LTBB Master Land Use Plan - Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa ...

precisely why this is the case, although it may have to do with the high incomes associated with
lakeshore living, and the seasonality of the economy.
In an absolute sense, this means that a higher percentage of the population of the entirety of
Emmet and Charlevoix Counties is likely to be in poverty, a fact that has important repercussions for
development and growth. If in fact we have an economy that is becoming more divergent instead of
less, i.e. greater wealth in some areas balanced by greater poverty in persistent geographic locations,
that will tend to be a damper on growth at some point. Therefore, the type and location of
economic development initiated by either the Tribe or other municipalities becomes key to
determining whether this trend continues.
Per Capita Income Tabulations
Closely related to household income and poverty is Per Capita Income, or PCI. In Table 16,
entitled “LTBB Reservation – Per Capita Income Tabulations (1989-1999)”, we see the change in
PCI between the 1990 Census (1989 income figures), and the 2000 Census (1999 income figures).
The result, as a percentage change, is shown in Graph 13, below the table.
As is probably becoming clear by now, each graph and table presents a slightly different aspect
of the demographic environment that the LTBB Reservation coexists in. Sometimes the results are
consistent with established perceptions, and sometimes larger and more varied information must be
looked at before the picture becomes clear. In this case, it is interesting to note the large gains in PCI
over much of the area, not necessarily just those areas experiencing rapid growth. Also interesting is
that areas with lower PCI growth are not necessarily those areas with higher poverty to begin with.
In fact, a lower rate of PCI growth might just indicate that incomes were higher than average to
begin with, and, due to stagnant population growth or movement, a greater PCI is not possible until
more change in population takes place, as can be seen more clearly in Maps 11, 12, and 13.
However, in this case, the answer more likely is somewhere else. Note from the table that, while
the poverty rate of Bliss and Center Townships are fairly low, even in the 2000 Census they had the
lowest PCI in the area. This can generally be explained by a correspondingly low household size
(persons per household), something explored previously.
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