Gov. Whitmer was elected in 2018 and sworn in on Jan. 1, 2019. Gretchen Whitmer is now serving a 2nd consecutive term; the current term began Jan. 2023. The scored record above covers Michigan's outcomes during this continuous service, lagged per category (each category's lag was fixed before scoring).
Governors › Michigan
Michigan Under Gretchen Whitmer
Democratic · Sworn in Jan. 1, 2019 · Now in 2nd term
Michigan has tracked the other 49 states almost exactly under Gov. Whitmer — No. 10 of 29 governors with rated records, across 16 categories.
Gretchen Whitmer
Michigan · Democratic · since Jan. 2019 · 2nd term
Overall · citizen-weighted
No. 10 of 29
+0.04σ · 16 of 20 categories
equal-weight: +0.05σ · weighting hurts
| Category | Latest | Score vs. peers | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Honesty | — | In human review | |
| Spending discipline | — | Rubric in development | |
| Education scale score | 270 ’24 | −0.98σ* | |
| Air quality AQI | 38.5 ’24 | −0.25σ | |
| Water quality % of community systems | 2.7 ’25 | +0.01σ | |
| Unemployment % | 5.2 ’25 | −0.07σ | |
| Health coverage % of adults 18-64 | 7.3 ’24 | −0.66σ | |
| Tax burden % of personal income | 6.0 ’24 | −0.10σ | |
| Energy cost cents/kWh | 19.3 ’24 | +0.24σ | |
| Cost of living index, US=100 | 96.2 ’24 | −0.56σ | |
| Crime deaths per 100,000 | 5.7 ’24 | +0.92σ | |
| Teen births per 1,000 females 15-19 | 10.3 ’24 | +1.08σ | |
| Wellbeing mean days of past 30 | 5.3 ’24 | +0.72σ | |
| School food quality | — | Rubric in development | |
| School shootings | 0 ’24 | Context · 14/10yr | |
| Obesity % of adults | 36.1 ’24 | −0.68σ | |
| Early literacy % of 4th graders | 45.4 ’24 | −0.62σ* | |
| Gun deaths deaths per 100,000 (age-adjusted) | 11.9 ’24 | +1.33σ | |
| Food-aid access index (higher = easier access) | 0.9 ’23 | +0.90σ | |
| Jobless-benefit access % of unemployed receiving UI | 23 ’24 | −0.36σ |
Data transparency — 100% of state-run reporting delivered this tenureFull reporting
Scores are trends vs. the other 49 states over this governor’s window, in σ; *thin data (under 3 points). Tap ? on any row for what it measures, its chart, and the source. All provisional while the term runs. Methodology v2.1
Unemployment Rate, 2010–2025
Michigan against all 49 other states Michigan 50-state median Other 49 states Scored window
Annual-average unemployment rate — the longest-running series on the card, charted in full. The shaded band is its scored window: it opens one year after inauguration and tracks through the newest published data. The dashed line is the 50-state median, shown for context; scoring uses the median of the other 49 states. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics.
The Record
Show the Work
every published number, reproducible| Education (NAEP (Nation's Report Card)) | −0.98σ · window 2021–2024 (2 pts, thin) · state −0.5%/yr vs peers −0.1%/yr |
| Air quality (EPA AirData) | −0.25σ · window 2020–2024 (5 pts) · state +1.3%/yr vs peers +0.7%/yr |
| Water quality (EPA SDWIS/ECHO) | +0.01σ · window 2020–2025 (6 pts) · state +0.1%/yr vs peers +0.1%/yr |
| Unemployment (BLS LAUS) | −0.07σ · window 2020–2025 (6 pts) · state −10.6%/yr vs peers −10.9%/yr |
| Health coverage (CDC BRFSS) | −0.66σ · window 2020–2024 (5 pts) · state −3.2%/yr vs peers −6.4%/yr |
| Tax burden (Census STC ÷ BEA personal income) | −0.10σ · window 2019–2024 (6 pts) · state +1.2%/yr vs peers +1.0%/yr |
| Energy cost (EIA) | +0.24σ · window 2020–2024 (5 pts) · state +4.2%/yr vs peers +4.8%/yr |
| Cost of living (BEA) | −0.56σ · window 2020–2024 (5 pts) · state +0.4%/yr vs peers +0.1%/yr |
| Crime (CDC WONDER) | +0.92σ · window 2020–2024 (5 pts) · state −10.3%/yr vs peers −5.9%/yr |
| Teen births (CDC WONDER) | +1.08σ · window 2020–2024 (5 pts) · state −6.3%/yr vs peers −4.6%/yr |
| Wellbeing (CDC BRFSS) | +0.72σ · window 2020–2024 (5 pts) · state +1.9%/yr vs peers +3.4%/yr |
| Obesity (CDC BRFSS) | −0.68σ · window 2021–2024 (4 pts) · state +1.8%/yr vs peers +0.7%/yr |
| Early literacy (NAEP (Nation's Report Card)) | −0.62σ · window 2021–2024 (2 pts, thin) · state +4.0%/yr vs peers +1.8%/yr |
| Gun deaths (CDC WONDER) | +1.33σ · window 2020–2024 (5 pts) · state −5.0%/yr vs peers −1.4%/yr |
| Food-aid access (USDA FNS) | +0.90σ · window 2020–2023 (3 pts) · state +6.5%/yr vs peers +0.9%/yr |
| Jobless-benefit access (US DOL ETA) | −0.36σ · window 2020–2024 (5 pts) · state −24.8%/yr vs peers −22.0%/yr |
| Overall (mean of domain scores) | +0.04σ · economy −0.13 · health +0.12 · environment −0.12 · public_safety +1.13 · education −0.80 · social_services +0.27 · fiscal −0.10 |
| Methodology | v2.1, preregistered — directions and lags fixed before scoring; full dataset at /pwr.json |
Every score is a fitted log-linear trend over that category’s window, minus the median trend of the other 49 states, standardized by the spread across states (σ) and capped at ±2.5. Positive always means “moved better than peers” under the category’s preregistered direction.
Cite this
Michigan has tracked the other 49 states almost exactly under Gov. Whitmer — No. 10 of 29 governors with rated records, across 16 categories. — Political Grades, methodology v2.1, data through 2025. Provisional; trend-vs-peers scoring; relative movement, not causation.