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About half of Detroiters say they're likely to run out of money in the next three months if the coronavirus economic shutdown continues through July, while one in five say they definitely will, a new survey from the University of Michigan finds.

The survey, conducted between March 31 through April 9, asked more than 1,000 respondents a series of wide-ranging questions about how the outbreak will impact them. A little more than a third who were recently employed reported having lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic. 

Detroiters are most concerned about being able to care for their loved ones and getting the health care they need during the outbreak, the survey found. Having a place to live and access to transportation were less of a concern.

"Imagine not being able to provide for your family all of a sudden ... especially after establishing [yourself] to a point where [you] shouldn't have to just try and survive," one respondent said.

Other findings include:

  • On average, Detroiters think they have an approximately 30-percent chance of contracting coronavirus in the next three months. Black residents and less educated residents on average reported a lower perceived likelihood of contracting the disease.

  • 97 percent of respondents say they've made at least one behavioral change in response to the crisis, with the most prevalent changes being more frequent handwashing and social isolation.

  • Nearly half of Detroiters had decreased their spending in response to the Covid-19 crisis. Higher-income residents — who have greater flexibility in how they spend their resources — were more likely to have decreased their spending than lower-income residents.

  • Job losses were most prevalent among parents of young children, people with less education, people with lower incomes, people of color, and people under 30.

The survey was conducted as part of UM's Detroit Metro Area Communities Study, which has polled Detroiters about their changing city since 2016. Results are weighted to represent the population of Detroit.