% | 25.5% | 18.9% | 8.8% | $14,494 |
| Saginaw County | 33 | 30.16% | 20.34% | 34.7% | 25.2% | 20.3% | 12.5% | $14,386 |
| Benzie County | 34 | 25.61% | 28.35% | 45% | 26.3% | 12.3% | 6.5% | $14,028 |
| Menominee County | 35 | 29.49% | 26.81% | 40.1% | 25.2% | 14.1% | 7.6% | $13,947 |
| Osceola County | 36 | 31.26% | 22.2% | 37.9% | 27% | 15.1% | 10.9% | $13,926 |
| Genesee County | 37 | 29.24% | 18.81% | 35% | 26.2% | 18.8% | 13.5% | $13,910 |
| Charlevoix County | 38 | 20.85% | 27.32% | 44.2% | 28% | 12.6% | 6.5% | $13,898 |
| Oceana County | 39 | 30.55% | 22.33% | 37.2% | 26.5% | 16.4% | 11% | $13,738 |
| Wexford County | 40 | 31.26% | 20.63% | 35.7% | 23.8% | 20.2% | 10.9% | $13,710 |
| Baraga County | 41 | 33.93% | 22.93% | 35.7% | 22.6% | 19.7% | 8.2% | $13,485 |
| Berrien County | 42 | 22.32% | 21.35% | 36.3% | 24% | 21.5% | 10.5% | $13,462 |
| Marquette County | 43 | 28.94% | 20.39% | 36% | 20.7% | 22.5% | 6.5% | $13,445 |
| Wayne County | 44 | 27.7% | 16.61% | 28.1% | 23.1% | 27.3% | 15.6% | $13,435 |
| Leelanau County | 45 | 16.19% | 33.8% | 54.6% | 24.8% | 8.7% | 3.7% | $13,243 |
| Shiawassee County | 46 | 27.91% | 19.94% | 37.6% | 27.9% | 16.4% | 9% | $13,235 |
| Kalkaska County | 47 | 31.27% | 21.87% | 39.2% | 25.4% | 15.7% | 9.8% | $13,192 |
| Muskegon County | 48 | 28.94% | 18.44% | 35% | 24.3% | 20.1% | 13% | $13,189 |
| Calhoun County | 49 | 28.91% | 18.58% | 35% | 22.2% | 19.6% | 12.6% | $12,982 |
| Isabella County | 50 | 28.92% | 14% | 27.3% | 17.9% | 36.6% | 9.1% | $12,964 |
| Chippewa County | 51 | 30.37% | 19.49% | 33.8% | 23.2% | 21.8% | 8.8% | $12,960 |
| Gratiot County | 52 | 29.95% | 17.75% | 32.9% | 25.9% | 23.6% | 9.5% | $12,927 |
| Houghton County | 53 | 30% | 18.21% | 31.2% | 19.1% | 29.2% | 7.4% | $12,897 |
| Van Buren County | 54 | 26% | 19.91% | 37% | 23.4% | 20.6% | 11% | $12,888 |
| Otsego County | 55 | 26.37% | 22.3% | 42.4% | 25.2% | 12.2% | 9% | $12,710 |
| St. Clair County | 56 | 24.16% | 20.34% | 39.9% | 26.7% | 15% | 9.3% | $12,699 |
| Missaukee County | 57 | 28.74% | 21.88% | 39.7% | 24.4% | 17% | 9.7% | $12,551 |
| Mecosta County | 58 | 29.5% | 20.48% | 38.8% | 24.2% | 13.2% | 11% | $12,535 |
| Jackson County | 59 | 26.48% | 19% | 37.9% | 25.7% | 17.8% | 10.5% | $12,290 |
| Newaygo County | 60 | 27.82% | 20.56% | 39.7% | 22.9% | 16.7% | 11.1% | $12,279 |
| Lenawee County | 61 | 25.77% | 20.3% | 40.8% | 27% | 15.1% | 8.6% | $12,252 |
| Branch County | 62 | 27.89% | 19.44% | 37.5% | 22.6% | 21% | 10.3% | $12,002 |
| Cass County | 63 | 21.67% | 22.63% | 42.9% | 20.8% | 17.1% | 10.1% | $11,904 |
| Grand Traverse County | 64 | 19.1% | 22% | 43% | 26.5% | 13.7% | 6.7% | $11,861 |
| Hillsdale County | 65 | 28.16% | 21.3% | 39.4% | 24.1% | 17.5% | 10.3% | $11,825 |
| Midland County | 66 | 19.33% | 20.25% | 40.4% | 25.8% | 16.9% | 7.8% | $11,761 |
| Lapeer County | 67 | 23.17% | 20.16% | 43.4% | 28% | 12.2% | 7.9% | $11,720 |
| St. Joseph County | 68 | 24.78% | 19% | 38.9% | 23.1% | 19.2% | 11.3% | $11,632 |
| Montcalm County | 69 | 27.9% | 18.18% | 38.1% | 26.7% | 14.7% | 11.4% | $11,363 |
| Eaton County | 70 | 22.22% | 20% | 43.6% | 30.2% | 9.1% | 7.9% | $11,318 |
| Monroe County | 71 | 21.17% | 19.81% | 42.9% | 27.9% | 12.6% | 7.9% | $11,222 |
| Macomb County | 72 | 20% | 18.29% | 40.4% | 30.5% | 11.2% | 9.9% | $10,779 |
| Ingham County | 73 | 21.53% | 14.84% | 34.7% | 24.4% | 20.3% | 11.8% | $10,676 |
| Kalamazoo County | 74 | 17.59% | 16.21% | 39% | 22.3% | 18.3% | 11.4% | $10,489 |
| Barry County | 75 | 18.6% | 19.61% | 44.9% | 24.2% | 12.1% | 9% | $10,075 |
| Oakland County | 76 | 11.85% | 18.43% | 43.5% | 30% | 12.1% | 7% | $10,053 |
| Allegan County | 77 | 17.8% | 18.3% | 44.2% | 22.2% | 15.2% | 9.5% | $9,781 |
| Ionia County | 78 | 23% | 15.77% | 39.8% | 25% | 15.6% | 11% | $9,427 |
| Livingston County | 79 | 13.48% | 19.62% | 52.3% | 26.4% | 7.2% | 5.1% | $9,343 |
| Kent County | 80 | 13.89% | 14.94% | 37.8% | 24.3% | 17.2% | 12.1% | $9,305 |
| Clinton County | 81 | 15.64% | 18.91% | 49.4% | 25.6% | 8.5% | 7.2% | $8,885 |
| Washtenaw County | 82 | 12.2% | 15.84% | 43.5% | 25% | 13.2% | 8.2% | $8,708 |
| Ottawa County | 83 | 14.13% | 16.63% | 45.7% | 26.5% | 10.3% | 7.6% | $8,623 |
