Allegan County, Michigan

Allegan County is a in the  of. As of, the population was 105,665. The is. The name was coined by to sound like a Native American word.

Allegan County is primarily an agricultural area that is rapidly becoming urbanized as the population centers of on the northeast and  to the southeast expand into Allegan County. A portion of the city of lies within the northwest portion of the county, as does a larger urbanized area around it. In the southwest corner, a small portion of the city of extends into Allegan County. The shoreline has long been a popular place for vacation homes, and that such development continues, especially around  and.

The largest city wholly within the county is, the county seat.

The county has long been a regional tourist draw, particularly the in Holland and the area along. Another draw is, a 45,000 acre (182 km²) forest attracting campers, snowmobilers, cross-country skiers and hunters. Allegan County also hosts with trails through scenic dunes and a swimming beach on Lake Michigan.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 4,748 (1,833 ). 2,143 km² (827 sq mi) of it is land and 2,605 km² (1,006 sq mi) of it (54.86%) is water.

Adjacent counties

 * (north)
 * (northeast)
 * (east)
 * (southeast)
 * (south)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 105,665 people, 38,165 households, and 28,394 families residing in the county. The was 49/km² (128/sq mi). There were 43,292 housing units at an average density of 20/km² (52/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 93.47%, 1.31% or , 0.55% , 0.55% , 0.03% , 2.77% from , and 1.32% from two or more races. 5.72% of the population were or  of any race. 93.6% spoke and 5.2%  as their first language.

There were 38,165 households out of which 37.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.40% were living together, 9.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.60% were non-families. 20.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.15.

In the county the population was spread out with 28.90% under the age of 18, 8.00% from 18 to 24, 30.00% from 25 to 44, 22.00% from 45 to 64, and 11.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 99.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $45,813, and the median income for a family was $51,908. Males had a median income of $38,681 versus $26,887 for females. The for the county was $19,918. About 5.00% of families and 7.30% of the population were below the, including 7.50% of those under age 18 and 7.90% 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.

Allegan County elected officials

 * : Frederick Anderson
 * : Blaine Koops
 * /: Joyce A. Watts
 * : Sally L. Brooks
 * : Becky Rininger
 * : Kirk L. VanOrder

(information as of September 2005)

Cities

 * (partial)
 * (partial)
 * (partial)
 * (partial)
 * (partial)
 * (partial)
 * (partial)
 * (partial)