county

Lake County, MI

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

AI Overview

Lake County is a small, rural Michigan county of 12,393 residents with a 5.4% population gain over five years, though its economy remains limited in scale, with a GDP per capita of just $18,556 and median worker earnings of $29,218. The labor force is constrained, with participation at only 42.7% and an unemployment rate of 7.6%, while educational attainment is low—only 12.5% hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Housing costs are modest, with a median home value of $122,900 and median gross rent of $863/month, supported by an 82.0% homeownership rate, though a 20.6% poverty rate reflects persistent economic pressure across the county.

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

Population

12,393

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$50,805

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

50.5 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+5.4% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone10,038 (79.9%)
  • Black or African American Alone1,005 (8.0%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races752 (6.0%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race413 (3.3%)
  • Some Other Race Alone170 (1.4%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone147 (1.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish285
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic168
  3. 3.Other Indo-European31
  4. 4.Vietnamese23
  5. 5.Korean13

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

15.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

58.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

26.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.0%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

896

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$18,556

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$27,369

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

7.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

20.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Manufacturing (Group)910
  2. 2.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance606
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)567
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services457
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services389

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations1,160
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,075
  3. 3.Service Occupations908
  4. 4.Sales & Office Occupations859
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations524

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Manufacturing (LQ 1.92×)809
  2. 2.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.33×)493
  3. 3.Public Administration (LQ 1.24×)248
  4. 4.Construction (LQ 1.13×)331
  5. 5.Retail Trade (LQ 1.10×)509

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$122,900

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$863/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

82.0%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $100,000 to $124,999597 (14.0%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999363 (8.5%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999362 (8.5%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999356 (8.4%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999309 (7.3%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999228 (5.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

12.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

82.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

42.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$29,218

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

34.0 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

7.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone3,532 (79.5%)
  • Worked At Home438 (9.9%)
  • Carpooled317 (7.1%)
  • Public Transit59 (1.3%)
  • Other38 (0.9%)
  • Walked37 (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.