county

Iron County, MI

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

AI Overview

Iron County's economy reflects a rural Upper Peninsula character, with a labor force participation rate of just 47.4% and a median age of 53.1 years pointing to a small, older workforce of roughly 5,500 active workers. Educational attainment skews toward high school credentials (93.4%) rather than four-year degrees (20.6%), and median worker earnings of $36,798 align with a low-cost operating environment where median rent is $510/month and median home values are $101,500. The county posted 3.9% population growth over five years despite these structural constraints, and an 85.3% homeownership rate reflects a stable, if modestly compensated, resident base.

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

Population

11,650

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$55,940

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

53.1 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+3.9% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone10,646 (91.2%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race348 (3.0%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races224 (1.9%)
  • Some Other Race Alone169 (1.4%)
  • Black or African American Alone110 (0.9%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone101 (0.9%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish108
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic30
  3. 3.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)18
  4. 4.Other Indo-European14
  5. 5.Korean6

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

17.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

51.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

30.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

0.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,068

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$26,990

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$33,488

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

4.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

16.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance885
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)622
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)486
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services441
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services423

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations1,423
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations983
  3. 3.Service Occupations800
  4. 4.Sales & Office Occupations704
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations529

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 2.15×)152
  2. 2.Other Services (LQ 1.53×)321
  3. 3.Manufacturing (LQ 1.46×)644
  4. 4.Construction (LQ 1.24×)381
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.18×)461

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$101,500

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$510/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

84.5%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $100,000 to $124,999540 (11.5%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999428 (9.1%)
  • $40,000 to $49,999339 (7.2%)
  • $80,000 to $89,999314 (6.7%)
  • $70,000 to $79,999302 (6.4%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999290 (6.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

20.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

93.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

47.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$36,798

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

20.0 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

7.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone3,337 (76.5%)
  • Worked At Home505 (11.6%)
  • Carpooled286 (6.6%)
  • Walked132 (3.0%)
  • Other91 (2.1%)
  • Bicycle7 (0.2%)

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.