Isabella County, Michigan | |
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 Flag  Seal | |
 Location within the U.S. state ofMichigan | |
| Coordinates:43°39′N84°50′W / 43.65°N 84.84°W /43.65; -84.84 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Michigan |
| Founded | 1831 (created) 1859 (organized)[1] |
| Named after | Queen Isabella I of Castile |
| Seat | Mount Pleasant |
| Largest city | Mount Pleasant |
| Area | |
• Total | 578 sq mi (1,500 km2) |
| • Land | 573 sq mi (1,480 km2) |
| • Water | 5.0 sq mi (13 km2) 0.9% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 64,394 |
• Estimate (2024) | 65,072 |
| • Density | 124/sq mi (48/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| Congressional district | 2nd |
| Website | www |
Isabella County is acounty located in theU.S. state ofMichigan. As of the2020 Census, the population was 64,394.[2] Itscounty seat isMount Pleasant.[3] The area was known asOjibiway Besse, meaning "the place of theOjibwa".[4] Isabella County contains theIsabella Indian Reservation, on which members of theSaginaw Chippewa Tribal Nation live. The county is home toCentral Michigan University.
Isabella County was described by action of theMichigan Territory legislature in 1831, but for purposes of population, revenue, and judicial matters, it was assigned to nearby counties. Its area was partitioned from unorganized territory plus a portion ofMackinac, which had existed as a Territorial County since 1818.
The Michigan Territory wasadmitted to the Union as Michigan state in early 1837. By 1859, Isabella had sufficient settlement and interest in self-government that the state legislature authorized its organization.[1] Based on a suggestion byHenry Rowe Schoolcraft, the U.S.Indian agent in this area, the county was named afterQueen Isabella I of Castile, who with her husband Ferdinand commissionedColumbus's expedition to the New World.[1][5]
Isabella County comprises theMount Pleasant, Michiganmicropolitan statistical area inMid-Michigan. The county contains theIsabella Indian Reservation, which has a total area of 217.67 square miles (563.8 km2). It is the major land base of the federally recognizedSaginaw Chippewa Tribal Nation. Part of the county seat ofMount Pleasant is located within the reservation.
According to theUS Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 578 square miles (1,500 km2), of which 573 square miles (1,480 km2) are land and 5.0 square miles (13 km2) (0.9%) are water.[6]
US 10 – cuts across NE corner of county. Enters at Clare; runs ESE to east county line. Exits toColeman.
US 127 – runs north–south through the eastern central part of county. Passes Rosebush and Mt. Pleasant, runs SE to Shepherd, then runs south into Gratiot County.
M-20 – runs east–west across lower central part of county. Enters fromRemus. Ends at Mt. Pleasant.[7]
I-73 - project in Michigan is inactive| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1860 | 1,443 | — | |
| 1870 | 4,113 | 185.0% | |
| 1880 | 12,159 | 195.6% | |
| 1890 | 18,784 | 54.5% | |
| 1900 | 22,784 | 21.3% | |
| 1910 | 23,029 | 1.1% | |
| 1920 | 22,610 | −1.8% | |
| 1930 | 21,126 | −6.6% | |
| 1940 | 25,982 | 23.0% | |
| 1950 | 28,964 | 11.5% | |
| 1960 | 35,348 | 22.0% | |
| 1970 | 44,594 | 26.2% | |
| 1980 | 54,110 | 21.3% | |
| 1990 | 54,624 | 0.9% | |
| 2000 | 63,351 | 16.0% | |
| 2010 | 70,311 | 11.0% | |
| 2020 | 64,394 | −8.4% | |
| 2024 (est.) | 65,072 | [8] | 1.1% |
| US Decennial Census[9] 1790-1960[10] 1900-1990[11] 1990-2000[12] 2010-2018[2] | |||
As of the2020 census, the county had a population of 64,394. The median age was 31.7 years. 19.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 14.8% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 95.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.4 males.[13]
The racial makeup of the county was 84.1%White, 3.3%Black or African American, 3.5%American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.7%Asian, <0.1%Native Hawaiian andPacific Islander, 1.2% from some other race, and 6.1% fromtwo or more races.Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 4.7% of the population.[14]
47.7% of residents lived in urban areas, while 52.3% lived in rural areas.[15]
There were 25,191 households in the county, of which 26.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 40.0% were married-couple households, 23.1% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 28.2% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[13]
There were 28,489 housing units, of which 11.6% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 60.1% were owner-occupied and 39.9% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 10.0%.[13]
As of the2000 United States census,[16] there were 63,351 people, 22,425 households, and 13,006 families residing in the county. Thepopulation density was 110 people per square mile (42 people/km2). There were 24,528 housing units at an average density of 43 per square mile (17/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 91.51%White, 2.75%Native American, 1.93%Black orAfrican American, 1.40%Asian, 0.05%Pacific Islander, 0.68% fromother races, and 1.68% from two or more races. 2.24% of the population wereHispanic orLatino of any race. 28.0% were ofGerman, 10.1%English, 10.0%Irish, 7.5%American and 6.0%Polish ancestry, 95.9% spokeEnglish and 1.6%Spanish as their first language.
There were 22,425 households, out of which 28.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.40% weremarried couples living together, 8.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.00% were non-families. 23.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.03.
The county population contained 20.30% under the age of 18, 29.40% from 18 to 24, 23.80% from 25 to 44, 17.40% from 45 to 64, and 9.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females there were 91.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.60 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $34,262, and the median income for a family was $45,953. Males had a median income of $32,270 versus $24,180 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $16,242. 7.40% of families and 20.40% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 11.30% of those under age 18 and 7.80% of those age 65 or over.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1884 | 1,617 | 48.78% | 1,610 | 48.57% | 88 | 2.65% |
| 1888 | 2,154 | 51.46% | 1,841 | 43.98% | 191 | 4.56% |
| 1892 | 1,859 | 45.42% | 1,762 | 43.05% | 472 | 11.53% |
| 1896 | 2,424 | 46.71% | 2,679 | 51.63% | 86 | 1.66% |
| 1900 | 2,969 | 58.64% | 1,996 | 39.42% | 98 | 1.94% |
| 1904 | 3,547 | 70.97% | 1,321 | 26.43% | 130 | 2.60% |
| 1908 | 3,171 | 63.18% | 1,658 | 33.03% | 190 | 3.79% |
| 1912 | 1,417 | 29.71% | 1,389 | 29.13% | 1,963 | 41.16% |
| 1916 | 2,700 | 53.91% | 2,143 | 42.79% | 165 | 3.29% |
| 1920 | 5,089 | 73.82% | 1,627 | 23.60% | 178 | 2.58% |
| 1924 | 5,245 | 77.08% | 1,208 | 17.75% | 352 | 5.17% |
| 1928 | 4,926 | 73.13% | 1,762 | 26.16% | 48 | 0.71% |
| 1932 | 4,211 | 48.71% | 4,272 | 49.42% | 162 | 1.87% |
| 1936 | 4,051 | 46.79% | 3,871 | 44.71% | 736 | 8.50% |
| 1940 | 7,019 | 70.96% | 2,828 | 28.59% | 44 | 0.44% |
| 1944 | 6,356 | 71.02% | 2,522 | 28.18% | 71 | 0.79% |
| 1948 | 5,485 | 67.23% | 2,487 | 30.49% | 186 | 2.28% |
| 1952 | 8,222 | 73.54% | 2,881 | 25.77% | 77 | 0.69% |
| 1956 | 8,415 | 72.41% | 3,183 | 27.39% | 23 | 0.20% |
| 1960 | 7,880 | 63.88% | 4,431 | 35.92% | 24 | 0.19% |
| 1964 | 4,672 | 39.84% | 7,040 | 60.03% | 15 | 0.13% |
| 1968 | 7,111 | 57.37% | 4,450 | 35.90% | 835 | 6.74% |
| 1972 | 9,682 | 55.47% | 7,446 | 42.66% | 326 | 1.87% |
| 1976 | 10,577 | 57.66% | 7,281 | 39.69% | 487 | 2.65% |
| 1980 | 10,407 | 50.24% | 7,293 | 35.21% | 3,015 | 14.55% |
| 1984 | 12,215 | 65.00% | 6,435 | 34.24% | 143 | 0.76% |
| 1988 | 10,362 | 56.07% | 7,960 | 43.07% | 160 | 0.87% |
| 1992 | 7,706 | 34.97% | 8,784 | 39.86% | 5,547 | 25.17% |
| 1996 | 7,460 | 38.57% | 9,635 | 49.81% | 2,247 | 11.62% |
| 2000 | 10,053 | 47.71% | 10,228 | 48.55% | 788 | 3.74% |
| 2004 | 11,754 | 48.19% | 12,334 | 50.57% | 302 | 1.24% |
| 2008 | 11,220 | 39.49% | 16,679 | 58.71% | 511 | 1.80% |
| 2012 | 10,800 | 44.52% | 13,038 | 53.74% | 422 | 1.74% |
| 2016 | 12,338 | 48.31% | 11,404 | 44.65% | 1,798 | 7.04% |
| 2020 | 14,815 | 50.26% | 14,072 | 47.74% | 589 | 2.00% |
| 2024 | 16,320 | 52.82% | 14,011 | 45.34% | 569 | 1.84% |
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 2024 | 15,569 | 51.46% | 13,728 | 45.37% | 959 | 3.17% |
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 2022 | 10,927 | 45.61% | 12,581 | 52.51% | 449 | 1.87% |
The county government operates thejail, maintains rural roads, operates the major local courts, records deeds, mortgages, andvital records, administerspublic health regulations, and participates with the state in the provision of social services. Thecounty board of commissioners controls the budget and has 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.
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The Gratiot–Isabella Regional Education Service District, based inIthaca, services the students in the county. Theintermediate school district offers regionalspecial education services,early education programs, andtechnical career pathways for students of its districts.[19]
Isabella County is served by the following regularpublicschool districts:[20]
The county also has the followingindependent charter districts:
Isabella County has the followingprivate schools:[21]
Places adjacent to Isabella County, Michigan | ||||||||||||||||
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Municipalities and communities ofIsabella County, Michigan,United States | ||
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| Indian reservation | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
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