Otsego County, Michigan

• White (non-Hispanic) 23,780 92.9%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race) 521 2.0%
• Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 167 0.7%
• Asian (non-Hispanic) 157 0.6%
• Two or more races (non-Hispanic) 851 3.3%
• American Indian / Alaska Native (non-Hispanic) 70 0.3%
• Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic) 0 0.0%
• Some other race (non-Hispanic) 38 0.1%

• Under 18 5,328 20.8%
• 18–24 1,785 7.0%
• 25–44 5,921 23.1%
• 45–64 6,896 27.0%
• 65 and over 5,654 22.1%

Median household income

$69,981

90% interval $63,780–$76,182

−$2,355 vs MI · 25th of 83

Below poverty line

8.5%

90% interval 6.4%–10.6%

−4.9 pp vs MI · 75th of 83

Unemployment (12-mo)

5.2%

+0.21 pp vs. state

County GDP

$1.5B

0.21% of state

Avg. annual pay

$55,794

Establishments

834

• Trade, transportation & utilities 3,031 28.7%
• Education & health services 2,055 19.5%
• Leisure & hospitality 1,506 14.3%
• Manufacturing 974 9.2%
• Construction 647 6.1%
• Financial activities 583 5.5%
• Other services 460 4.4%
• Professional & business services 439 4.2%
• Public administration 235 2.2%
• Natural resources & mining 157 1.5%
• Information 48 0.5%
• Unclassified 31 0.3%

The sectors listed cover 96.4% of covered employment; BLS withholds the rest to avoid disclosing individual employers.

Home ownership

77.2%

+4.0 pp vs MI · 62nd of 83

Median gross rent

$1,008

−$121 vs MI · 21st of 83

Owner-occupied

8,673

Renter-occupied

2,558

• Moderately concentrated

  Top three sectors employ 62% of the county workforce. Substantial intra-sector overlap among panelists is likely; confirm employer relationships before sector-specific framing.

• Moderate wage spread

  Highest-paid sector (Financial activities, $91,016/yr) pays 3.2× the lowest (Leisure & hospitality, $28,098/yr). Expect meaningful income variation across the panel.

• Mixed business scale

  Average establishment employs 13 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 10,693 67.0%
• Democratic 5,052 31.6%
• Other / third-party 226 1.4%

• Spanish 150 0.6%
• French, Haitian, or Cajun 83 0.3%
• German or other West Germanic 82 0.3%
• Russian, Polish, or other Slavic 40 0.2%
• Tagalog 23 0.1%
• Arabic 20 0.1%
• Chinese 19 0.1%

Households

11,231

Family households

7,456

66.4% of households

Married couples w/ children

1,811

24.3% of families

Single-mother families

493

6.6% of families

Veterans

2,049

10.1% of civilians 18+

• Catholic 3,862 15.4%
• Evangelical Protestant 2,021 8.1%
• Mainline Protestant 1,310 5.2%
• Other (non-Christian + minor traditions) 469 1.9%

Health insured

94.3%

±1.3 pp

Uninsured

5.7%

±1.3 pp

32nd of 83

With a disability

16.1%

±1.6 pp

50th of 83

Bachelor's or higher

26.3%

±2.4 pp

−6.1 pp vs MI · 26th of 83

Uninsured, under 65 (2024)

6.0%

90% interval 5.3%–6.7% · 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

3

14.81 per 100k adults (18+)

Fatal crashes

3