county

Kalkaska County, MI

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

AI Overview

Kalkaska County is a small, rural northern Michigan county of 18,116 residents, with an economy rooted in natural-resource and goods-producing sectors typical of the region. The labor force is limited—participation sits at 54.8%—and educational attainment is modest, with only 18.2% holding a bachelor's degree or higher, though median worker earnings of $37,543 and a median home value of $174,300 reflect relatively low-cost operating conditions. The county posted 3.7% population growth over five years, carries a 4.3% unemployment rate, and has an exceptionally high homeownership rate of 88.2%, pointing to a stable, owner-occupied residential base with minimal rental market depth.

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

Population

18,116

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$68,578

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

44.4 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+3.7% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone16,970 (93.0%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races590 (3.2%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race231 (1.3%)
  • Some Other Race Alone171 (0.9%)
  • Black or African American Alone148 (0.8%)
  • Asian Alone91 (0.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish180
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic77
  3. 3.Other Indo-European70
  4. 4.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)27
  5. 5.Other Asian and Pacific Island15

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

20.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

58.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

21.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.4%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,384

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$34,614

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$32,904

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

4.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

14.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,778
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)1,328
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)950
  4. 4.Construction (Group)784
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services732

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations2,117
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations1,904
  3. 3.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,501
  4. 4.Service Occupations1,358
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,071

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 2.11×)260
  2. 2.Manufacturing (LQ 1.54×)1,186
  3. 3.Construction (LQ 1.54×)823
  4. 4.Other Services (LQ 1.44×)524
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.25×)848

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$174,300

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$767/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

88.2%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,9991,122 (16.3%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999798 (11.6%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999785 (11.4%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999665 (9.7%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999602 (8.8%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999595 (8.7%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

18.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

89.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

54.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$37,543

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

29.7 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

5.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone6,277 (80.2%)
  • Carpooled817 (10.4%)
  • Worked At Home582 (7.4%)
  • Walked83 (1.1%)
  • Other60 (0.8%)
  • Taxi4 (0.1%)

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.