county

Berrien County, MI

Demographic and economic profile of Berrien County, MI, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Berrien County, MI, a county of 153,411 residents along Lake Michigan, carries a modest economic profile with a GDP per capita of $47,692 against median household income of $65,425 and median worker earnings of $38,606. The labor force is relatively constrained, with a 60.4% participation rate, 6.5% unemployment, and 30.2% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher. Housing costs remain low—median home value of $211,400 and median gross rent of $923/month—though the county's population has contracted by 0.9% over five years, and a 15.2% poverty rate signals ongoing economic pressure.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

152,703

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$65,425

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

42.7 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-0.9% since 2018

Berrien County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone113,353 (73.9%)
  • Black or African American Alone20,232 (13.2%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races6,814 (4.4%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race5,174 (3.4%)
  • Some Other Race Alone4,512 (2.9%)
  • Asian Alone2,761 (1.8%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish5,758
  2. 2.Other Indo-European1,649
  3. 3.Other Asian and Pacific Island519
  4. 4.German or other West Germanic447
  5. 5.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)426

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

21.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

57.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

20.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

5.5%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

7,328

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$47,692

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$37,747

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

6.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

15.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance16,714
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)13,370
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)7,213
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services6,695
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services5,808

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations26,730
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations14,211
  3. 3.Service Occupations12,638
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations10,811
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations5,762

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Manufacturing (LQ 1.96×)13,666
  2. 2.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.15×)4,703
  3. 3.Other Services (LQ 1.13×)3,736
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.05×)6,453
  5. 5.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.01×)16,536

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$211,400

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$923/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

72.8%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,9997,032 (15.1%)
  • $300,000 to $399,9996,627 (14.2%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9994,702 (10.1%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9994,057 (8.7%)
  • $400,000 to $499,9993,267 (7.0%)
  • $100,000 to $124,9992,945 (6.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

30.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

92.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

60.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$38,606

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

21.2 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

7.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone52,325 (76.4%)
  • Worked At Home7,679 (11.2%)
  • Carpooled5,654 (8.3%)
  • Walked1,847 (2.7%)
  • Other531 (0.8%)
  • Bicycle190 (0.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.