Counties in Michigan by population

Wayne County had the highest population of 83 counties in 2020, at 1.79 million. Keweenaw County had the lowest, at 2,059. The median was 37,256 and the figure for Michigan was 10.07 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest1,789,634Wayne County
Lowest2,059Keweenaw County
Median37,25683 counties
Michigan10,072,294History

Top 40 counties, 2020

CSVChart (SVG)

Wayne CountyWayne County: 1,789,634 persons1,789,634Oakland CountyOakland County: 1,272,524 persons1,272,524Macomb CountyMacomb County: 880,240 persons880,240Kent CountyKent County: 658,508 persons658,508Genesee CountyGenesee County: 405,746 persons405,746Washtenaw CountyWashtenaw County: 371,814 persons371,814Ottawa CountyOttawa County: 296,893 persons296,893Ingham CountyIngham County: 285,005 persons285,005Kalamazoo CountyKalamazoo County: 261,780 persons261,780Livingston CountyLivingston County: 193,974 persons193,974Saginaw CountySaginaw County: 189,853 persons189,853Muskegon CountyMuskegon County: 174,783 persons174,783St. Clair CountySt. Clair County: 160,386 persons160,386Jackson CountyJackson County: 160,215 persons160,215Monroe CountyMonroe County: 154,912 persons154,912Berrien CountyBerrien County: 154,395 persons154,395Calhoun CountyCalhoun County: 134,198 persons134,198Allegan CountyAllegan County: 120,666 persons120,666Eaton CountyEaton County: 109,174 persons109,174Bay CountyBay County: 103,739 persons103,739Lenawee CountyLenawee County: 99,348 persons99,348Grand Traverse CountyGrand Traverse County: 95,428 persons95,428Lapeer CountyLapeer County: 88,595 persons88,595Midland CountyMidland County: 83,488 persons83,488Clinton CountyClinton County: 79,168 persons79,168Van Buren CountyVan Buren County: 75,574 persons75,574Shiawassee CountyShiawassee County: 67,990 persons67,990Ionia CountyIonia County: 66,871 persons66,871Montcalm CountyMontcalm County: 66,659 persons66,659Marquette CountyMarquette County: 66,542 persons66,542Isabella CountyIsabella County: 64,518 persons64,518Barry CountyBarry County: 62,599 persons62,599St. Joseph CountySt. Joseph County: 60,923 persons60,923Tuscola CountyTuscola County: 53,324 persons53,324Cass CountyCass County: 51,553 persons51,553Newaygo CountyNewaygo County: 50,091 persons50,091Hillsdale CountyHillsdale County: 45,740 persons45,740Branch CountyBranch County: 44,877 persons44,877Gratiot CountyGratiot County: 41,657 persons41,657Sanilac CountySanilac County: 40,499 persons40,499
persons. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2020
persons
1Wayne County1,789,634
2Oakland County1,272,524
3Macomb County880,240
4Kent County658,508
5Genesee County405,746
6Washtenaw County371,814
7Ottawa County296,893
8Ingham County285,005
9Kalamazoo County261,780
10Livingston County193,974
11Saginaw County189,853
12Muskegon County174,783
13St. Clair County160,386
14Jackson County160,215
15Monroe County154,912
16Berrien County154,395
17Calhoun County134,198
18Allegan County120,666
19Eaton County109,174
20Bay County103,739
21Lenawee County99,348
22Grand Traverse County95,428
23Lapeer County88,595
24Midland County83,488
25Clinton County79,168
26Van Buren County75,574
27Shiawassee County67,990
28Ionia County66,871
29Montcalm County66,659
30Marquette County66,542
31Isabella County64,518
32Barry County62,599
33St. Joseph County60,923
34Tuscola County53,324
35Cass County51,553
36Newaygo County50,091
37Hillsdale County45,740
38Branch County44,877
39Gratiot County41,657
40Sanilac County40,499
41Mecosta County40,414
42Houghton County37,256
43Delta County36,877
44Chippewa County36,793
45Emmet County34,112
46Wexford County33,684
47Huron County31,378
48Clare County30,837
49Mason County29,033
50Alpena County28,891
51Oceana County26,717
52Charlevoix County26,042
53Dickinson County25,896
54Cheboygan County25,575
55Gladwin County25,371
56Iosco County25,189
57Otsego County25,137
58Manistee County25,070
59Roscommon County23,476
60Antrim County23,457
61Menominee County23,454
62Osceola County22,906
63Leelanau County22,312
64Ogemaw County20,781
65Benzie County18,002
66Kalkaska County17,924
67Missaukee County15,067
68Arenac County14,998
69Gogebic County14,349
70Presque Isle County13,001
71Crawford County12,986
72Lake County12,086
73Iron County11,630
74Mackinac County10,821
75Alcona County10,184
76Montmorency County9,169
77Alger County8,845
78Oscoda County8,230
79Baraga County8,143
80Schoolcraft County8,049
81Luce County6,411
82Ontonagon County5,799
83Keweenaw County2,059

Other periods

About this ranking

Resident population. Spain and the EU: 1 January, with Spanish figures from the official municipal register (PadrĂ³n). United States: Census Bureau population estimates for 1 July. Other countries and the World: World Bank mid-year estimates, which count all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.

For Denmark, Statistics Denmark counts the registered resident population on 1 January. Greenland and the Faroe Islands are excluded. The annual series selects the first-quarter reference date from FOLK1A. The World Bank series exists for every country, so use it (through compare) to rank countries on one basis.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Annual estimates of the resident population for the United States, states and counties, 1 July (Population Estimates Program). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

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Questions

Which county has the highest population?

Wayne County, with 1.79 million in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest population?

Keweenaw County, with 2,059 in 2020.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual estimates of the resident population for the United States, states and counties, 1 July (Population Estimates Program). Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Population: other rankings

Counties in Michigan: more rankings