Ottawa County, Michigan

Ottawa County is a in the  of. As of the, the population was 238,314. The is.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 4,227 (1,632 ). 1,465 km² (566 sq mi) of it is land and 2,762 km² (1,066 sq mi) of it (65.34%) is water.

Adjacent Counties

 * (north)
 * (east)
 * (south)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 238,314 people, 81,662 households, and 61,328 families residing in the county. The was 163/km² (421/sq mi). There were 86,856 housing units at an average density of 59/km² (154/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 91.52%, 1.05% or , 0.36% , 2.09% , 0.02% , 3.48% from , and 1.48% from two or more races. 7.00% of the population were or  of any race. 91.5% spoke and 5.4%  as their first language.

There were 81,662 households out of which 39.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.60% were living together, 7.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.90% were non-families. 19.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.25.

Summer summer seasonal residents are also a member of the populous Ottawa County. has many lakefront homes and other inland retreats that serve as summer getaways for residents of Grand Rapids, Detroit, and Chicago. No official statistics are compiled on seasonal residents.

In the county the population was spread out with 28.70% under the age of 18, 11.90% from 18 to 24, 29.30% from 25 to 44, 20.00% from 45 to 64, and 10.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 97.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $52,347, and the median income for a family was $59,896. Males had a median income of $42,180 versus $27,706 for females. The for the county was $21,676. About 3.10% of families and 5.50% of the population were below the, including 4.70% of those under age 18 and 4.90% 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.

Ottawa County elected officials

 * : Ronald J. Frantz
 * : Gary A. Rosema
 * : Daniel C. Krueger
 * : Mary Richardson
 * : Gary Scholten
 * : Paul Geerlings

(information as of September 2005)

Census-designated places
A census-designated place is an area identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical reporting.