| Macomb County, Michigan | ||
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Location in the state of Michigan |
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Michigan's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | January 15, 1818 [1] | |
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| Seat | Mt. Clemens | |
| Largest city | Warren | |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
569.78 sq mi (1,476 km²) 480.44 sq mi (1,244 km²) 89.34 sq mi (231 km²), 15.68% |
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| Population - (2010) - Density |
840,978 1,752.0/sq mi (676.0/km²) |
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| Website | macombcountymi.gov | |
Macomb County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. The 2010 census recorded its population to be 840,978, making it the third most populous county in the state.[2] Of Michigan's five largest counties, Macomb experienced the most population growth (6.7%) between 2000 and 2010. The county seat is Mt. Clemens.[3] Macomb County is part of the Detroit metropolitan area; the city of Detroit is located south of 8 Mile Road, the county's southern border. Macomb County contains 28 cities, townships and villages, including three of the top ten most populous municipalities in Michigan as of the 2010 census: Warren (#3), Sterling Heights (#4) and Clinton Township (#10).[4] The communities range from mature, inner-ring suburbs like the cities of Warren and Roseville to newer, wealthier locales such as Sterling Heights, Macomb Township, Shelby Township, Clinton Township and Washington Township. The county is named for Alexander Macomb, Jr., an early U.S. Army commander.
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According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 569.78 square miles (1,475.7 km2), of which 480.44 square miles (1,244.3 km2) (or 84.32%) is land and 89.34 square miles (231.4 km2) (or 15.68%) is water.[5]
Lake St. Clair borders the county on the east.
Far northern parts of the county, such as Richmond and Armada, are often considered to be part of Michigan's Thumb region.
| Lapeer County | St. Clair County | |||
| Oakland County | Lake St. Clair | |||
| Macomb County, Michigan | ||||
| Wayne County |
| Historical populations | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1900 | 33,244 |
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| 1910 | 32,606 | −1.9% | |
| 1920 | 38,103 | 16.9% | |
| 1930 | 77,146 | 102.5% | |
| 1940 | 107,638 | 39.5% | |
| 1950 | 184,961 | 71.8% | |
| 1960 | 405,804 | 119.4% | |
| 1970 | 625,309 | 54.1% | |
| 1980 | 694,600 | 11.1% | |
| 1990 | 717,400 | 3.3% | |
| 2000 | 788,149 | 9.9% | |
| 2010 | 840,978 | 6.7% | |
As of the census[6] of 2000, there were 788,149 people, 309,203 households, and 210,876 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,640 people per square mile (633/km²). There were 320,276 housing units at an average density of 667 per square mile (257/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 92.66% White, 2.71% Black or African American, 0.31% Native American, 2.14% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.39% from other races, and 1.77% from two or more races. 1.58% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 18.1% were of German, 17.1% Polish, 13.6% Italian, 7.5% Irish and 5.5% English ancestry according to Census 2000. 87.6% spoke only English at home; 1.7% spoke Italian, 1.4% Polish, 1.2% Spanish, 1.1% Arabic and 1.1% Syriac.
Two Native American tribes had over 1,000 residents in Macomb County in 2000. The Cherokee tribe counted 1,781 county residents, while 1,038 reported membership in the Chippewa tribe.[7] This is the tribe known as the Ojibwa.
Among Asian ethnic groups, six numbered over 1,000 people in Macomb County. The most numerous were the 5,713 Asian Indians, followed by Filipinos (4,155), Chinese (2,489), Koreans (1,853) Vietnamese (1,557), and Hmong (1,103).[7]
There were 309,203 households out of which 31.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.30% were married couples living together, 10.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.80% were non-families. 26.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.09.
In the county the population was spread out with 24.10% under the age of 18, 8.00% from 18 to 24, 31.50% from 25 to 44, 22.80% from 45 to 64, and 13.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 96.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.90 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $52,102, and the median income for a family was $62,816. Males had a median income of $48,303 versus $30,215 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,446. About 4.00% of families and 5.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.00% of those under age 18 and 6.40% of those age 65 or over.
The years 2000-2005 saw the African American population in Macomb County more than double. This growth largely resulted from an exodus of African Americans from Detroit. By 2005 Census estimates for Macomb County showed it was 5.6% African American, meaning that the growth of the African-American population in the county had been well over 100% in the last five years. The percentage of Asians had risen to 2.9%, largely fueled by the exodus of the Detroit Hmong population northward into Warren. The American Community Survey showed 1.5% of Macomb County's population reporting two or more races.
According to the 2006 American Community Survey the average family size is 3.15. The population of 25 and over is 571,463. 86.9% of that population has graduated from high school, 21% of that population has a Bachelor's degree or higher. About 14.3 of that population is disabled. 12.5% of Macomb's population can speak another language at home.
As of 2010 the population of Macomb County was 83.91% Non-Hispanic white, 8.65% Black, 0.31% Native American, 2.98% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.10% Non-Hispanics of some other race, 2.10% Two or more races and 2.27% Hispanic or Latino.
The Ojibwa lived in the area centuries before European contact. The first European explorers arrived in the area during the 17th century. A Moravian colony was established in the county in the late 18th century. They included French fur trappers and missionaries. In addition to the original French and English, later settlers included Germans, Belgians and others who came directly from Europe. In the 19th century the county received many American migrants from New York and New England who were attracted to the area for land and booming jobs.
Macomb County was formally organized on January 15, 1818 as the third county in the Michigan territory. At that time, it covered a much larger area than it does today. In 1819 and 1820, large portions of the county were removed to form the counties of Oakland, Lapeer, Genesee and St. Clair. The county was named in honor of General Alexander Macomb, a highly decorated veteran of the War of 1812.
The county gained fame in the 1980s and '90s as a bellwether of state and national politics. Macomb's large cohort of working-class, socially conservative whites gave it one of the nation's most prominent concentrations of "Reagan Democrats". Outsider candidates with a conservative-populist bent have done well there in the past (e.g. George Wallace in 1968 and Pat Buchanan in 1992).
Macomb County is home to more than 130 parks covering 12,000 acres (49 km2) managed by the state, regional, county, and local government. There are four major public parks in the County - Freedom Hill County Park, Macomb Orchard Trail, Metro Beach Metropark, and Stony Creek Metropark. The county also has 31 miles of shoreline and over 100 marinas.
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.
In May 2008, Macomb County voters approved the inclusion of a County Executive in a new charter to be submitted to the voters by 2010. A charter commission was elected in November 2008 for the purpose of drafting a charter for submission to Governor Granholm, which was submitted and approved and placed on the November 2009 ballot. The Charter passed with a 60.4% to 39.6% margin.[8]
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Cities
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Townships
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| (Ford Freeway) runs east-west through Detroit and serves Ann Arbor to the west (where it continues to Chicago) and Port Huron to the northeast. The stretch of the current I-94 freeway from Ypsilanti to Detroit was one of the first American limited-access freeways. Henry Ford built it to link his factories at Willow Run and Dearborn during World War II. It was called the Willow Run Expressway. | |
| (Walter Reuther Freeway) runs east-west from the junction of I-96 and I-275 to I-94, providing a route through the northern suburbs of Detroit. | |
| M-3 Gratiot Avenue (M-3) is a major road that runs from Marysville to downtown Detroit. The portion of the road between 23 Mile Road and New Haven Road is not numbered. Between New Haven Road and Main St.in the city of Richmond the road is part of M-19. Between Richmond and Marysville the road is not numbered. | |
| M-19 Starts in New Haven goes up Gratiot to Richmond. The route leaves Gratiot and goes northwest through Richmond and then north through Memphis. Then it goes north through St. Clair and Sanilac Counties and ends at M-142 between Bad Axe and Harbor Beach in Huron County. | |
| M-29 Begins as part of 23 Mile Road,east of I-94 and ends in Marysville. | |
| M-53 (Christopher Columbus Freeway from Sterling Heights to Washington), more commonly known as the Van Dyke Expressway or Van Dyke Freeway. Continues as Van Dyke Road or Van Dyke Avenue north to Port Austin and south through Warren to Gratiot Avenue in Detroit. | |
| M-59 (Veterans Memorial Freeway from Utica to Pontiac), continues east as Hall Road to Clinton Township and west as various surface roads to I-96 near Howell | |
| M-97 Begins in Detroit at Gratiot (M-3) and ends at Hall Road (M-59). | |
| M-102 8 Mile Road, known by many due to the film 8 Mile, forms the dividing line between Detroit on the south and the suburbs of Macomb and Oakland counties on the north. It is also known as Baseline Road outside of Detroit, because it coincides with the baseline used in surveying Michigan; that baseline is also the boundary for a number of Michigan counties as well as the boundary for Illinois and Wisconsin. Designated as M-102 for much of its length in Wayne County. |
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