Counties in Michigan by population

Wayne County had the highest population of 83 counties in 2021, at 1.78 million. Keweenaw County had the lowest, at 2,107. The median was 37,548 and the figure for Michigan was 10.04 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest1,775,403Wayne County
Lowest2,107Keweenaw County
Median37,54883 counties
Michigan10,042,362History

Top 40 counties, 2021

CSVChart (SVG)

Wayne CountyWayne County: 1,775,403 persons1,775,403Oakland CountyOakland County: 1,273,070 persons1,273,070Macomb CountyMacomb County: 877,873 persons877,873Kent CountyKent County: 659,070 persons659,070Genesee CountyGenesee County: 404,694 persons404,694Washtenaw CountyWashtenaw County: 364,941 persons364,941Ottawa CountyOttawa County: 298,369 persons298,369Ingham CountyIngham County: 271,708 persons271,708Kalamazoo CountyKalamazoo County: 260,596 persons260,596Livingston CountyLivingston County: 195,367 persons195,367Saginaw CountySaginaw County: 189,479 persons189,479Muskegon CountyMuskegon County: 175,570 persons175,570St. Clair CountySt. Clair County: 160,268 persons160,268Jackson CountyJackson County: 160,195 persons160,195Monroe CountyMonroe County: 155,587 persons155,587Berrien CountyBerrien County: 153,609 persons153,609Calhoun CountyCalhoun County: 133,907 persons133,907Allegan CountyAllegan County: 121,082 persons121,082Eaton CountyEaton County: 108,866 persons108,866Bay CountyBay County: 103,115 persons103,115Lenawee CountyLenawee County: 99,181 persons99,181Grand Traverse CountyGrand Traverse County: 96,007 persons96,007Lapeer CountyLapeer County: 88,714 persons88,714Midland CountyMidland County: 83,509 persons83,509Clinton CountyClinton County: 79,465 persons79,465Van Buren CountyVan Buren County: 75,712 persons75,712Shiawassee CountyShiawassee County: 67,989 persons67,989Montcalm CountyMontcalm County: 67,386 persons67,386Ionia CountyIonia County: 66,854 persons66,854Marquette CountyMarquette County: 66,353 persons66,353Isabella CountyIsabella County: 64,257 persons64,257Barry CountyBarry County: 63,133 persons63,133St. Joseph CountySt. Joseph County: 60,849 persons60,849Tuscola CountyTuscola County: 53,065 persons53,065Cass CountyCass County: 51,539 persons51,539Newaygo CountyNewaygo County: 50,402 persons50,402Hillsdale CountyHillsdale County: 45,647 persons45,647Branch CountyBranch County: 45,214 persons45,214Gratiot CountyGratiot County: 41,284 persons41,284Mecosta CountyMecosta County: 40,674 persons40,674
persons. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2021
persons
Change on 2020
1Wayne County1,775,403-0.8%
2Oakland County1,273,0700%
3Macomb County877,873-0.3%
4Kent County659,070+0.1%
5Genesee County404,694-0.3%
6Washtenaw County364,941-1.8%
7Ottawa County298,369+0.5%
8Ingham County271,708-4.7%
9Kalamazoo County260,596-0.5%
10Livingston County195,367+0.7%
11Saginaw County189,479-0.2%
12Muskegon County175,570+0.5%
13St. Clair County160,268-0.1%
14Jackson County160,195-0%
15Monroe County155,587+0.4%
16Berrien County153,609-0.5%
17Calhoun County133,907-0.2%
18Allegan County121,082+0.3%
19Eaton County108,866-0.3%
20Bay County103,115-0.6%
21Lenawee County99,181-0.2%
22Grand Traverse County96,007+0.6%
23Lapeer County88,714+0.1%
24Midland County83,5090%
25Clinton County79,465+0.4%
26Van Buren County75,712+0.2%
27Shiawassee County67,989-0%
28Montcalm County67,386+1.1%
29Ionia County66,854-0%
30Marquette County66,353-0.3%
31Isabella County64,257-0.4%
32Barry County63,133+0.9%
33St. Joseph County60,849-0.1%
34Tuscola County53,065-0.5%
35Cass County51,539-0%
36Newaygo County50,402+0.6%
37Hillsdale County45,647-0.2%
38Branch County45,214+0.8%
39Gratiot County41,284-0.9%
40Mecosta County40,674+0.6%
41Sanilac County40,536+0.1%
42Houghton County37,548+0.8%
43Delta County36,839-0.1%
44Chippewa County35,852-2.6%
45Emmet County34,301+0.6%
46Wexford County33,902+0.6%
47Huron County31,332-0.1%
48Clare County31,141+1%
49Mason County29,344+1.1%
50Alpena County28,953+0.2%
51Oceana County26,867+0.6%
52Charlevoix County26,201+0.6%
53Dickinson County25,815-0.3%
54Cheboygan County25,732+0.6%
55Gladwin County25,469+0.4%
56Iosco County25,360+0.7%
57Manistee County25,344+1.1%
58Otsego County25,342+0.8%
59Antrim County23,879+1.8%
60Roscommon County23,674+0.8%
61Menominee County23,336-0.5%
62Osceola County23,203+1.3%
63Leelanau County22,633+1.4%
64Ogemaw County20,7850%
65Benzie County18,245+1.3%
66Kalkaska County17,988+0.4%
67Missaukee County15,174+0.7%
68Arenac County15,012+0.1%
69Gogebic County14,382+0.2%
70Crawford County13,278+2.2%
71Presque Isle County13,176+1.3%
72Lake County12,271+1.5%
73Iron County11,615-0.1%
74Mackinac County10,919+0.9%
75Alcona County10,290+1%
76Montmorency County9,307+1.5%
77Alger County8,777-0.8%
78Oscoda County8,314+1%
79Baraga County8,229+1.1%
80Schoolcraft County8,037-0.1%
81Luce County5,982-6.7%
82Ontonagon County5,868+1.2%
83Keweenaw County2,107+2.3%

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 1.78 million in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest population?

Keweenaw County, with 2,107 in 2021.

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