county

Van Buren County, MI

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

AI Overview

Van Buren County is a small west Michigan county of 76,129 residents with an economy built largely around agriculture and light manufacturing, reflected in a median worker earnings figure of $39,349 and a GDP per capita of $34,361. The labor force participation rate of 58.4% is relatively modest, and just 22.9% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while the 4.4% unemployment rate and a median home value of $189,900 point to low-cost operating conditions. Population growth has been nearly flat at +0.5% over five years, and a homeownership rate of 80.6% with median gross rent of only $845/month underscores the county's affordability relative to broader Michigan markets.

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

Population

76,129

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$68,114

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

41.2 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+0.5% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone60,819 (80.2%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race5,265 (6.9%)
  • Some Other Race Alone3,485 (4.6%)
  • Black or African American Alone2,689 (3.5%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races2,539 (3.3%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone592 (0.8%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish6,168
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic316
  3. 3.Other Asian and Pacific Island190
  4. 4.Other Indo-European173
  5. 5.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic141

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

23.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

57.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

19.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

4.6%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

3,575

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$34,361

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$33,243

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

4.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

13.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Manufacturing (Group)7,970
  2. 2.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance6,985
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)3,361
  4. 4.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services3,163
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services2,617

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations11,423
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations6,835
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations6,339
  4. 4.Service Occupations5,341
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations3,931

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Manufacturing (LQ 2.24×)7,483
  2. 2.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 1.67×)891
  3. 3.Construction (LQ 1.07×)2,488
  4. 4.Retail Trade (LQ 1.01×)3,693
  5. 5.Other Services (LQ 0.93×)1,466

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$189,900

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$845/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

80.6%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,9993,387 (13.7%)
  • $200,000 to $249,9993,091 (12.5%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9992,394 (9.7%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9992,297 (9.3%)
  • $175,000 to $199,9991,917 (7.8%)
  • $100,000 to $124,9991,839 (7.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

22.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

88.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

58.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$39,349

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

24.5 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

5.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone25,413 (76.3%)
  • Worked At Home3,481 (10.5%)
  • Carpooled3,390 (10.2%)
  • Walked621 (1.9%)
  • Other153 (0.5%)
  • Public Transit148 (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.