Livingston County, Michigan

Livingston County is a in the  of, and is part of the Detroit-Warren-Livonia. As of the, the population was 156,951, with a 2003 Census estimate placing the population at 181,517. The and most populous incorporated city is. As one of Michigan's "", a group of counties whose names honor members of Andrew Jackson's Cabinet, it is named after former.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,516 (585 ), of which 1,472 km² (568 sq mi) is land and 44 km² (17 sq mi), or 2.91%, is water.

Adjacent counties

 * (northeast)
 * (northwest)
 * (south)
 * (east)
 * (west)
 * (southwest)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 156,951 people, 55,384 households, and 43,531 families residing in the county. The was 107/km² (276/sq mi). There were 58,919 housing units at an average density of 40/km² (104/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 97.13%, 0.46% or , 0.43% , 0.57% , 0.03% , 0.32% from , and 1.06% from two or more races. 1.24% of the population were or  of any race. 96.8% spoke and 1.1%  as their first language.

There were 55,384 households out of which 39.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.50% were living together, 6.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.40% were non-families. 17.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.18.

In the county the population was spread out with 28.80% under the age of 18, 6.60% from 18 to 24, 31.70% from 25 to 44, 24.60% from 45 to 64, and 8.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 102.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.70 males.

With a median household income of $67,400, and a median family income of $75,284, Livingston county is one of the. Males had a median income of $54,358 versus $32,073 for females. The for the county was $28,069. About 2.40% of families and 3.40% of the population were below the, including 3.60% of those under age 18 and 4.50% of those age 65 or over.

Livingston County has been the fastest growing county in the state for the past decade and also through the 1970s. More than 50% of all the population of Livingston County is located in the southeastern communities of Brighton Township, Genoa Township, Hamburg Township, Green Oak Township, the Village of Pinckney, Putnam Township and the City of Brighton.

The US Census Bureau in 2000 identified Brighton, Howell, and the nearby city of to be a contiguous, urbanized area, one of the newest such areas in the United States.

By 2006 the county population had grown 17.6% to 184,511. Livingston County is the fastest-growing county in Michigan.

In 2006, non-Hispanic whites made up 95.7% of the county population; African-Americans made up 0.7%; Asians 0.8%; and Native Americans 0.4%. Hispanics were 1.6% of the population.

Location
Livingston County's location in south-central Michigan offers it relatively convenient access to the metropolitan areas of, , , and. People from Livingston County commute to all four of these cities, using the three major highways that pass through the county:,, and.

Although it continues to largely consist of bedroom communities, the county has experienced significant recent growth in both the service and industrial economic sectors. Major current employers include Pepsico, Citizens Insurance, and Ogihara Industries.

Media
There are two local newspapers, The Livingston Community News, a relatively new free weekly that is part of the Booth newspaper chain (which also owns The Ann Arbor News), and the The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus. Published Sunday through Friday, the "Daily Press & Argus" was launched in 2000 through the combination of two weekly newspapers -- The Livingston County Press and The Brighton Argus -- which served the communities for many decades. The Web site for the "Daily Press & Argus" was launched in 2005 and is located at www.livingstondaily.com.

Other media in the county includes WHMI-FM, a Classic Hits radio station that has local news on the hour. Local news and other station information is located at www.whmi.com

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.

Livingston County elected officials

 * : David L. Morse
 * : Robert J. Bezotte
 * : Margaret M. Dunleavy
 * : Dianne H. Hardy
 * : Sally Reynolds
 * : Brian Jonckheere

(information as of September 2005)