county

Mason County, MI

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

AI Overview

Mason County is a small rural county of 29,177 residents with a relatively older population (median age 47.3) and a modest labor force participation rate of 54.2%, reflecting its retirement and seasonal character along Lake Michigan. The workforce skews toward trade and working-class occupations, with 25.0% holding a bachelor's degree or higher and median worker earnings of $35,465. Housing costs remain low—median home value of $199,300 and median gross rent of $840/month—and a 78.3% homeownership rate pairs with a 4.6% unemployment rate and modest 1.0% population growth over five years.

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

Population

29,177

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$64,748

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

47.3 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+1.0% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone26,749 (91.6%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race826 (2.8%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races714 (2.4%)
  • Some Other Race Alone354 (1.2%)
  • Black or African American Alone279 (1.0%)
  • Asian Alone145 (0.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish453
  2. 2.Other Indo-European71
  3. 3.German or other West Germanic52
  4. 4.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)50
  5. 5.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic44

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

19.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

54.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

25.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.7%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,932

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$35,202

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$34,751

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

4.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

14.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance2,662
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)1,981
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)1,507
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services1,178
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services1,098

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations4,530
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations2,484
  3. 3.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations2,048
  4. 4.Service Occupations2,035
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,486

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 2.10×)416
  2. 2.Manufacturing (LQ 1.55×)1,910
  3. 3.Retail Trade (LQ 1.27×)1,710
  4. 4.Construction (LQ 1.12×)958
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.10×)1,200

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$199,300

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$840/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

78.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,9991,498 (14.9%)
  • $200,000 to $249,9991,390 (13.9%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9991,069 (10.7%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999916 (9.1%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999883 (8.8%)
  • $400,000 to $499,999735 (7.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

25.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

93.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

54.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$35,465

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

19.5 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

6.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone9,034 (72.6%)
  • Carpooled1,424 (11.4%)
  • Worked At Home1,364 (11.0%)
  • Walked375 (3.0%)
  • Public Transit123 (1.0%)
  • Other61 (0.5%)

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.