Arenac County, Michigan

Arenac County is a in the  of. As of the, the population was 17,269. The is.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,763 (681 ). 950 km² (367 sq mi) of it is land and 813 km² (314 sq mi) of it (46.12%) is water.

Adjacent counties

 * (northeast)
 * (south)
 * (west)
 * (northwest)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 17,269 people, 6,710 households, and 4,717 families residing in the county. The was 18/km² (47/sq mi). There were 9,563 housing units at an average density of 10/km² (26/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 95.38%, 1.82% or , 0.95% , 0.29% , 0.01% , 0.21% from , and 1.33% from two or more races. 1.38% of the population were or  of any race. 96.9% spoke and 1.3%  as their first language.

There were 6,710 households out of which 29.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.00% were living together, 9.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.70% were non-families. 25.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the county the population was spread out with 23.30% under the age of 18, 7.80% from 18 to 24, 26.80% from 25 to 44, 25.50% from 45 to 64, and 16.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 105.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,805, and the median income for a family was $39,033. Males had a median income of $31,205 versus $20,363 for females. The for the county was $16,300. About 11.30% of families and 13.90% of the population were below the, including 20.70% of those under age 18 and 7.80% of those age 65 or over.

Casino
As of spring 2007, plans have been confirmed for a to open outside of the city of Standish; the casino will be operated by the Saginaw  Indian tribe, and is scheduled to open by the end of 2007.

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.

Arenac County elected officials

 * : Curtis Broughton
 * : Ronald Bouldin
 * : Ricky R. Rockwell
 * : Dennis Stawowy
 * : Rose Smith
 * : Don Prueter
 * Road Commissioners: Lewis Ostrander; Kenneth Stawowy; Ray Gulvas

(information as of September 2005)