Jackson County, Michigan

Jackson County is a in the  of. In 2000, its population was 158,422. In 2006, the population was estimated to have reached 163,851. This county makes up Jackson's. The is. It is named for. It is considered to be one of Michigan's "", named for members of Jackson's Cabinet.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,875 (724 ). 1,830 km² (707 sq mi) of it is land and 44 km² (17 sq mi) of it (2.37%) is water.

Adjacent counties

 * (northeast)
 * (north)
 * (northwest)
 * (east)
 * (west)
 * (southeast)
 * (southwest)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 158,422 people, 58,168 households, and 40,833 families residing in the county. The was 87/km² (224/sq mi). There were 62,906 housing units at an average density of 34/km² (89/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 88.54%, 7.92% or , 0.40% , 0.53% , 0.04% , 0.83% from , and 1.74% from two or more races. 2.20% of the population were or  of any race. 95.9% spoke and 2.1%  as their first language.

There were 58,168 households out of which 33.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.80% were living together, 12.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.80% were non-families. 24.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.60% 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.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.60% under the age of 18, 8.10% from 18 to 24, 30.40% from 25 to 44, 23.00% from 45 to 64, and 12.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 104.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $43,171, and the median income for a family was $50,970. Males had a median income of $38,919 versus $26,448 for females. The for the county was $20,171. About 6.50% of families and 9.00% of the population were below the, including 12.40% of those under age 18 and 6.10% of those age 65 or over.

Government
The county government operates the, maintains township 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.

Jackson County elected officials

 * , State Representative: Martin Griffin (D-Jackson)
 * : Hank C. Zavislak
 * : Daniel H Heyns
 * : Sandra Crowley
 * : Janet C. Rochefort
 * : Mindy Reilly
 * : Geoffrey W. Snyder
 * : Dean R. Gutekunst

(information as of September 20, 2006)