Kalamazoo County, Michigan

Kalamazoo County, Michigan Map
Location in the state of Michigan
Michigan's location in the U.S.Statistics Founded May 7, 1830 Seat Kalamazoo Area
- Total
- Land
- Water
580 sq mi(1,502 km²)
562 sq mi (1,456 km²)
18 sq mi (47 km²), 3.16% Population
- (2000)
- Density
238,603
425/sq mi (164/km²) Website: www.kalcounty.com

Kalamazoo County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the population was 238,603. the county seat is Kalamazoo [1]. It is part of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolitan Area.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Government
4 History
- 4.1 Kalamazoo County elected officials
5 Cities, villages, and townships
6 Bibliography and further reading
7 References
8 External links

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 580 square miles (1,503 km²), of which, 562 square miles (1,455 km²) of it is land and 18 square miles (47 km²) of it (3.16%) is water.

Geographic Features

Major highways

Interstates

US highways

Michigan highways

Adjacent counties

Barry County - northeast
Allegan County - northwest
Calhoun County east
Van Buren County west
Branch County southeast
St. Joseph County south
Cass County southwest

Demographics

Historical populations Census Pop. %± 18407,380 — 185013,179 78.6% 186024,646 87% 187032,054 30.1% 188034,342 7.1% 189039,273 14.4% 190044,310 12.8% 191060,327 36.1% 192071,225 18.1% 193091,368 28.3% 1940100,085 9.5% 1950126,707 26.6% 1960169,712 33.9% 1970201,550 18.8% 1980212,378 5.4% 1990223,411 5.2% 2000238,603 6.8% Est. 2005 240,720 0.9%

As of the census [2] of 2000, there were 238,603 people, 93,479 households, and 57,956 families residing in the county. The population density was 425 people per square mile (164/km²). There were 99,250 housing units at an average density of 177 per square mile (68/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 84.57% White, 9.73% Black or African American, 0.41% Native American, 1.83% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.27% from other races, and 2.15% from two or more races. 2.64% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 18.3% were of German, 11.5% Dutch, 10.3% English, 8.4% Irish and 7.2% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 93.7% spoke English and 2.8% Spanish as their first language.

There were 93,479 households out of which 30.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.70% were married couples living together, 11.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.00% were non-families. 28.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the county the population was spread out with 24.10% under the age of 18, 15.20% from 18 to 24, 28.20% from 25 to 44, 21.10% from 45 to 64, and 11.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 93.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $42,022, and the median income for a family was $53,953. Males had a median income of $39,611 versus $27,965 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,739. About 6.50% of families and 12.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.30% of those under age 18 and 6.30% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The county government operates the jail, maintains rural roads, operates the major local courts, keeps files of deeds and mortgages, maintains vital records, administers public health regulations, and participates with the state in the provision of welfare and other social services. The county board of commissioners controls the budget but has only limited authority to make laws or ordinances. In Michigan, most local government functions — police and fire, building and zoning, tax assessment, street maintenance, etc. — are the responsibility of individual cities and townships.

History

See, Etymology of Kalamazoo for detail on the origin of the name. See also, List of Michigan county name etymologies.

Kalamazoo County elected officials

Prosecuting Attorney: Jeffrey R. Fink (Republican)
Sheriff: Michael J. Anderson (Republican)
County Clerk/Register of Deeds: Timothy A. Snow (Republican)
County Treasurer: Sharon A. Cubitt (Republican)
Drain Commissioner: William B. French (Republican); Patrick Krause (Acting)
County Surveyor: Robert ("Bob") E. Snell (Republican)
County Commission or Board of Commissioners: 17 members, elected from districts (10 Republicans, 7 Democrats)
Circuit Court: 7 judges (non-partisan)