county

Ontonagon County, MI

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

AI Overview

Ontonagon County is a small, rural Upper Peninsula county of 5,870 residents with a heavily goods-producing or natural-resource-oriented economic base, reflected in a GDP per capita of $22,336 against a median household income of $54,398 and median worker earnings of $30,212. The available labor pool is constrained—labor force participation stands at just 41.8%, unemployment is 7.6%, and only 16.7% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, though 94.1% have a high school diploma. The county skews older (median age 59.8), has been losing population at -1.6% over five years, and offers notably low housing costs, with a median home value of $101,000 and median gross rent of $571 per month alongside an 87.3% homeownership rate.

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

Population

5,870

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$54,398

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

59.8 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-1.6% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone5,415 (92.6%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races223 (3.8%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race92 (1.6%)
  • Some Other Race Alone37 (0.6%)
  • Black or African American Alone31 (0.5%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone28 (0.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish27
  2. 2.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)19
  3. 3.German or other West Germanic18
  4. 4.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)8
  5. 5.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic7

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

11.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

50.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

37.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.1%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

726

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$22,336

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$32,741

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

7.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

12.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance424
  2. 2.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services245
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)224
  4. 4.Public Administration (Group)224
  5. 5.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining188

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations713
  2. 2.Service Occupations505
  3. 3.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations379
  4. 4.Sales & Office Occupations300
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations253

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 5.31×)173
  2. 2.Public Administration (LQ 1.59×)154
  3. 3.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.36×)243
  4. 4.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.24×)148
  5. 5.Retail Trade (LQ 1.04×)231

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$101,000

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$571/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

87.1%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $100,000 to $124,999367 (13.4%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999242 (8.8%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999228 (8.3%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999210 (7.7%)
  • $90,000 to $99,999191 (7.0%)
  • $50,000 to $59,999181 (6.6%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

16.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

94.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

41.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$30,212

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

25.0 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

5.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone1,425 (68.1%)
  • Carpooled262 (12.5%)
  • Worked At Home244 (11.7%)
  • Walked126 (6.0%)
  • Other23 (1.1%)
  • Public Transit9 (0.4%)

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.