Economics

          Literacy and economics are interlaced: the more impoverished an area, the lower the level of overall literacy.  Ross, McKechnie and Rothbauer (2006) state the following statistic from a Hart and Risley (1996) longitudinal study: “by age three, there was already a 30-million-word gap between the words that the children in families on welfare had heard and the words that children in professional families had heard” (43).

As a case investigation of this relationship between literacy and income, one could examine the statistics from the poorest county in the state of Michigan: Lake County.

General Statistics Lake County, Michigan
Economics	2013 Population: 11,386 (White: 87%, African American: 9.2%) 2009-2013 Households: 4,096 Median Household income: $29,379 Persons below poverty level: 27.9% 2007 Retail sales per capita: 4,801
Jobs	2012 Private wage/salary: 72% Government: 19% Self-employed, not incorporated: 8% Unpaid family work: 0%
Public Libraries	Chase Township Public Library Luther Area Public Library Pathfinder Community Library
Library Associations	Interlibrary Loan Mid-Michigan Library League and Michi-Card
Education Levels	2014 No High School: 481 Some High School: 1,277 (26.8%) Some College: 1, 795 (37.7%) Associate Degree: 494 Bachelor Degree: 517 Graduate Degree: 198
Literacy Rate	2013 4th graders not proficient in reading: 46% High School students not graduating on time: 48%
Higher Education	West Shore Community College (two year) No four year universities No independent colleges or universities
Newspapers	The Lake County Star (weekly since 1873)

Focused Statistics

2013 estimates
Population	11, 124
% below poverty level	27.9  +/- 2.7
% below poverty level under 18	46.9  +/-
Unemployed	44%
K-12 enrolled	95%
Total household	4,096
Median income	$24-29,000

2014 estimates
Population	11,341
% language other than English	2.1

          In 2013, the percentage of 4^th graders not proficient in reading was 46%.  Given that the population numbers had had no significant change (-117 in one year) and the non-English speaking percentage is only 2.1%, a reason for the almost 50% rating of “not proficient” in readings might be due to the lack of materials available in the home because of low-income families’ inability to afford them.  The median income is approximately $2000 per month.  Expenses in Lake County for food, gasoline and utilities are high in this upper middle-west of Michigan.  Another reason for the low literacy rate could be the relative isolation of Lake County.  It is bordered by a state forest on the west and a few small towns on the east.  Cultural activities do not seem numerous and the libraries are small and perhaps budgets do not permit extensive programming with much cultural literacy focus.