Jury Pool Profile

Ionia County, Michigan

Republican +31.9 (2024)

County seat: Ionia
Judicial district: 8th Judicial Circuit Court
Population (July 2025 estimate): 66,557; Census PEP. The five-year ACS survey average is 66,574.

At a glance

Ionia County is a 66,557-person venue. The county population is 87% White (Census race-alone categories). Median household income is $75,362, $3,026 above the MI state median of $72,336; 18.5% of residents 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher. 2.5% of residents 5 and older speak a language other than English at home, most commonly Spanish. The largest published sector is Manufacturing, at 19.3% of covered employment, average pay $64,743/year. Trailing-12-month unemployment is 4.39%, below the 4.98% state average. The county carried the Republican presidential candidate in 2016, 2020, and 2024, taking 62% to 65% of the vote across the three.

Population: 66,574
Median household income: $75,611
Unemployment: 4.4%

Who sits on a jury?

Predominantly White

≥70% White (race-alone) and <20% Black. This county: 87% / 3%.

Ionia County has a population of 66,574, with a median age of 39.1. By Census race-alone categories, White residents make up 86.9%; Black residents 3.4%. Independently, 5.3% of residents identify as Hispanic or Latino of any race.

The median household earns $75,362; 18.5% of residents 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher; 10.5% live below the federal poverty line.

Race & ethnicity

White (non-Hispanic) 56,781 85.3%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 3,539 5.3%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 2,212 3.3%
Asian (non-Hispanic) 304 0.5%
Two or more races (non-Hispanic) 3,165 4.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native (non-Hispanic) 336 0.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic) 14 0.0%
Some other race (non-Hispanic) 223 0.3%

U.S. Census ACS 2024

Age distribution

Median age 39.1

Under 18 13,909 20.9%
18–24 5,954 8.9%
25–44 18,946 28.5%
45–64 17,243 25.9%
65 and over 10,522 15.8%

U.S. Census ACS 2024

Income & poverty

Median household income: $75,362; 90% interval $69,797–$80,927; +$3,026 vs MI · 18th of 83
Below poverty line: 10.5%; 90% interval 8.3%–12.7%; −2.9 pp vs MI · 65th of 83

U.S. Census SAIPE 2024

Economic context

Led by manufacturing and professional services

Counting the cells BLS withholds (private jobs estimated from Census County Business Patterns, government jobs from the statewide mix), the two largest sectors are within 20% of each other: Manufacturing about 3,640, Professional & business services about 3,520.

Manufacturing is the largest published sector at 19.3% of covered employment, followed by Professional & business services at 18.7%. Trailing-12-month unemployment is 4.39%, below the Michigan state average.

Local economy

Unemployment (12-mo): 4.4%; −0.59 pp vs. state
County GDP: $2.3B; 0.33% of state
Avg. annual pay: $49,699
Establishments: 1,144

U.S. BLS 2026M07 · U.S. BEA 2024 · BLS QCEW 2025

Top employment sectors

Average annual employment by supersector

Manufacturing 3,642 19.3%
Professional & business services 3,520 18.7%
Trade, transportation & utilities 2,364 12.6%
Education & health services 1,407 7.5%
Leisure & hospitality 1,383 7.3%
Public administration 1,054 5.6%
Natural resources & mining 1,019 5.4%
Construction 813 4.3%
Financial activities 695 3.7%
Other services 560 3.0%
Unclassified 45 0.2%
Information 12 0.1%

The sectors listed cover 87.7% of covered employment; BLS withholds the rest to avoid disclosing individual employers.

BLS QCEW 2025

Housing

Home ownership: 77.3%; +4.1 pp vs MI · 60th of 83
Median gross rent: $884; −$245 vs MI · 42nd of 83
Owner-occupied: 18,052
Renter-occupied: 5,303

U.S. Census ACS 2024

Local economy in 3 reads

Diversified

Top three sectors employ 51% of the workforce, a relatively diversified local economy. Expect mixed employer backgrounds on the panel rather than concentration in any one institution or industry.
Wide wage spread

Highest-paid sector (Public administration, $90,197/yr) pays 4.4× the lowest (Leisure & hospitality, $20,712/yr). Stark intra-economy class divisions on the panel; calibrate damages and lost-wages framing to that range.
Mixed business scale

Average establishment employs 16 workers, a mix of institutional employers and small businesses. Both employed-by-large-institution and small-business-owner perspectives are likely on the panel.

BLS QCEW 2025

Political composition

Consistently strongly Republican

Republican candidate carried this county in 2016, 2020, and 2024 (avg winning share: 64%). 'Strongly' threshold: ≥60% avg.

Ionia County was carried by the Republican candidate in the 2016, 2020, and 2024 cycles, with 65.2% in 2024, 64.1% in 2020, 62.1% in 2016.

Presidential results

2024 presidential · 34,013 votes cast

Republican
Democratic

Republican 22,179 65.2%
Democratic 11,338 33.3%
Other / third-party 496 1.5%

Election results 2024

Languages, households, faith & health

Family-majority, English-speaking

Family households are 66% of all households (thresholds: ≥70% = 'family-dominant'; 50–70% = 'family-majority'; <50% = 'singles/nonfamily-majority'). 2.5% of residents 5 and older speak a language other than English at home (threshold for 'linguistically diverse' is ≥10%).

2.5% of residents 5 years and older speak a language other than English at home. The most common are Spanish, German or other West Germanic, Russian, Polish, or other Slavic. Veterans account for 6.5% of the adult civilian population (3,406 individuals).

Languages spoken at home

97.5% speak only English at home

Spanish 1,131 1.8%
German or other West Germanic 94 0.1%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic 71 0.1%
Chinese 43 0.1%
French, Haitian, or Cajun 41 0.1%
Tagalog 5 0.0%
Vietnamese 1 0.0%

U.S. Census ACS 2024

Household composition

Households: 23,355
Family households: 15,509; 66.4% of households
Married couples w/ children: 4,450; 28.7% of families
Single-mother families: 1,134; 7.3% of families
Veterans: 3,406; 6.5% of civilians 18+

U.S. Census ACS 2024

Religious composition

30.2% overall adherence rate

Catholic 9,684 14.5%
Evangelical Protestant 7,953 11.9%
Mainline Protestant 1,669 2.5%
Other (non-Christian + minor traditions) 733 1.1%
Black Protestant 120 0.2%
Orthodox 30 0.0%

US Religion Census 2020

Health & education

Health insured: 94.8%; ±0.7 pp
Uninsured: 5.2%; ±0.7 pp; 38th of 83
With a disability: 14.4%; ±1.2 pp; 65th of 83
Bachelor's or higher: 18.5%; ±1.3 pp; −13.9 pp vs MI · 64th of 83
Uninsured, under 65 (2024): 6.1%; 90% interval 5.4%–6.8% · Census SAHIE

The under-65 uninsured rate is not comparable to the ACS insurance figures, which cover all ages.

U.S. Census ACS 2024

Court infrastructure

Trial court: 8th Judicial Circuit Court
Judges: 2 (Circuit Court judges per circuit (general civil + felony criminal jurisdiction); District Court judges (limited jurisdiction) and Probate Court judges separate. Vintage 2026 courts.michigan.gov / Wikipedia 'Michigan Circuit Courts' table; cross-checked against MCL § 600.508.)
Court seats: Ionia, Stanton

This judicial district spans multiple counties.

Court reference

Traffic safety context

Ionia totals, 2024 — the per-100k rate is based on 7 recorded deaths, too few to be statistically reliable

Traffic fatalities: 7; 13.29 per 100k adults (18+)
Fatal crashes: 7

NHTSA FARS 2024

Presidential vote share by year
Year	Republican	Democratic
2016	62.1%	31.1%
2020	64.1%	33.8%
2024	65.2%	33.3%