Oceana County, Michigan

Oceana County is a in the  of. As of the, the population was 26,873. The is.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 3,384 (1,307 ). 1,400 km² (540 sq mi) of it is land and 1,985 km² (766 sq mi) of it (58.64%) is water. Oceana County is famous as the "Asparagus Capital of the World" for its high production of asparagus. The annual Asparagus festival includes a parade and crowning of the Asparagus Queen. This source of great pride for those who are so crowned.

Adjacent Counties

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Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 26,873 people, 9,778 households, and 7,265 families residing in the county. The was 19/km² (50/sq mi). There were 15,009 housing units at an average density of 11/km² (28/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 90.37%, 0.32% or , 1.04% , 0.25% , 0.03% , 6.10% from , and 1.89% from two or more races. 11.61% of the population were or  of any race. 89.1% spoke only, while 9.9% spoke at home. In 2000 Oceana County had the highest percentage of Latinos of any county in Michigan.

By 2005 the percentage of non-Hispanic whites in Oceana county was down to 83.8. African Americans had nearly doubled to 0.6% of the population. Native Americans held steady at 1.0% of the population. Asians also were the same percentage of the population. Latinos continued to grow in numbers, now constituting 13.9% of the population.

TIn 2000 there were 9,778 households out of which 34.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.50% were living together, 9.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.70% were non-families. 21.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the county the population was spread out with 28.20% under the age of 18, 7.90% from 18 to 24, 26.40% from 25 to 44, 23.60% from 45 to 64, and 14.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 101.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $35,307, and the median income for a family was $40,602. Males had a median income of $31,834 versus $22,236 for females. The for the county was $15,878. About 11.00% of families and 14.70% of the population were below the, including 19.60% of those under age 18 and 9.00% of those age 65 or over.

Government
The county government operates the, maintains rural roads, operates the major local courts, keeps files of deeds and mortgages, maintains, administers regulations, and participates with the state in the provision of welfare and other social services. The controls the budget but has only limited authority to make laws or ordinances. In Michigan, most local government functions &mdash; police and fire, building and zoning, tax assessment, street maintenance, etc. &mdash; are the responsibility of individual cities and townships.

Oceana County elected officials

 * : Terry Shaw
 * : Ken Prince
 * : Rebecca J. Griffin
 * : Sheila M. Gowell
 * : Janice M. Foster
 * : Calvin C. Ackley
 * : J. Randolph Hepworth

(information as of September 2005)

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