Charlevoix County, Michigan

Charlevoix County is a in the  of. As of the, the population was 26,090. The is.

Geography
, with 17,200 acres (70 km²) surface area and 56 miles (90 km) of shoreline, is a very prominent feature of the county. According to the, the county has a total area of 3,602 (1,391 ). 1,080 km² (417 sq mi) of it is land and 2,522 km² (974 sq mi) of it (70.03%) is water.

Adjacent counties

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

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 26,090 people, 10,400 households, and 7,311 families residing in the county. The was 24/km² (63/sq mi). There were 15,370 housing units at an average density of 14/km² (37/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 96.31%, 0.17% or , 1.54% , 0.23% , 0.09% , 0.41% from , and 1.25% from two or more races. 1.04% of the population were or  of any race. 97.3% spoke and 1.1%  as their first language.

There were 10,400 households out of which 31.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.40% were living together, 8.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.80% were non-families. 25.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.90% under the age of 18, 6.50% from 18 to 24, 27.40% from 25 to 44, 25.20% from 45 to 64, and 14.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 97.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $39,788, and the median income for a family was $46,260. Males had a median income of $32,457 versus $22,447 for females. The for the county was $20,130. About 5.40% of families and 8.00% of the population were below the, including 10.00% of those under age 18 and 5.90% 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.

Charlevoix County elected officials

 * : John A. Jarema
 * : George T. Lasater
 * : Jane E. Brannon
 * : Marilyn Cousineau
 * : Charlene M. Novotny
 * : Lawrence Feindt

(information as of September 2005)

Villages

 * , village