county

Leelanau County, MI

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

AI Overview

Leelanau County is a small, high-income rural county of 22,607 residents on Michigan's northwestern Lower Peninsula, with a median household income of $99,422 and a poverty rate of just 7.1%. Nearly half the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or higher (49.9%), though the labor force participation rate is low at 52.8%, consistent with a median age of 55.9 years, suggesting a substantial retiree and seasonal population. The county grew 4.5% over five years, homeownership stands at 91.6%, and a median home value of $406,900 reflects constrained housing availability relative to median worker earnings of $37,818.

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

Population

22,607

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$99,422

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

55.9 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+4.5% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone20,420 (89.8%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race707 (3.1%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone596 (2.6%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races576 (2.5%)
  • Some Other Race Alone165 (0.7%)
  • Black or African American Alone162 (0.7%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish502
  2. 2.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)162
  3. 3.Other Indo-European92
  4. 4.German or other West Germanic77
  5. 5.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic52

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

15.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

51.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

33.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,308

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$36,842

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$53,601

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

3.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

7.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance2,470
  2. 2.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services1,489
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)967
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services941
  5. 5.Construction (Group)834

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations4,627
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations1,679
  3. 3.Service Occupations1,536
  4. 4.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations930
  5. 5.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations855

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 2.19×)346
  2. 2.Construction (LQ 1.16×)797
  3. 3.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.15×)999
  4. 4.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.12×)2,585
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management (LQ 1.05×)1,280

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$406,900

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$1,223/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

91.6%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $500,000 to $749,9991,691 (19.1%)
  • $300,000 to $399,9991,357 (15.4%)
  • $400,000 to $499,9991,301 (14.7%)
  • $750,000 to $999,999959 (10.9%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999720 (8.1%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999710 (8.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

49.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

96.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

52.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$37,818

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

23.6 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

3.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone7,077 (75.4%)
  • Worked At Home1,497 (15.9%)
  • Carpooled479 (5.1%)
  • Walked126 (1.3%)
  • Other97 (1.0%)
  • Bicycle80 (0.9%)

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.