county

Mecosta County, MI

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

AI Overview

Mecosta County is a small rural Michigan county of 40,321 residents with a labor force participation rate of just 54.1% and a median worker earnings figure of $30,982, reflecting a workforce that skews toward lower-wage employment and part-time work. About 22.7% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, unemployment sits at 5.0%, and the poverty rate is elevated at 19.2%. Housing costs remain low — median home value of $169,900 and median gross rent of $867/month — though the county has shed 6.8% 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

40,321

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$60,951

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

40.0 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-6.8% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone37,208 (90.2%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races1,368 (3.3%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race909 (2.2%)
  • Black or African American Alone905 (2.2%)
  • Some Other Race Alone337 (0.8%)
  • Asian Alone299 (0.7%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.German or other West Germanic1,242
  2. 2.Spanish487
  3. 3.Other Asian and Pacific Island134
  4. 4.Other Indo-European47
  5. 5.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)42

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

19.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

60.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

20.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

2.0%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

2,403

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$33,052

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$28,744

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

5.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

19.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance4,780
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)2,689
  3. 3.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services1,909
  4. 4.Retail Trade (Group)1,863
  5. 5.Construction (Group)1,304

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations5,918
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations3,495
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations3,258
  4. 4.Service Occupations3,256
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,991

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 1.82×)498
  2. 2.Manufacturing (LQ 1.40×)2,390
  3. 3.Other Services (LQ 1.24×)1,001
  4. 4.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.18×)4,719
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.16×)1,747

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$169,900

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$867/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

76.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,9991,735 (13.5%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9991,565 (12.2%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9991,343 (10.5%)
  • $300,000 to $399,9991,246 (9.7%)
  • $100,000 to $124,9991,117 (8.7%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999942 (7.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

22.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

91.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

54.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$30,982

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

23.7 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

6.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone13,261 (76.2%)
  • Worked At Home1,508 (8.7%)
  • Carpooled1,493 (8.6%)
  • Walked758 (4.4%)
  • Other236 (1.4%)
  • Public Transit67 (0.4%)

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.