Manistee County, Michigan

Manistee County is a in the  of. As of the, the population was 24,527. The is.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 3,317 (1,281 ). 1,408 km² (544 sq mi) of it is land and 1,909 km² (737 sq mi) of it (57.56%) is water.

Adjacent Counties

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Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 24,527 people, 9,860 households, and 6,714 families residing in the county. The was 17/km² (45/sq mi). There were 14,272 housing units at an average density of 10/km² (26/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 94.16%, 1.63% or , 1.30% , 0.32% , 0.03% , 1.01% from , and 1.55% from two or more races. 2.61% of the population were or  of any race. 96.2% spoke and 2.3%  as their first language.

There were 9,860 households out of which 27.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.10% were living together, 9.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.90% were non-families. 27.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.86.

In the county the population was spread out with 22.60% under the age of 18, 6.70% from 18 to 24, 26.30% from 25 to 44, 26.30% from 45 to 64, and 18.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 103.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $34,208, and the median income for a family was $41,664. Males had a median income of $33,211 versus $20,851 for females. The for the county was $17,204. About 6.90% of families and 10.30% of the population were below the, including 13.50% 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.

Manistee County elected officials

 * : Ford Stone
 * : Dale Kowalkowski
 * : Marilyn Kliber
 * : Alan Verheek
 * : Penny Pepera
 * : Kenneth R. Berentsen
 * : Anthony Slawinski

(information as of September 2005)

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