Ionia County, Michigan

Ionia County is a in the  of. As of the, the population was 61,518. The is.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,503 (580 ). 1,485 km² (573 sq mi) of it is land and 18 km² (7 sq mi) of it (1.21%) is water.

Adjacent counties

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Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 61,518 people, 20,606 households, and 15,145 families residing in the county. The was 41/km² (107/sq mi). There were 22,006 housing units at an average density of 15/km² (38/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 91.96%, 4.56% or , 0.56% , 0.32% , 0.01% , 1.04% from , and 1.55% from two or more races. 2.78% of the population were or  of any race. 96.3% spoke and 2.6%  as their first language.

There were 20,606 households out of which 38.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.70% were living together, 10.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.50% were non-families. 21.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.15.

In the county the population was spread out with 26.90% under the age of 18, 11.50% from 18 to 24, 31.00% from 25 to 44, 20.50% from 45 to 64, and 10.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 115.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 120.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $43,074, and the median income for a family was $49,797. Males had a median income of $36,995 versus $25,443 for females. The for the county was $17,451. About 6.80% of families and 8.70% of the population were below the, including 10.40% of those under age 18 and 8.10% 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.

Ionia County elected officials

 * : Ronald J. Schafer
 * : Dwain Dennis
 * : Tonda Rich
 * : Nancy Hickey
 * : Diane M. Adams
 * : John M. Bush

(information as of September 2005)

Cities and villages

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