county

Arenac County, MI

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

AI Overview

Arenac County is a small, rural Michigan county with a population of 15,054 and a median age of 50.2 years, reflecting an older workforce with relatively low educational attainment — only 15.8% hold a bachelor's degree or higher, though 88.6% have a high school diploma. The labor market is constrained, with a 53.0% participation rate and 6.3% unemployment, while median worker earnings of $33,866 and a median home value of $129,000 point to a low-cost operating environment. Population has edged down 0.7% over five years, and an 86.2% homeownership rate alongside median gross rent of $741/month underscores the county's affordable, predominantly owner-occupied housing stock.

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

Population

15,054

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$58,811

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

50.2 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-0.7% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone14,086 (93.4%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races494 (3.3%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race256 (1.7%)
  • Black or African American Alone109 (0.7%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone57 (0.4%)
  • Some Other Race Alone46 (0.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish139
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic136
  3. 3.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)26
  4. 4.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic23
  5. 5.Korean17

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

18.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

55.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

26.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

0.8%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,024

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$29,937

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$31,061

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

6.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

13.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Manufacturing (Group)1,220
  2. 2.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,206
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)772
  4. 4.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services571
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services564

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations1,823
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,492
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations1,175
  4. 4.Service Occupations995
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations745

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 2.66×)266
  2. 2.Manufacturing (LQ 1.91×)1,195
  3. 3.Retail Trade (LQ 1.27×)868
  4. 4.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.15×)421
  5. 5.Construction (LQ 1.09×)473

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$129,000

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$741/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

86.2%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,999641 (11.3%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999586 (10.4%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999570 (10.1%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999454 (8.0%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999415 (7.3%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999372 (6.6%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

15.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

88.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

53.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$33,866

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

26.6 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

7.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone4,835 (79.3%)
  • Worked At Home494 (8.1%)
  • Carpooled470 (7.7%)
  • Walked172 (2.8%)
  • Other80 (1.3%)
  • Bicycle38 (0.6%)

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.