Michigan is the only state in the U.S. where the average resident’s well-being has declined from 2000 to 2010, according to a Measure of America report published by the Social Science Research Council.

Co-authors Kristen Lewis and Sarah Burd-Sharps quantified the well-being of American workers from 2000 to 2010 using the Human Development Index, a composite statistic of life expectancy, education and earnings. Over those ten years, Michigan’s score fell due to a $7,000 decline in personal income. The collapse of the auto industry and the subsequent disappearance of manufacturing jobs are largely responsible for the fall.

Yet, North Carolina, which has approximately the same population size as Michigan and lost an even higher share of manufacturing jobs over the decade, didn’t experience the same decline in human development. Why? According to the report, it’s because North Carolina spent three times more per person on higher education than Michigan in 2010. “North Carolina’s public and private investment in building a workforce with the skills for new jobs in the life sciences, telecommunications, and software development helps sustain a competitive economy and a decent standard of living,” write Ms. Lewis and Ms. Burd-Sharps.