county

Houghton County, MI

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

AI Overview

Houghton County is anchored by Michigan Technological University, which shapes a young, educated workforce — median age 32.2 — with 36.6% holding a bachelor's degree or higher against a relatively small labor pool of roughly 37,400 residents and a 58.5% labor force participation rate. Median worker earnings of $25,239 and a median home value of $140,300 reflect a low-cost operating environment, with median gross rent at $767/month. The county posted 2.9% population growth over five years, and a mean commute of 15.9 minutes points to a compact, accessible geography.

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

Population

37,428

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$58,899

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

32.2 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+2.9% since 2018

Houghton County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone34,481 (91.5%)
  • Asian Alone1,084 (2.9%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races607 (1.6%)
  • Some Other Race Alone454 (1.2%)
  • Black or African American Alone444 (1.2%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race433 (1.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Other Indo-European726
  2. 2.Spanish337
  3. 3.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)293
  4. 4.Other Asian and Pacific Island272
  5. 5.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic114

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

19.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

62.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

17.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

5.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

2,008

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$31,785

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$31,441

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

5.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

15.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance5,624
  2. 2.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services2,049
  3. 3.Manufacturing (Group)1,801
  4. 4.Retail Trade (Group)1,791
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services1,393

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations7,160
  2. 2.Service Occupations3,245
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations2,951
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,953
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,528

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.43×)2,129
  2. 2.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.42×)5,626
  3. 3.Retail Trade (LQ 1.09×)2,025
  4. 4.Construction (LQ 1.01×)1,191
  5. 5.Manufacturing (LQ 0.99×)1,678

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$140,300

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$767/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

71.8%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,9991,260 (12.3%)
  • $200,000 to $249,9991,194 (11.6%)
  • $100,000 to $124,9991,167 (11.4%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999925 (9.0%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999745 (7.3%)
  • $90,000 to $99,999498 (4.8%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

36.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

94.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

58.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$25,239

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

15.6 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

7.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone10,672 (63.7%)
  • Worked At Home1,849 (11.0%)
  • Walked1,750 (10.4%)
  • Carpooled1,687 (10.1%)
  • Public Transit406 (2.4%)
  • Bicycle172 (1.0%)

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.