Roscommon County, Michigan

• Income gap: Households earn meaningfully less than the national median, which directly affects retail demand, housing absorption, and tax base.
• Elevated poverty: At 15.5%, the rate is in economically distressed territory and supports federal funding narratives (CDFI, NMTC, EDA).
• Talent gap: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment trails the national average by 15.5 pts, relevant for advanced-services attraction strategy.
• Aging population: Median age of 58 is materially above the U.S. norm; succession planning and senior-services demand are real factors.

• Largest sector: Accommodation and Food Services employs 1,619 workers (40.5% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $23,306.
• Economic scale: Regional GDP of $854M (2024).
• Wage stratification: Manufacturing averages $76,112 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $23,306, a 3.3x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.

• Top specialization: Building Material and Garden Supply Retailers concentrates at 3.93x the national norm, strong concentration that anchors the local economy and supports supply-chain attraction strategy.
• Cluster depth: 6 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
• Attraction whitespace: 3 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.

• Affordable market: Home value to income ratio of 2.9x is well below the ~4.1x national average; supports talent attraction and family settlement narratives.
• High home ownership: 85.4% owner-occupied; rental supply may be tight for incoming workers.
• Elevated vacancy: 50.1% vacancy rate. In resort, rural, and seasonal markets much of this is recreational/seasonal (second homes), not available supply; confirm the vacancy-by-reason split before treating it as a redevelopment opportunity.
• Affordable rent tiers: 4 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$1,381/mo).

• Succession risk is real: 36.6% of working-age residents are 55-64. Plan for retirements over the next decade and pair attraction strategy with talent retention.
• Low participation: 43.2% labor force participation suggests untapped capacity; workforce development programs may unlock supply.
• Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 35,780 annual credentials.

Roscommon County shows meaningful potential for building material and garden supply retailers attraction, with a 3.93x concentration and 211 jobs in this sub-sector. Near-term succession risk is elevated, with 36.6% of the working-age population within 10 years of retirement age.

The interconnected base across building material and garden supply retailers, general merchandise retailers, and food services and drinking places creates supply-chain attraction leverage rather than single-employer risk, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.