Early Care and Education Enrollment in Michigan

The following maps are intended to provide insight into the current state of ECE program enrollment in Michigan. The numbers presented on the maps are estimates (see data note at the bottom of the page for more detail on how estimates were derived). Each map shows county-level numbers, with Intermediate School District geographic boundaries overlaid on top.

The map below shows counties with higher rates of children not enrolled in ECE (dark shades) and lower rates of children not enrolled in ECE (lighter shades). Hover over your county of interest to see what share of 4-year-olds are enrolled in ECE and in what programs.

To get a more granular look at ECE enrollment, the next map shows the estimated percentage of children who are enrolled in any ECE program (GSRP, Head Start, Transitional Kindergarten for 4s, Licensed child care) by zip code.

Among 4-year-olds who are enrolled in any type of care, many are enrolled in public prekindergarten options (GSRP, Head Start, or Transitional Kindergarten for 4s). The map below shows counties with higher rates of children enrolled in public programs (dark shades) and lower rates of children enrolled in public programs (lighter shades). Hover over your county of interest to see what share of 4-year-olds are enrolled in public prekindergarten.

The map below shows the share of children 0-5 from families living at or below the federal poverty line. Darker shaded counties have higher shares of children from families with low incomes. Hover on your county of interest to see more.

This research result used data structured and maintained by the MERI-Michigan Education Data Center (MEDC). MEDC data is modified for analysis purposes using rules governed by MEDC and are not identical to those data collected and maintained by the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) and/or Michigan’s Center for Educational Performance and Information (CEPI). Results, information and opinions solely represent the analysis, information and opinions of the author(s) and are not endorsed by, or reflect the views or positions of, grantors, MDE and CEPI or any employee thereof. 

The enrollment counts on this webpage are estimates derived from several datasets. In many cases, we make imputation assumptions to estimate enrollment and assign enrollment to counties. As with all estimates, there is uncertainty. Head Start counts come from the 2022-23 Head Start Program Information Report. GSRP counts are calculated using administrative student records from the Michigan Education Research Institute (MERI). GSRP/Head Start blend programs are included only in the Head Start counts. Transitional Kindergarten (TK) counts also come from the MERI data, but they require substantially more imputation. For school districts with TK that do not report individual TK enrollment, we infer enrollment based on grade progression patterns. For all other licensed childcare, state-level counts are the difference between total enrollment in childcare (as observed in the American Community Survey) and estimated enrollment in Head Start, GSRP, and TK. We allocate total licensed childcare enrollment to counties in proportion to their licensed capacity as reported by the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.