Van Buren County, Michigan

• White (non-Hispanic) 59,271 78.2%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race) 9,498 12.5%
• Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 2,689 3.5%
• Asian (non-Hispanic) 400 0.5%
• Two or more races (non-Hispanic) 3,299 4.4%
• American Indian / Alaska Native (non-Hispanic) 327 0.4%
• Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic) 6 0.0%
• Some other race (non-Hispanic) 305 0.4%

• Under 18 17,385 22.9%
• 18–24 5,575 7.4%
• 25–44 18,019 23.8%
• 45–64 19,738 26.0%
• 65 and over 15,078 19.9%

Median household income

$67,463

90% interval $62,948–$71,978

−$4,873 vs MI · 30th of 83

Below poverty line

13.6%

90% interval 11.5%–15.7%

+0.2 pp vs MI · 37th of 83

Unemployment (12-mo)

5.1%

+0.15 pp vs. state

County GDP

$3.3B

0.47% of state

Avg. annual pay

$53,990

Establishments

1,722

• Education & health services 4,519 20.9%
• Manufacturing 3,500 16.2%
• Trade, transportation & utilities 3,450 16.0%
• Professional & business services 3,048 14.1%
• Leisure & hospitality 2,422 11.2%
• Natural resources & mining 1,346 6.2%
• Public administration 1,173 5.4%
• Construction 770 3.6%
• Other services 541 2.5%
• Information 78 0.4%

The sectors listed cover 96.6% of covered employment; BLS withholds the rest to avoid disclosing individual employers.

Home ownership

80.6%

+7.4 pp vs MI · 47th of 83

Median gross rent

$870

−$259 vs MI · 44th of 83

Owner-occupied

24,671

Renter-occupied

5,951

• Diversified

  Top three sectors employ 53% of the workforce, a relatively diversified local economy. Expect mixed employer backgrounds on the panel rather than concentration in any one institution or industry.

• Moderate wage spread

  Highest-paid sector (Professional & business services, $76,706/yr) pays 3.3× the lowest (Leisure & hospitality, $23,250/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 23,407 56.9%
• Democratic 17,175 41.7%
• Other / third-party 580 1.4%

• Spanish 5,951 8.3%
• German or other West Germanic 404 0.6%
• Russian, Polish, or other Slavic 141 0.2%
• Arabic 102 0.1%
• Tagalog 95 0.1%
• French, Haitian, or Cajun 47 0.1%
• Chinese 30 0.0%
• Korean 21 0.0%
• Vietnamese 13 0.0%

Households

30,622

Family households

20,691

67.6% of households

Married couples w/ children

5,239

25.3% of families

Single-mother families

2,103

10.2% of families

Veterans

3,575

6.1% of civilians 18+

• Catholic 9,533 12.6%
• Evangelical Protestant 6,486 8.6%
• Mainline Protestant 3,265 4.3%
• Other (non-Christian + minor traditions) 1,525 2.0%
• Black Protestant 718 0.9%

Health insured

93.0%

±0.9 pp

Uninsured

7.0%

±0.9 pp

16th of 83

With a disability

11.7%

±0.7 pp

76th of 83

Bachelor's or higher

23.0%

±1.2 pp

−9.4 pp vs MI · 37th of 83

Uninsured, under 65 (2024)

8.0%

90% interval 7.2%–8.8% · Census SAHIE

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

Trial court

36th Judicial Circuit Court

Judges

3 (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

Paw Paw

Traffic fatalities

11

18.83 per 100k adults (18+)

Fatal crashes

11