Grand Rapids Reporter

25 employers in Kent County paid $643,647,060 combined for public education employee salaries in 2021, ranking it fourth among Michigan counties.

Employers in Wayne County spent the most for public education employee salaries in Michigan in 2021, paying $1,523,022,718 total.

The data was gathered by the non-profit Mackinac Center for Public Policy.

More than one-third of Michigan residents said they believe school quality has worsened in recent years, and two-thirds say schools need more funding.

The Michigan government proposed spending $2.3 billion over four years to combat teacher shortages by recruiting and retaining teachers and other school staff.

Rank	County	Amount spent
1	Wayne County	$1,523,022,718
2	Oakland County	$1,158,524,036
3	Macomb County	$781,614,082
4	Kent County	$643,647,060
5	Genesee County	$343,837,865
6	Washtenaw County	$336,453,909
7	Ottawa County	$282,172,800
8	Ingham County	$277,524,477
9	Kalamazoo County	$246,044,913
10	Muskegon County	$162,792,780
11	Livingston County	$155,960,747
12	St. Clair County	$153,820,764
13	Saginaw County	$150,956,178
14	Jackson County	$146,878,082
15	Monroe County	$143,497,454
16	Calhoun County	$134,768,439
17	Berrien County	$132,890,175
18	Bay County	$111,581,828
19	Eaton County	$98,718,511
20	Van Buren County	$95,345,657
21	Allegan County	$94,060,181
22	Lenawee County	$92,986,265
23	Grand Traverse County	$73,687,437
24	Midland County	$72,101,842
25	Shiawassee County	$64,050,422
26	Montcalm County	$61,561,009
27	St. Joseph County	$60,417,808
28	Lapeer County	$59,893,549
29	Clinton County	$57,786,643
30	Marquette County	$55,445,897
31	Tuscola County	$47,953,770
32	Ionia County	$47,782,210
33	Barry County	$47,220,295
34	Newaygo County	$47,159,154
35	Mecosta County	$46,250,835
36	Isabella County	$42,125,894
37	Gratiot County	$40,894,670
38	Branch County	$40,814,665
39	Cass County	$40,068,714
40	Clare County	$35,025,096
41	Wexford County	$34,431,865
42	Houghton County	$34,398,660
43	Mason County	$33,789,386
44	Chippewa County	$33,404,106
45	Hillsdale County	$33,068,034
46	Sanilac County	$32,638,503
47	Huron County	$32,159,238
48	Delta County	$31,386,175
49	Charlevoix County	$29,960,677
50	Emmet County	$28,659,330
51	Alpena County	$25,271,477
52	Iosco County	$24,994,105
53	Dickinson County	$23,682,703
54	Otsego County	$20,353,544
55	Roscommon County	$19,581,874
56	Osceola County	$19,053,967
57	Cheboygan County	$18,635,773
58	Menominee County	$18,120,011
59	Oceana County	$17,658,158
60	Manistee County	$15,833,905
61	Antrim County	$15,293,610
62	Leelanau County	$15,271,691
63	Gladwin County	$11,829,363
64	Gogebic County	$11,730,429
65	Missaukee County	$11,161,672
66	Kalkaska County	$10,839,957
67	Benzie County	$10,210,258
68	Arenac County	$9,969,039
69	Ogemaw County	$8,921,694
70	Crawford County	$8,650,287
71	Mackinac County	$8,305,263
72	Iron County	$7,017,258
73	Presque Isle County	$6,911,172
74	Alger County	$6,348,677
75	Baraga County	$5,774,726
76	Ontonagon County	$5,736,837
77	Oscoda County	$4,666,026
78	Alcona County	$3,852,544
79	Schoolcraft County	$3,376,856
80	Montmorency County	$3,334,571
81	Lake County	$3,308,823
82	Luce County	$2,989,440
83	Caledonia County	$1,778,916
84	Keweenaw County	$88,844