Macomb County, Michigan

Macomb County is a in the  of. As of the the population was 788,149. The 2006 census estimate placed Macomb's population at 832,861. The is. Macomb County is part of the, though the actual city of is located in neighboring , south of. Macomb County is comprised of 28 cities, townships and villages. These communities range from mature, inner-ring suburbs like the cities of and  to newer, wealthier locales such as,  and. The county was named for an early commander,.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 570 s (1,476 )&mdash;480 square miles (1,244 km²) of it is land and 89 square miles (231 km²) of it (15.68%) is water.

borders the county on the east.

Adjacent counties

 * - northeast
 * - northwest
 * - west
 * - south

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 788,149 people, 309,203 households, and 210,876 families residing in the county. The 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%, 2.71% or , 0.31% , 2.14% , 0.02% , 0.39% from , and 1.77% from two or more races. 1.58% of the population were or  of any race. 18.1% were of, 17.1% , 13.6% , 7.5% and 5.5%  ancestry according to. 87.6% spoke, 1.7% , 1.4% , 1.2% , 1.1% and 1.1%  as their first language.

Two Native American tribes had over 1000 people who self-identified with the tribe in Macomb County in 2000. 1781 county residents indicated that they were Cherokee on the census form. 1038 did the same for being Chippewa. This is the tribe known as the Ojibwa. It should be kept in mind that whether someone marked "Ojibwa", "Chippewa" or "Anishabaag" it was all grouped together in the reported counts.

Among Asians groups, Macomb County has six with over 1000 people. The most numerous were the 5713 Asian Indians. Filipinos came in a close second numbering 4155, this includes many children who are Filipino on their mother's side and European-American on their father's side. Chinese number 2489. Koreans numbered 1853, while Vietnamese numbered 1557. There were 1103, the only Asian group without a nation to be so recognized. It should be remembered that people from Iran and further west are classed as whites.

There were 309,203 households out of which 31.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.30% were 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 for the county was $24,446. About 4.00% of families and 5.60% of the population were below the, 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 5 years. The percentage of Asians had risen to 2.9%, largely fueled by the exodus of the eastside Detroit northward into Warren. The American Community Survey showed 1.5% of Macomb County's population reporting two or more races.

History
The were the first settlers in the area. The first Europeans 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.

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 a highly decorated veteran of the.

The county gained fame in the 1980s and '90s as a of state and national politics. Macomb's large cohort of, whites gave it one of the nation's most prominent concentrations of "s", and outsider candidates with a conservative- bent have done well there in the past (e.g.  in 1968 and  in 1992).

Parks and recreation
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,, and. The county also has 31 miles of shoreline and over 100 marinas.

Government
The county government operates the, maintains rural roads, operates the major local courts, keeps files of deeds and mortgages, maintains , administers public health 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.

Macomb County Elected Officials

 * : (Democrat)
 * /: (Democrat)
 * : (Democrat)
 * : (Democrat)
 * : (Republican)
 * County Commission or Board of Commissioners: 26 members, elected from districts (17 Democrats, 9 Republicans)
 * Circuit Court: 12 judges (non-partisan)
 * Probate Court: 2 judges (non-partisan)
 * Probate Court: 2 judges (non-partisan)

(information as of February 2006)

Actors/Actresses

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Athletes

 * , NHL player,
 * , NHL player, Sterling Heights
 * , NHL player,
 * , ECHL player, Warren
 * , NHL player, Warren
 * , sports announcer,
 * , WNBA player from
 * , race car driver, Armada
 * , race car driver, Warren
 * , race car driver, Warren
 * , MLB player, Warren
 * , MLB coach, Warren
 * , NFL player, Fraser
 * , NFL player, Sterling Heights

Musicians

 * , Mount Clemens
 * , Mount Clemens
 * , Mount Clemens
 * , Mount Clemens
 * , Mount Clemens

Other

 * , politician
 * , politician, Warren
 * , creator of the cartoon show The Fairy Oddparents,
 * , Lieutenant Governor of Michigan in the late 1980s,
 * , NASA astronaut,

Cities, villages, and townships

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 * (the part of Grosse Pointe Shores in Macomb County)
 * , city
 * , city (county seat)
 * , city
 * , village
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