Kalkaska County, Michigan

• White (non-Hispanic) 16,841 92.3%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race) 417 2.3%
• Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 148 0.8%
• Asian (non-Hispanic) 91 0.5%
• Two or more races (non-Hispanic) 681 3.7%
• American Indian / Alaska Native (non-Hispanic) 38 0.2%
• Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic) 0 0.0%
• Some other race (non-Hispanic) 23 0.1%

• Under 18 3,671 20.1%
• 18–24 1,132 6.2%
• 25–44 4,407 24.2%
• 45–64 5,068 27.8%
• 65 and over 3,961 21.7%

Median household income

$71,627

90% interval $67,441–$75,813

−$709 vs MI · 21st of 83

Below poverty line

11.1%

90% interval 8.6%–13.6%

−2.3 pp vs MI · 61st of 83

Unemployment (12-mo)

5.6%

+0.58 pp vs. state

County GDP

$838.6M

0.12% of state

Avg. annual pay

$65,078

Establishments

403

• Trade, transportation & utilities 814 16.5%
• Professional & business services 669 13.6%
• Construction 635 12.9%
• Leisure & hospitality 478 9.7%
• Natural resources & mining 466 9.5%
• Manufacturing 271 5.5%
• Public administration 186 3.8%
• Education & health services 134 2.7%
• Other services 131 2.7%
• Financial activities 97 2.0%
• Information 20 0.4%
• Unclassified 12 0.2%

The sectors listed cover 79.5% of covered employment; BLS withholds the rest to avoid disclosing individual employers.

Home ownership

88.2%

+15.0 pp vs MI · 5th of 83

Median gross rent

$853

−$276 vs MI · 49th of 83

Owner-occupied

6,868

Renter-occupied

921

• Diversified

  Top three sectors employ 43% 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 (Construction, $100,221/yr) pays 4.1× the lowest (Leisure & hospitality, $24,483/yr). Stark intra-economy class divisions on the panel; calibrate damages and lost-wages framing to that range.

• Mixed business scale

  Average establishment employs 12 workers, a mix of institutional employers and small businesses. Both employed-by-large-institution and small-business-owner perspectives are likely on the panel.

• Republican 8,149 70.7%
• Democratic 3,206 27.8%
• Other / third-party 174 1.5%

• Spanish 148 0.9%
• German or other West Germanic 109 0.6%
• Russian, Polish, or other Slavic 42 0.2%
• Tagalog 28 0.2%
• French, Haitian, or Cajun 14 0.1%
• Arabic 9 0.1%
• Korean 5 0.0%

Households

7,789

Family households

4,967

63.8% of households

Married couples w/ children

1,197

24.1% of families

Single-mother families

380

7.7% of families

Veterans

1,384

9.5% of civilians 18+

• Evangelical Protestant 2,173 12.1%
• Other (non-Christian + minor traditions) 696 3.9%
• Catholic 338 1.9%
• Mainline Protestant 205 1.1%

Health insured

93.9%

±1.1 pp

Uninsured

6.1%

±1.1 pp

24th of 83

With a disability

18.7%

±1.6 pp

25th of 83

Bachelor's or higher

19.0%

±2 pp

−13.4 pp vs MI · 60th of 83

Uninsured, under 65 (2024)

7.6%

90% interval 6.7%–8.5% · Census SAHIE

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

Trial court

46th 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

Gaylord, Grayling, Kalkaska

This judicial district spans multiple counties.

Traffic fatalities

5

34.32 per 100k adults (18+)

Fatal crashes

5