county

Alger County, MI

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

AI Overview

Alger County is a small Upper Peninsula county of 8,813 residents with an economy anchored in natural resources and public lands, reflected in a labor force participation rate of just 40.6% and an unemployment rate of 6.3%, suggesting significant seasonal or part-time employment patterns. The workforce skews older—median age 49.1—with 20.3% holding a bachelor's degree or higher, and median worker earnings of $35,239 against a median household income of $61,286. Housing costs are low, with a median home value of $165,700 and median gross rent of $712/month, and an 86.3% homeownership rate, though the county has shed 4.1% of its population over the past five years.

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

Population

8,813

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$61,286

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

49.1 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-4.1% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone7,178 (81.9%)
  • Black or African American Alone670 (7.6%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races465 (5.3%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone202 (2.3%)
  • Some Other Race Alone112 (1.3%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race112 (1.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish65
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic51
  3. 3.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)16
  4. 4.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic6
  5. 5.Arabic3

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

15.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

58.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

26.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.1%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

627

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$28,506

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$28,250

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

6.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

10.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance690
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)383
  3. 3.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services354
  4. 4.Manufacturing (Group)335
  5. 5.Public Administration (Group)295

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations936
  2. 2.Service Occupations641
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations547
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations531
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations304

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 3.18×)149
  2. 2.Public Administration (LQ 2.10×)291
  3. 3.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.51×)389
  4. 4.Manufacturing (LQ 1.21×)354
  5. 5.Construction (LQ 1.09×)222

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$165,700

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$712/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

86.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,999387 (12.7%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999376 (12.3%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999311 (10.2%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999307 (10.1%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999293 (9.6%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999212 (7.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

20.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

93.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

40.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$35,239

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

22.9 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

6.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone2,083 (71.7%)
  • Carpooled383 (13.2%)
  • Worked At Home238 (8.2%)
  • Walked118 (4.1%)
  • Other53 (1.8%)
  • Public Transit22 (0.8%)

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.