Ingham County, Michigan

Ingham County is a in the  of. The recorded its population at 279,320; a  estimate placed the population at 276,898. The is. , the state capital of Michigan, is also within the county. Lansing is the only state capital in the nation that is not also a county seat.

Ingham County was established by an act of the Michigan Territorial Legislature on, , from portions of , and unorganized territory. It was attached for administrative purposes to Washtenaw County until 1838 when county government was established for Ingham.

The county is named for, the under  , making Ingham one of the so-called.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,453 (561 ). 1,448 km² (559 sq mi) of it is land and 5 km² (2 sq mi) of it (0.31%) is water.

The county consists of gently rolling hills with an ranging between 800 to 1000 feet above. The winds northward along the western boundary of the county and the  flows west across the northern section into the Grand River in Lansing. Most of the midsection of the county drains to the north into the Red Cedar River and the northern tier of townships drain to the south into the Cedar. The Sycamore Creek, flowing northwest into the Red Cedar in Lansing, drains much of the midsection of the county. Most of the southern portion of the county drains south or west into the Grand River. The southeastern corner drains to the southeast into the via the Portage Creek and  and a series of small lakes.

Adjacent counties

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

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 279,320 people, 108,593 households, and 63,744 families residing in the county. The was 193/km² (500/sq mi). There were 115,056 housing units at an average density of 79/km² (206/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 79.46%, 10.86% or , 0.55% , 3.68% , 0.05% , 2.42% from , and 2.99% from two or more races. 5.80% of the population were or  of any race. 90.0% spoke and 3.8%  as their first language.

There were 108,593 households out of which 29.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.00% were living together, 12.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.30% were non-families. 30.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the county the population was spread out with 23.40% under the age of 18, 18.50% from 18 to 24, 28.60% from 25 to 44, 20.10% from 45 to 64, and 9.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 93.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $40,774, and the median income for a family was $53,063. Males had a median income of $40,335 versus $30,178 for females. The for the county was $21,079. About 8.30% of families and 14.60% of the population were below the, including 14.60% of those under age 18 and 6.60% of those age 65 or over.

By 2006 the population of Ingham County had fallen to 276,898. 76.4% of the population was non-Hispanic whites. 11.0% of the population was African-American, meaning that the county had fallen below in percentage of African-Americans. Latinos represented 5.9% of the population. Asians were now 4.3% of the population.

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 16-member controls the budget, but has only limited authority to make laws or ordinances due to Michigan's large  of local power to cities, villages, and townships. The county board of commissioners also hires a county administrator/ who serves as the chief fiscal and administrative officer of the county.

Ingham County Elected Officials

 * : Stuart Dunnings III (Democrat)
 * : Gene Wrigglesworth (Democrat)
 * : Mike Bryanton (Democrat)
 * : Paula Johnson (Democrat)
 * : Eric Schertzing (Democrat)
 * : Patrick Lindemann (Democrat)
 * County Commission or Board of Commissioners: 16 members, elected from districts (13 Democrats, 3 Republicans)
 * District 1: Victor Celentino (D)Chair Finance Committee
 * District 2: Debbie De Leon (D)- Chair County Services Committee
 * District 3: Tina Weatherwax-Grant (D)
 * District 4: Rebecca Bahar-Cook (D)Chair Judiciary Committee
 * District 5: Andy Schor (D)
 * District 6: Dale Copedge (D)Chair Law Enforcement Committee
 * District 7: Todd Tennis (D)
 * District 8: Marc Thomas (D) - Chairman of the Board
 * District 9: Curtis Hertel Jr. (D)Chair Human Services Committee
 * District 10: Mark Grebner (D)
 * District 11: Dianne Holman (D)
 * District 12: Deb Nolan (D)
 * District 13: Randy Schafer (R)
 * District 14: Steve Dougan (R)
 * District 15: Mike Severino (R)
 * District 16: Tim Soule (D)


 * 30th Judicial : 9 (non-partisan)
 * Judge William E. Collette, Chief Judge
 * Judge Joyce Draganchuk
 * Judge James Giddings
 * Judge Paula J.M. Manderfield
 * Judge Beverley Nettles-Nickerson
 * Judge Richard J. Garcia
 * Judge R. George Economy
 * Judge Laura Baird
 * Judge Janelle A. Lawless

(information as of October 2006)

Cities

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 * , the
 * , the
 * , the